Author Interview: Colin Dodds

Colin Dodds is a writer. He grew up in Massachusetts and completed his education in New York City. He is the author of several novels, including WINDFALL and The Last Bad Job, which the late Norman Mailer touted as showing “something that very few writers have; a species of inner talent that owes very little to other people.” His poetry has appeared in more than two hundred seventy publications, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net Anthology. The poet and songwriter David Berman (Silver Jews, Actual Air) said of Dodds’ poetry: “These are very good poems. For moments I could even feel the old feelings when I read them.” His book-length poem That Happy Captive was named a finalist in both the Trio House Press Louise Bogan Award and the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award. And his screenplay, Refreshment, was named a semi-finalist in the 2010 American Zoetrope Contest. Colin lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and daughter.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What authors did you dislike at first, but grew into?

I tend to look at it more by the book. It seems that the opportunities to do really good work in a lifetime are sporadic and unpredictable for everyone, regardless of personality and talent. Even with my favorite authors, there’s usually one book, and often more, that I just can’t stomach.

2. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I started writing around six or seven years old. It was the power of the written word that impressed me. I grew up in the days of typewriters, and handwriting was a big struggle for me as a kid. So there was a real sense of investment in the written word, especially versus spoken words, which were so often careless. If I was going to write something, it had better matter, because it sure wasn’t easy. And there was a real charge that came from turning that effort into something meaningful. It was redemptive.

3. What's your favorite underappreciated novel?

Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis. It’s an insightful, cynical and big-hearted take on secret societies. It’s really hilarious.

4. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

A gryphon. It’s basically a flying lion. An impossible beast. That’s about right when the writing is going well.

5. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have two finished, unpublished books. One’s with an agent, and another is 12 years old and unlikely to ever see the light of day.

6. What's the best way to market your books?

I’ll let you know when I figure it out. The best so far has been free e-book giveaways.

7. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

Sometimes—when it’s at its best. I also write and edit for a living, so sometimes it’s that other thing.

8. How do you select the names of your characters?

I try not to think about names too much. A light touch is usually the best way not to make them sound too flat or too funny.

9. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with good or bad ones?

Of course I do. The good ones are great. I use them to market the book, or for a pick-me-up. The bad ones I try to take on their own merits. Sometimes there’s something to learn from them. Other times, there’s nothing to do with them but move on.

10. What was your hardest scene to write?

Physical scenes. Fights and sex particularly. It’s hard not to get into this-then-that-then-this, unless something else is unfolding. I also often find myself tempted to skip to the end of these scenes when I read them.

11. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

My roguish good looks.

12. What is your favorite childhood book?

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary from when I was about six, then, around age 12, The Exorcist.

13. Does your family support your career as a writer?

My wife has always been wonderfully supportive, whether it’s giving up her closet so I can have a writing room, or always making sure I have time to work when I need it, or listening to my ideas and complaints. I’m extremely lucky in that regard. My daughter, though she’s quite young, helps me get my mind off writing, and to put all the ups and downs into perspective.

14. How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Once I have the idea figured out, it usually takes six to 10 months for a first draft, and about the same amount of time for the next 2-5 drafts.

15. Share one little known fact about yourself.

When I was seventeen, I confronted Lawrence Ferlinghetti in City Lights Books and demanded to know if he planned to publish the book of poems I’d sent.

I loved this interview! Such great answers. Thank you so much Colin Dodds. This was a joy to read. My favorite is #11. As long as we're talking about Dodds, we should probably mention his book, too.

Burning towers, billionaires with aliases, prostitutes in parachutes, and brave young men and women hiding from wireless signals. The future's about to be born, but who will change the diapers? Two men—a billionaire living under a false name and a snake dealer with a sideline in secret messages—vie for a troubled woman and her unborn child in near-future America where stockbrokers moonlight as assassins, nurses procure obscure pleasures. As they pursue one another through anti-technology neighborhoods, illegal hospitals and wealthy enclaves, and past the ceremonial re-destruction of the World Trade Center, a still deeper and more deadly mystery emerges.

To purchase your own copy of Watershed, click on this link: http://amzn.to/2mNJVgq