Category Archives: Guest Interview

Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Goes as Guest

Tom’s InSpiris Audio Magazine Interview

Okay, here’s a blog post I’ve been putting off writing — not because I’ve lacked inspiration, but because I haven’t known where to start! This past June (2021), Tom met with Spencer Webster — novelist, storyteller, retired U.S. Navy Sailor, a guy with a million zillion creative ideas, and the host of InSpiris Audio Magazine. Tom was the interview subject of Spencer’s podcast — seeking to find what creativity is to other people.

I’ve listened to this episode twice and I have been impressed — possibly to the point of being overwhelmed (hence writing this post in July, not June). Let me take a crack at explaining why, along with telling you about their session …

I’ve known Tom for … well, I guess it’s been about seven years now. The first I made his company, he was presenting the topic of how to self-publish your book at the library in Langley, WA. He was knowledgeable, affable, and well humored. We continued to talk beyond this workshop, and eventually he guided me through publishing my first book. Together, we have had numerous conversations on an array of topics and laughed ourselves fairly well silly …. not so unlike we now do here on WOWI.

All that said, I think I know Tom pretty well. And yet … you know those times where you see a friend in a different environment, and you experience a whole new dimension … then afterward all you can say is “… Wow!”? Yeah, that’s this interview!

During the interview Tom talks about not only where inspiration comes from but also what inspiration is to him. He also speaks to where he applies creativity, often in places where others might not think creativity applies. Tom ranges from his former work as an engineer to personal experiences that lead to writing books; he richly quotes people and references books that I had no idea about, much less guessed Tom might have covered.

So … listen to this interview, which Spencer Webster of InSpiris Audio Magazine kindly allowed to be reposted here on WOWI … prepare to be blown away … and have your creative live better for it!

Best ~ Don

Don, In-Person, Tom, WOWI Session

Don And Tom Reconnect WOWI

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On a typical marvelous day in Coupeville, Don and I found an opportunity to set these podcasts back on their original track. At the start, we crafted these episodes based on our resources, i.e. two guys, a microphone, an interest in highlighting the writing community of Whidbey Island, and a willingness to adapt and learn. Writers are creative people. We did what we could with what we had. The pandemic changed things (understatement.) And now, thanks to responsible folks wearing masks and getting vaccinated, enough progress has been made that we could return to something like our original concept. Uh. How did we do this a little more than a year ago? We begin again. 

We started with live, largely uncut interviews and discussions with various members of the expansive yet unofficial Whidbey Island writing community. Guests included writers, of course, but also editors, publishers, poets, librarians, book sellers, book collectors, etc. Our community is varied. Whidbey Island is varied, too. So, we recorded at a variety of locations. The background became part of the show. Listen for ambience that includes jets, turkeys, dogs, businesses, pedestrians, etc. The island provides a long list to include.

Then, the pandemic hit. Zoom this. Google Meet that. Everyone was remote. Everyone was required to have a bit of technological skill. And of course that thing we all needed, a sense of humor, somehow.

Now, we’re back – or at least we hope we are – sort of. For the first time in over a year, Don and I recorded a live, masked-face-to-masked-face episode. The bonus was a setting that included the sounds of eagles, people, and maybe a ferry. Our personal bonus was a view of the Sound, Port Townsend, the Olympics, and the usual extraordinary panoramas from near the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. Why not include someone as a guest? Well, partly, we had to see if we remembered all of the gadgets and setup considerations. (Good thing Don remembered the extra batteries.)

It was good to reconnect and remember those other bits of communication that are harder to convey online. Body language, hand signals, stifled laughs – as well as a reminder to not bump the microphone.

And there was a lot to talk about. Those months weren’t wasted. Turning binge watching into a way to research writers’ styles. A surplus of uninterrupted time to write. Dealing with a support network, or at least fellow writers, that are necessarily more remote. Marketing campaigns that can’t rely on readings, signings, panels, or talks. 

Listen for our personal adaptations and approaches, as well as progress in our individual projects – including opening hints about a possible group project for sci-fi writers. 

If you have a story to tell about your recently released book, how you managed your marketing campaign, how your business survived, how your organization adapted, whatever, send us a note about possibly being one of our guests. (If we get too many we might have to put all the names in a basket and see what luck provides.)

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 23 – Don and Tom Reconnect

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Pavel Soukenik – Tulip & Hound publishing

Have you hear of Tulip & Hound?  It’s a new and exciting publishing company here on Whidbey Island!  This past Tuesday afternoon, Tom and I had the absolute pleasure of spending time (via e-meeting, because Corona) with owner and visionary Pavel Soukenik.

Pavel and his wife, Angela, have joined us here on Whidbey for a number of years — and Pavel himself has joined us here in The United States originally from the Czech Republic.  Given his background, Pavel supports translation from English into Czech — but what makes Tulip & Hound unique doesn’t stop there!

Small Publishing Companies Fill a Niche

Tulip & Hound is a small and promising publishing company potentially filling a niche here on the island.  Outside of Tulip & Hound, there are no Island publishing companies — or distributors, for that matter.  Pavel’s books are traditionally printed here in the United States using print runs instead of print-on-demand.  Books printed in volume through Tulip & Hound can then be offered at lower prices with better terms for both bookstores and authors.  Pavel also believes in giving back and is donating 10% of profits from all book sales to preservation of the environment.

The debut book being offered by Tulip & Hound is titled “Siren and the Serenade” by Angela Cummings.  She’s a Pacific Northwest author located right here on Whidbey — so local she’s Pavel’s wife.  This is convenient for Pavel because he never has a problem reaching his client.

I found our time with Pavel interesting and thought provoking — and I believe you will too when you listen to the podcast.  He is pleasant, has a great sense of humor, and all around … he’s just a neat guy!  It will be exciting to watch what happens for Tulip & Hound and his company continues to develop.  With any luck, it is my hope Tom and I can visit again with Pavel in a year or so to learn about everything that has transpired with Tulip & Hound!

Links

Don, Guest Interview, In-Person, Tom, WOWI Session

His Mother Really Is Crazier Than Yours – In Interview With Cam Castle

51kicxi29nl._sy346_Where would writers be without their families? Sure, they’re a source of support, but they’re also a source of stories. Cam Castle was born into a wealth of stories, which is one reason he wrote a book about it. “My Mother is Crazier than Your Mother”

Cam’s Mom created a creative childhood environment, not necessarily on purpose. Retelling those tales here would be redundant. Besides, Cam’s better at telling them. He’s a writer of many talents, including writing for the Seattle Times; but as a few fortunate fellow writers know, having him in a writing group makes sure the day won’t be dull. He’s a humorist with the ability to make dull text entertaining. (I know. His reading of some of my personal finance pieces made them funny enough to wake everyone up.)

Cam was also brave enough to be one of our first interviewees, back when we were still learning what this podcast would truly be about, and how we needed to approach it. Just like in the writing groups, his candor was appreciated and constructive. Subsequent interviewees can thank him, even though it may not be apparent how he made their experience much smoother. (That’s also why he pointed out that, while we posted the podcast, we forgot to post the attendant blog post. Oops. Pardon us as we play catch-up.)

Writing On Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 3 – Cam Castle, My Mother is Crazier than Your Mother

 

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Children’s Books, Creative Cards, And Coaching – An Interview With Deb Lund

At least on Whidbey Island, creative people tend to create more than one way to express themselves and help others. Yet another reason the island’s writing community has multiple layers that support each other. Deb Lund is probably best known for her children’s books, but she’s also taught writing and coached writers, which inspired her card deck designed to inspire them. But, really, it is hard to ignore and easy to remember someone whose books include dinosaurs that “take to the skies, the rails, and the high seas” as well as monsters on machines (wearing hardhats, of course.)

The conversation started with the dinosaurs because, why not. They may be children’s books, which can be much more complicated to write, produce, and publish than conventional novels. With a conventional novel there may be effectively no limit to the word count, except the thickness of the binding. Deb pointed out that children’s book are much more constrained (imagine editing a story of a few thousand words down to a few hundred), and require the writer to relinquish much of the control to the illustrator. Instead of only one graphic which is limited to the cover, every page can be a graphic from edge to edge. A children’s book is more of a duet, but with the two artists working separately much of the time, and yet the two efforts become one creation. 

Deb also has teacher cred, a natural background for someone writing children’s books, as well as a natural lead to teaching and coaching writers. Along the way, she created a series of inspirational playing cards to give writers fresh perspectives on their works in progress. They became popular enough that her students encouraged her to create and sell the decks. Welcome to yet another publishing accomplishment that was much more than lots of words on blank pages. Concise messages on colorful cards required multiple art forms, again. 

Her accomplishments are impressive, but are better heard about from her. Listen in on the podcast for the stories in her own words, and maybe contact her if you want to benefit from an experienced artist – who also can tell stories about gargantuan dinosailor goofballs.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 21 – Deb Lund, Childrens’ book author, card creator, and coach

Deb Lund can also be found on:

Her web site: deblund.com

Facebook: (pages for 
Deb Lund, author
The Creativity Cafe
Writing With Kids

Twitter: @deblund

Instagram: deblundauthor

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Surfing Writing And Staying Stoked – An Interview with Drew Kampion

“Life is a wave. Your attitude is your surfboard.
Stay stoked & aim for the light!”

Subscribers to drewslist, a much friendlier and more neighborly (and very Whidbey) version of craigslist, can recognize that as the signature at the end of each email from the service that Drew Kampion started years ago. (As Drew put it, “It is like craigslist, but exactly opposite.” paraphrased)

That attitude and philosophy was handy during this wintry recording of the podcast that involved internet glitches and dropped signals. Drew rode those waves with a laugh and a smile. Whew. (And thanks to co-host and audio techie, Don, for stitching it back together.)

For this podcast about Writing On Whidbey Island, we talked less about For Sale ads and more about the books he has written, his time as a journalist, the early era of the now-famous Patagonia company, surfing (the subject of much of his work), how he got to Whidbey, and what he did when he got here. Fake spoiler alert: that signature philosophy isn’t theoretical, it’s practical, and has been steering him through an interesting story.

I’ll leave the storytelling to him, but will mention that it is fun to hear about someone who loves something like surfing can take a talent like writing and create a career in a way that wouldn’t make any textbook. Find what you enjoy. Find what you can do well. And if the two can work together, then celebrate that. Listen in for his story of the ride.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 20 – Drew Kampion, writer, author, editor, journalist, surfer, and founder of drewslist

DrewKampion.com

Drew Kampion on Amazon

drewslist

Don, Guest Interview, Online, Tom, WOWI Session

Steel Lace Apples And Editing – An Interview With Holly Thomas

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Pluck another apple, Eve, and finish it. Or more appropriately, “Pluck Another Apple, Eve, And Finish It”; or something like that. (What is the right way to capitalize a title?) Maybe we should ask an editor. Actually, we did. Holly Thomas, editor, poet, artist was kind enough to let us interview her. We didn’t ask about this title or her artistry (this is a podcast about writing); but we did ask about life as an editor and her work as a poet. If you haven’t noticed the graphic below in some preview pane, she published a collection of her poems titled, “Pluck Another Apple, Eve, And Finish It“.

Holly’s work is a reminder that while some of us count how many words we write per hour, poets can spend hours per word – and it shows. Easy grace can require effort and introspection. As captured in the book’s description on Amazon, the term “steel lace” comes to mind. (There may also be some poems that touch on nature, emotions, and physics – a wide range that gets tied together.)

Poets have a difficult time paying bills with poems, which is why she is also an editor, earlier with Microsoft and more recently as an editor working with individual authors. Managing the creative spirit internally, in a group, in a corporation, or with fellow creatives is a special talent, possibly a collection of talents as each environment is different. Her insights into how to work with an editor are valuable. Being able to respect another’s creativity while polishing the product is a rare and hopefully appreciated skill.

(Writer’s note: Writing about an editor’s work can make a writer incredibly self-conscious. Oh well, she’s probably edited worse.)

Listen in for a range of perspectives from corporate to consulting to publishing to working on items that are so personal they may never be shared – oh yeah, and laughter. We can all use a good laugh.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 19 – Holly Thomas, editor, poet, artist

Holly Thomas, main page

Her book on Amazon

Allied Arts Foundation Emerging Poet Award – Holly Thomas reading Burrs

Blog Post, Guest Interview, WOWI Goes as Guest

Tom and Don interviewed by Pen To Print

PenToPrint.org pen to print podcast interview

Accidents happen and sometimes they turn out as happy accidents! A few months ago I responded to a comment online from a delightful lady in England — Claire Buss. She was looking for people who produce podcasts — I didn’t think that what Tom and I offer with WOWI was quite her thing, but it never hurts to try … right? To my surprise Clair sent me a personal message soon after, asking that Tom and I each fill out a written interview for her site PenToPrint.org. We took to our trusty keyboards and — not so long story made even shorter — have been featured this month.

Check out PenToPrint.org and our interview … NOW!

Guest Interview, Online, WOWI Session

A Dark Angel – An Interview With Richard Pelletier

What’s a Dark Angel? Ask Richard. Despite nearly an hour of conversations about what it is like to be a paid writer, a writer paid well enough to pay the bills (hey, it happens!), we forgot to ask about the origin of the name. Richard Pelletier teaches at and helps produce an international series of writing workshops under the name, Dark Angels. He also writes regularly for corporate clients, is an excellent photographer, and is working on a novel. For Richard, writing is major part of his life.

There are overlaps in his activities. Dark Angels helps writers reveal story concisely and clearly, exceeding the standards of most businesses. Helping a business stand out from “most businesses” is valuable. (Creative Writing for Business) Fortunately, some businesses recognize the reality and hire writers like Richard. It is also why Dark Angels is active and traveling (maybe not as much this year. ) There’s a need and they go meet it, wherever it is. (And somehow those events tend to be in locations like Scotland, London, Spain, Seattle, etc. Hmm. Tempting.)

He’s also working on a novel, something that can be hard to prioritize when doing so much intense writing for others.

Writing can be a career, not just a hobby. It can be an art form. Listen as Richard talks about how he approaches writing, art, business, and a bit of balance.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 16 – Richard Pelletier, writer

Richard is a contributor to several noteworthy books:

  • Established: Lessons from the world’s oldest companies
  • Dark Angels on writing: Changing lives with words
  • Armistice 100 days

His works can also be found at:

Guest Interview, Online, WOWI Session

Our Libraries Our Librarians – An Interview With Vicky Welfare

Say Yay! for our local libraries and the librarians who make them much more than buildings with books. Whidbey Island is fortunate enough to have five branches of the Sno-Isle Library system: Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Freeland, Langley, and Clinton. Some day we may manage to interview someone from each, and we started with Langley Library’s Vicky Welfare.

Langley WA Washington LibraryAs most writers know, librarians do more than sort books on shelves. That’s been especially apparent during the current crisis because they’ve managed to keep the system operating. An impressive accomplishment. Their current restrictions have ironically highlighted some of the things they’ve always done that don’t require visiting the buildings, like research. With a bit of creativity and adaptation, they’ve also found ways for people to access books, movies, educational content, and generally helping people however they can. (They’ve even left the wi-fi on, which is how we’ve managed to record and upload some of these podcasts. The right parking space helps. Just remember to turn off your headlights if you’re there for a while – inside joke.)

Vicky shared a bit of her story, including a good idea for a bit of musical history; something for us to look forward to. We also talked about what the library can do for writers before, during, and after the writing of a manuscript, then a book, then a product. Click on the links below. Listen in. And, if you have questions and want answers, ask a librarian; that’s something they excel at.

(By the way, Vicky was kind enough to host one of our, Don and Tom presentations about Modern Self-Publishing. This video gives a glimpse of the presentation space we talk about in the podcast.)

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) Episode 15 – Vicky Welfare, librarian