Books In Sync Interviews Author Allen Junior Epling

 

Author Allen Epling resides in Virgie, Kentucky, USA

 

Tell us what makes you proud to be a writer from Virgie, Kentucky? My favorite class in school was English Grammar because I love working with subjects that have very intricate structure. I hear derrogatory remarks frequently in the media about the way people from Appalachia talk and it irks me. I am proud of my command of the English language and enjoy surprising prejudiced authors from other areas who find it hard to comprehend someone from my area being an accomplished writer. I enjoy sharing what I believe to be original, outside-the –box, ideas with others and comparing notes with other authors of these subjects. I was taught by my parents early on, that the ability to read and write with comprehension is the most valuable skill a person can have.

 

What or who inspired you to become a writer? My father published several books that were popular and that had a lasting effect on my desire to be a writer. The more I read about the subjects that I was interested in, the more I understood that I have ideas of my own that are just as valid and original as what I was reading. As I got older I realized that I should write and share some of my own ideas that I considered original and worthwhile. My urge to write was motivated by my desire to make a contribution in the same areas that I love to read about. Writing these ideas in the form of a manuscript or book was a permanent was of preserving them.

 

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I had always had in the back of my mind, someday writing down and collecting together all my “radical” ideas that no one else had thought of. One day while sharing them with my wife, she suggested that I write a book. One night I got out of bed at 3 AM and sat down at my laptop and formed an outline for my book. That was in 2000. It was 6 years later that I published the book.

 

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and why? My father was an author and published a book when I was a very young child and that impressed me. He made a living as an accountant but wrote on the side. He published one book that sold thousands of copies locally and was very popular. That movitated me to be a good writer myself and want to someday publish my own book. His insistance on my doing well in English and school gave me the foundation to become a writer.

 

Do you come up with your title (s) before or after you write the manuscript (s)? I never settle on my first choice because I like to live with it for a while to see if I like it. I like to also give myself time to accumulate a number of ideas because I’ve learned that great ideas take time to filter through the noise and distractions of the world.

 

Tell us why you write the genre (s) that you write? Never write about a subject that you don’t consider yourself to be the most authorative in the field in. If you don’t have something to contribute to the knowledge base already existing, you shouldn’t write in that area. I feel after many years of study, research, and a passion for the subject, that I am qualified to write about it.

 

Tell us your most rewarding experience while in the writing process? When I began my book, I thought I knew what I was going to write. I just had to make an outline and fill in the blanks. As a school administrator and student in graduate school, that was always the way I wrote a grant application or a research paper. I soon realized that the writing process for a book is a stimulant itself that spurs inspiration and ideas. I was overwhelmed after 2 chapters into the book how much insight I was getting that was new and original. That was most thrilling to me and made me work even harder to see what would be the outcome of my efforts. After some years of writing and putting the book together, I read through one day and compared my writing with the early period of the book and realized that I had come a long way as a writer.

 

Tell us your most negative experience while in the writing process? After compiling a good number of chapters that were not entirely coherent and progressive, I realized that I had to find a better way to organize my thoughts. This was stressful as I had to eliminate some parts of the book that I liked but that just didn’t contribute to the message. I had to make it all fit together in a fluid, easy to read, manner.

 

Tell us your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? My most rewarding moment was the moment I saw my book in print for the first time.

 

Tell us your most negative experience in your publishing journey? Every day for a month I made the trip to the Post Office only to see more rejection letters and halfhearted excuses for why a publisher didn’t want to publish my book.

 

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Write as if you were the reader. Would you like to read a book like this? If you don’t enjoy reading your own work, no one else will either. Is it fluid and easy on the eyes and brain? Write more and write often. The more you write, the better you get.

 

Who Is Your Favorite Author? Ray Bradbury

 

What Format (s) are your books in: Print Only.....E-Book Only....or Both? Print only, so far. I’m still a little afraid of E-publishing.

 

Current Book (s)?

Beyond Genesis: The Untold Story of Man’s Origins

 

What special projects are you working on now and what books do we have to look forward to in the future? I  have thoughts of another book or series of books on Biblical history, interpretation, and prophesy.

 

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? My love of writing and my vivid imagination for the unimaginable tell me that I will be devoting more time to writing since my retirement from the “real world”. I believe that I still have a lot to contribute and share with anyone who wants to read my thoughts. 

 

Website (s):

http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=32435

 

Please Visit Author Allen Epling’s Author’s Page:

http://www.booksinsync.com/authorspotlightsusa/kentucky.html

 

Author’s Website:

http://www.beyondgenesis.com

 

E-mail:

a_epling@yahoo.com

 

Interview done by Theodocia McLean – Owner of ‘Books In Sync’:
http://www.booksinsync.com