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Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
What was it that first got you into writing and when
did you start writing?
I started around the time that Dylan, the Stones and
The Beatles changed the world. The ideas and questions which I found in English
literature showed me that at least someone had tried and many were still trying
to express themselves creatively despite society’s insistence that making money
was the most important thing in life.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
Shakespeare, Dylan, Kerouac, Henry Miller, Flann
O’Brien, Lecarre, Pynchon, Hesse, Kesey, Hiassen, Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy,
Ian Rankin and many others come to mind. Their exact influence in my writing is
impossible for me to judge.
What kind of things do you write?
I have written a half hour tv comedy which was
produced by the CBC, won a prize for a full length screenplay (unproduced),
written short fiction and nonfiction pieces for paper and the internet and five
short novels (unpublished). I should mention the Amazon.com shorts programme
here because I heard of this site through an author there. I have two stories
in amazon shorts under humour. There is a problem for UK writers and customers
there I think. Amazon says they’re working on it.
What are you working on now?
I am rewriting the last novel. I have a first draft
but it needs a lot of work. I just reread one of the other novels and I believe
that needs to be rewritten too. Of course, like all writers, I am constantly
trying to get publishers to read my work. I also submit short stuff to websites
I like and write songs.
What is your writing day like?
I get the most done early in the morning. After waking
up at 5 AM and having a coffee, those few quiet hours are the best for me.
Otherwise, it’s any time in the day when I have a chance.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for
you?
The new thoughts and ideas which appear, unbidden,
when you’re creating. If you could just have those thoughts without going
through a lot of hassles, it would be wonderful, but I think you have to go
through the writing process to reach them. The only real freedom seems to be
freedom of the mind although spiritual people regard even that as superficial.
It’s exciting to go to a place where only you and your story exist.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for
you?
Impatience. The stories are never finished fast
enough and when they are finished, they’re not perfect. Also, impatience with
the publishing system.
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had
from your audience?
Having short pieces accepted by website editors is a
compliment to me. Most of them are writers themselves and they read a lot of
stuff online and off.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your
first priority to satisfy your own creativity?
My first priority is to satisfy my own creativity. I
think it’s similar to not being able to like others if you don’t like
yourself. You have to be happy with your work before you can expect others to
like it. The internet pretty well makes it impossible to write for an audience
because who knows who the audience is?
Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short
stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):
I don’t have a personal website but I have fiction
and non-fiction published on these sites. I have included the dates with the
website’s name to make it easier to look into the archives.
www.laurahird.com Dec 2005, Jan 2006, Oct 2006, Jan 2007
www.zygoteinmycoffee.com Oct 2005
www.eclectica.org Oct 2005
www.litvision.org Nov 2005
www.kenagain.freeservers.com winter 2006-07
www.prosetoad.com winter 2006
www.thievesjargon.com Feb 2006, Sept 2006
www.whistlingshade.com May 2006
www.longstoryshort.us July 2006
www.theequity.ca Aug 2006
www.dogmatika.com Oct 2006, April 2007, May 2007
www.hackwriters.com Oct 2006
www.savagemanners.wordpress.com Jan 2007
www.amazon.com amazon shorts Mar 2007, June 2007
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