Have you always wanted to write? Not sure what kind of writing voice you may have? Our conference is for you! We will be hosting various types of inspirational writing workshops that will explore techniques for the new writer as well as the established ones. In preparation, last week I had the pleasure of interviewing our Edgar-nominated mystery writer and Master of Ceremonies Tom Kies for some writing insights and reflections.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. For a fun start, what was your favorite childhood book?

Goodness, I don’t think I ever read children’s books. You know, it’s interesting, my grandparents helped raise me, and they had collections of books like Zane Grey and the Perry Mason series. I learned to read by reading those and newspapers. I can remember reading adult literature even when I was maybe 12. Librarians would say, “You know this isn’t your section of the library?” and I would reply, “Yes, yes, it is!”

What does your daily writing process look like? Approximately how many hours per day would you say that you write?

Depends on the day. Weekends, that’s where I do most of my writing. I can spend as long as eight hours during a Saturday or Sunday, or I can spend as little as three. Even in that three-hour period though I’m being very productive. I can knock out about 2,500 words or about 10 pages. It’s not necessarily good but I could knock it out.

Did you find that after you published your first book your writing process changed?

Oh yes, because suddenly people are reading what I’m writing! Before, I figured nobody’s ever going to see this so just go ahead enjoy it and have fun. And then after the first book came out, I realized this is different – now I’ve got a deadline, I’ve got contracts, advance checks, editors, and readers who are looking for the next book.

Do you still keep that weekend writing schedule?

At the moment I have to, yes. The day job takes up quite a bit of time and on top of that on occasion I teach at the college. So for an old guy I stay pretty busy!

What did you say to yourself to have the courage to submit to Poison Pen Press?

My agent does all of that. I wanted to be traditionally published. I wanted to have an agent and a publisher who would handle the marketing. Self-publishing just wasn’t something I wanted to do. You had to go through literary agents to get published since they are the gatekeepers. I would keep each rejection notice and pin it up to a bulletin board and tell myself that’s one less. Random Road was my fifth attempt at a novel; I had written four other novels before that.

What kept you going?

I was too stupid to stop! I knew at some point in time one of them would hit because every time I write, I would I think I got better. Even now, I think I continue to get better as a writer.

What does literary success look like to you?

It’s interesting you know, literary success for me is when somebody emails or walks up to me and says that they’ve enjoyed reading one of my books. For me, it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s an incredible rush for me when people send me photographs from Barnes and Noble and Books a Million all over the country. I’ve been to book signings where we’ve gone through cases of books, and I’ve been at book signings when I first got started where only one person came. But you know something? It’s all OK because if somebody reads what I’ve written, and they say they liked it, that means the world to me.

When did you admit to yourself and embrace that you are a successful writer?

I’ve been writing my entire life. I have worked for newspapers and magazines for 30 years professionally. I had a short story published back in 1975 in Cavalier Magazine, and that was the last time I had fiction published until 2017 when my first book was published. Of course, once you see your book in publication, then you start thinking, “Who knows, maybe we can do this?” When I got a contract from my agent, before we even had a publication contract, that’s when I felt like I was actually getting there.

What do you look forward to most when attending writer conferences?

It’s meeting people. Of course you like to meet readers, but I also love spending time with other writers. I am lucky enough to spend time with other agents and publishers and people who are in business because we all love to talk about writing. It’s just something we’re all passionate about. I’ve never met a writer yet who doesn’t really enjoy talking with other writers. We share things, like that sometimes it can be lonely. You’re working all by yourself, and you don’t know how it’s going to play out. It’s like telling a joke, and then you have to wait two years before you know whether or not anybody laughs at it. When you’re at a conference you’re with a lot of other folks. I was just at the Suffolk Virginia Mystery Writer’s festival, and they held it to 50 authors. I had the best time, I just loved hanging out with those people.

Do you all meet afterwards in a backroom to swap stories?

It’s called a bar. Ha!

What are you looking forward to the most at our conference?

One of them is the number of folks who I know and I’m looking forward to seeing again. Also, I’m looking forward to seeing if we can get a good crowd. I would love to have a nice group of people who attend this because I would love to see us do this more than just the one time.

Carteret Writers Quadrennial Writers Conference will be held at the beautiful Carolina Home and Gardens in Newport, NC on April 15th from 8:30 until 5:30. Lunch will be provided, and financial aid is available. Reserve your spot today!