Author: Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.

ISBN: 978-0-9826594-0-3

Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC

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Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com, is pleased to have as our guest, Harry E. Gilleland Jr. author of Aldric & Anneliese, as well as Poetry For the Common Man: Storoems and Poems; Bob the Dragon Slayer; Gilleland Poetry: Storoems and Poems; White Lightning Road; and Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man (which won two awards for poetry books).

Good day, Harry, and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

How did you get started in writing? What keeps you going?

Harry:

I had a career as a LSU Medical School Professor of Microbiology from 1975 until 2004, during which I wrote over forty microbiological papers published in leading research journals, as well as grant proposals, reports, etc. In 2001 while eating lunch at my desk one day I tried my hand at writing poetry in response to a pop-up ad on my computer for a poetry contest. I was hooked! I found I greatly enjoyed the freedom and creativity in writing poetry compared to the rigidity of scientific writings. I read and studied about poetry on-line and started posting to poetry forums for critiques. Of course, I received brutal comments about my lack of technique, but I learned quickly and soon was writing much improved poetry. I pioneered the storoem (story-poem) format, which is a story told using poetic techniques. After a few years, I self-published my first poetry book through Lulu Press.

I was quite active back then on several poetry/writing on-line sites. At Writing.com, some of my friends challenged me to write a prose short story.

That effort ended up being turned into the Bob the Dragon Slayer novella. I found I liked to write prose almost as well as writing poetry. Since then I have published two more collections of my poetry and now two more prose books, making a total of six books to date. My creative writing career began as a lunch-time lark trying my hand at writing poetry. Now it fills my life.

What keeps me going is the pure pleasure of writing. I enjoy the satisfaction derived from writing something I am proud of, something I want to share with others. Like most writers, I feel the need to write in order to be content; that is to say, on days I don't write I feel as though something was missing from that day. I simply love to write!

Norm:

I notice you hold a doctorate degree in Microbiology. Have you transferred any of your skills as a microbiologist to that of a writer and poet?

Harry:

As a microbiologist, I had to write scientific papers for publication in leading journals. This required the ability to use proper grammar and to express my ideas clearly and unambiguously. These abilities are just as necessary in creative writing; so my scientific career was thirty years of practice in writing well. I also dealt with editors and reviewers during these years, which prepared me for doing the same now when publishing my poetry and prose. I am a better writer today because of the years spent writing scientific material. However, I have not used my microbiological background directly in the plot of a book yet. No killer viruses threatening the world from me yet!

Norm:

How did you decide you were ready to write Aldric & Anneliese, and how much research did you do before writing it? Why did you write the book as a short novel?

Harry:

I actually had written a series of seven storoems entitled The Wandering Warrior I -VII back in 2004 and published them in Gilleland Poetry: Storoems and Poems (2005). I always felt these poems would make a great story if converted into a prose book. The thought nagged at me for several years. Finally, a couple of years ago I started the book but hit a point where I wasn't sure where to go with the story. I abandoned it for more than a year. One day I realized how the story should proceed and went back to writing it with a vengeance. I revised and finished the draft in about four months of steady writing. Last June I submitted it to 4RV Publishing. Editing required more rewriting, but I think the finished book tells a great story.

I did considerable on-line research to determine the most appropriate century for the book's setting, the best names for the characters, and what medieval warfare was like. In addition, movies such as Braveheart, Troy, and Gladiator were good sources of images of ancient warfare with swords and spears.

I wrote the story I wanted to tell. It just happened to turn out to be a short novel at 46,100 words. I believe an author should set out to tell the story as he envisions the plot, not to set an arbitrary number of words as the goal. I could have padded the word count by adding characters or additional scenes, but I had the story as I wanted to tell it without any unnecessary filler. To me it is a tight read as is, which is what I strove to accomplish. When I start writing a story, I do not have a minimum length in mind. Remember Dickens' famous A Christmas Carol was only about 29,000 words, and it turned out to be a pretty great story.

Norm:

How did you go about creating the characters of Edmund, Aldric and Ursula?

Harry:

They all just appeared in my imagination as being as I described them. They were created from whole cloth. When it came time to describe them, I knew exactly how they looked and how they would act.

Norm:

In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell a good story or make a point. But how much is too much?

Harry:

When it becomes unbelievable, too hard to accept as a realistic possibility. As a poet, I certainly believe in poetic license, but the writing should still follow some logic.

Norm:

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Harry:

Actually my writing mentors would be the rhyming poets, Poe, Tennyson, and Frost. Remember I am first a poet, then a prose writer.

Norm:

Did you learn anything from writing Aldric & Anneliese and what was it?

Harry:

Yes, I learned patience. It took me several years before the story was clear in my mind. I tried several times to write the story, but it was not ready to be written yet. Once the plot became clear, which I take as my subconscious working out the plot details, the story flowed out onto paper. Having the story outlined before you start writing is to me a necessary part of writing.

Norm:

Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?

Harry:

Yes, I believe a writer owes the readers his best effort at writing. A writer should strive to make his work as nearly perfect as possible in every way before publishing it. The reader is also entitled to expect to be entertained and to become engaged by the work. They should feel they were given a good return for their time and/or money invested in reading the work. Giving the readers good value is essential to be a successful writer.

Norm:

What are your upcoming projects and where can our readers find out more about you and Aldric & Anneliese?

Harry:

Norm: My next project will be to publish another collection of my poetry. Hopefully, by next fall I will have enough new unpublished storoems and poems to augment the fifty or so I presently have on hand so that I can publish another collection of my poetry in 2012.

Readers can find out more about Aldric & Anneliese at 4RV Publishing  or Amazon.com  They can read some of my poetry and see links to all of my books at Gilleland Poetry ( http://www.gillelands.com/poetry/ )

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Harry:

Thank you for interviewing me. I hope all Aldric & Anneliese's readers will enjoy it, and I thank them for reading it.

Norm:

Good luck with all of your future endeavors

Click Here To Read Norm's Review of Aldric & Anneliese

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