Author Interview: Walter Carey

Q: How long have you been writing, and what kind of stories do you most like to write?   

A: I started writing when I was fourteen.  Back then a lot of what I wrote was Stephen King- or Dragonlance-inspired stuff.  The stories that I most like to write are usually speculative fiction because sci-fi, fantasy and horror stories have always entertained me.

Q: What's the title of your story in Unearthed? In general, do you get the title first, or do you write the story first? Do you remember what prompted this particular title?

A: My title for my story in Unearthed is ‘Rainclouds on her Face.’  I tend to write the story first and the title comes out of writing the piece.  This title came out of a piece of dialogue early in the work where the child character is talking about his dreams and how a woman was crying as if her eyes were rainclouds on her face.

Q: Please tell us: one book you've read recently, one book you're reading now, and one book on your to-read list.

A: A book I’ve read recently was Gene Wolfe’s The Shadow of the Torturer.  It was fantastic.  The book I’m reading now is Bradbury Stories: 100 of Bradbury’s Most Celebrated Tales.  Ray Bradbury died recently so I decided borrow some of his works from the library.  I love how easy he makes writing look and how much fun he is to read.  On my to-read list is Minor Complications: Two plays by Brendan Gall.

Q: What's the best/worst writing advice you've ever been given?

A: The best writing advice that I’ve come across again and again, in different forms, is ‘Writing is work.’

Worst writing advice I’ve ever read came from a ‘How to Write’ book, back when I was reading every ‘How to Write’ book I could get my hands on.  I don’t remember who wrote it or what the book was called.  The author wrote that if a story began with dialogue, to put the book down as it is not well written.  No story should ever start with dialogue and if dialogue lasts for longer than a page, put the book down as it is not well written.  His how to write book was so well-written, I stopped reading it ten pages in.

Q: What are you working on now, or what's your next planned writing project?

 

A: The piece I’m working on now is called ‘Graveyard of the Gulf’ which is about a community of gravediggers living on St. Paul Island.

Thanks, Walter!