Gregory S. Lamb
Portland, Oregon
What have you written?
The People In
Between: A Cyprus Odyssey
Family Saga - Historical Fiction
A Ghost Named Manky
Young Adult - Campfire Story
A Dangerous Element
Military Thriller - (currently in the mill)
What is your favorite genre to write?
Contemporary Fiction
Favorite food:
Çoban or Mercimek çorbası -
Turkish for Shepherd's Soup often made with red lentils
Where would you like to visit?
The Kingdom of Tonga in
the South West Pacific - It would mean tramping on an Inter-Island supply ship
- something I've got on my bucket list.
Favorite musical artist:
Aoife O'Donavan -
Progressive Blue Grass Singer/ Song Writer with the sweetest airy voice you'll
ever hear. The original music she
performs with the Band "Crooked Still" tells some amazing tales.
Do you listen to music when you write?
Sometimes - I find
music with lyrics to be a distraction
What?
When I do it is Modern
or acoustic Jazz Instrumentals
What makes you laugh?
Great question. When I was a kid I remember experiencing the
uncontrollable emotion of laugher when I heard certain types of music being
played. Recently I've re-discovered the
joy of listening and have found myself laughing when listening to Old Time
American Folk music.
I also find myself
laughing at some of the silly things I see my dog, Matisse doing. He's a Faux French Bulldog (mom was Frenchie,
dad a Boston Terrier).
How old were you when you started writing?
I wrote a play in Fifth
Grade...that must have been my first foray into the world of creative
writing. I was a terrible student and
really terrible writer until my sophomore year as an undergraduate. However, I didn't really learn to write until
later.
Believe it or not,
writing policy documents in my former career taught me a lot about crafting a
story line. About three years ago, I began my second career as an independent
author and I'm still learning.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I've been thinking
about this question since I discovered the importance of marketing my work. By
reading the work of others - both good and bad, I've started to populate my
creative writing tool kit with a variety of techniques.
I'm often impressed
with the creativity of the work written by young artists. I don't believe I would have been able to do
what I'm doing now without the perspective of my life's experiences. In recent years, I've come to realize that
I'm a collector of other people's stories, which sometimes form the basis or
framework of a plot line.
What do you do when you get a writer's block?
Thank goodness I
haven't experienced this plague! My
stories burn in my mind and I'm compelled to write them down - they spill out
in ways that sometimes keep me from remaining in the present. Two things emerge as a result: I sometimes miss what is happening around me
while imagining how I would document an occurrence or emotion that I just
experienced. Second, I end up with lots of written material that requires
sifting, organizing and eliminating all together. That is the hardest part for me - As Stephen
King points out in his work, "On Writing." We must learn to eliminate "our little
darlings," to keep the plot moving and our readers engaged.
Who is your favorite author?
Jack London - This guy
had the credibility of experience. He
wasn't afraid of adventure. I would be
so bold as to describe him as one of the world's first participative
authors. He was a ground-breaking war
correspondent at a very young age - long before the popularity we see with
today's celebrity journalists.
Best book you ever read.
Why do people ask me
that? It is perhaps the most difficult
question for me because I have so many and my answer varies with my mood. However, two recent novels come to mind:
I liked the structure of The People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks more than
anything I’ve read in the past year. The story arcs from Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese really
grabbed me and I admired the way he structured the chronology and flow into a
complete novel.
Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and
why?
I couldn't afford college so I worked my way through school as a
sail maker. My world revolved around
sailing in competitions in the San Francisco Bay Area and saving money for
college. Kame Richards, the owner of
Pineapple Sails in Oakland, California was a generous employer who I admired
for his creativity and energy. He always
kept a spot for me on his small staff of employees so that I could make it
through college.
If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or
dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
Henry Kissinger because
I'd want to learn every detail about the path he took to acquire so much
influence. Not because I'm interested in becoming a power monger either. I'd like to go eyeball to eyeball with Mr. Kissinger
and challenge him to defend keeping the American public in the dark about his
involvement in manipulating international politics. I'd want to hear what he has to say about the
many people in various places in the world who endured and suffered as a result
of his political engagements.
What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Enjoy the process. Have fun on the adventure ride that you would
be creating for yourself as you journey along the trails of your
characters. Manage your expectations and
follow your heart and allow yourself to write what you feel matters.
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Gregory-Lamb/e/B008IFYOYW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/greg.lamb.1612
https://www.facebook.com/LambPDXAuthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/GregorySLamb
@GregorySLamb
My Website:
http://gslambpdxauthor.webs.com
My Blog:
http://gregorylambpdxauthor.wordpress.com
Read about my soon to
be realeased novel: A Dangerous Element
http://gslambpdxauthor.webs.com/news.htm
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