Steve Gabany
Paducah, KY
Hi Steve! And welcome to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors. We're thrilled to have you with us this morning. What have you written?
If I Only Had Thumbs: Chickee Chicken’s Story
If I Only Had Thumbs: Polly Pig’s Story (in press)
We All Need a Friend: Petey Possum’s Story (being
illustrated)
Historic Architecture of Paducah and McCracken County,
Kentucky, 2nd Ed.
I have a half dozen or so Thumbs and Friends stories in
various stages of completeness. Cassie Cow’s Story is probably the next to
publish.
What is your favorite
genre to write?
I love children’s picture books, in rhyme. The “Thumbs”
stories try to help parents and other adults teach children that helping each
other is a good thing, and that accepting and appreciating differences among
each other is, too. I hope, once I’m gone, that this will help the world become
a better place in some small way. That’s my goal.
Favorite food.
Peanut butter. Peter Pan, Creamy is the best. I think I
could live on PB & J, with strawberry preserves, just fine. And a tall
glass of milk, of course. Oreo cookies are a close second, but I can’t have
them in the house, because I’ll eat the whole package in one sitting.
I'm a creamy peanut butter and strawberry jam fan, too. Why make live hard? Tea or coffee?
Coffee; I’m up by 4 a.m., and by 6 a.m. have had two cups.
At 8 a.m., I have a third. Often, in early afternoon, I have a final, fourth;
unless we go out to dinner. Then, all bets are off.
Pizza or ice cream?
Love ‘em both. We’re in northwest Kentucky, now, but I’ve
lived on the East Coast, in Florida,
California, and Indiana. Best pizza, ever, is Mama D’s, in a little place named
Calvert City about 20 miles from us. Anyone who comes to the Kentucky Lake/Lake
Barkley area (beautiful places, by the way), shouldn’t miss Mama D’s.
Ice cream? French vanilla, the more expensive the better.
Which means, I don’t buy it very often or eat it too quickly.
Where would you like to
visit?
Anywhere in Switzerland for as long as possible.
Favorite musical
artist.
Other than classical, I love all music. I tried to learn to
play bluegrass banjo, but it didn’t take. Now, I’m studying classical guitar.
If I could listen to only one artist, I guess it would be Emmylou Harris. Solo,
duets, trios, she can sing anything with anyone.
Do you listen to music
when you write?
Not anymore. I did when I was younger, 50’s classics. I
guess as I’ve gotten older, I have trouble concentrating in a noisy
environment.
What makes you laugh?
Peter Sellers. The Pink Panther movies make me laugh as much
the umpteenth time as the first. A clever arrangement of words makes me smile,
as well. When I come across that, I shake my head, wondering how s/he thought
that up.
Peter Sellers was an Ohio boy. Every now and then they have a Peter Sellers festival. Big fun. Favorite work of art or
sculpture.
I never studied art; a gap in my store of knowledge that
I’ve felt all of my adult life. I stare in awe at The Mona Lisa or The David,
but I don’t know why they’re great, if that makes any sense. I have zero
appreciation of non-representational art. Perhaps because I don’t understand
it, I don’t like it.
I saw The David in Florence a few years back. He was breathtaking. But, I have a art major, so maybe I see things differently. How old were you when
you started writing?
In my teens, I took one of the writing correspondence
courses. Loved it. Although my teacher gave me good marks for my Final Exam,
which must have been a VERY short short-story, I remember enough of it to know
how basic it was.
I spent my working career in college and university
administration and teaching. As a result, I wrote a number of non-fiction
articles that were published in scholarly journals. My heart, however, has
always been in fiction.
Describe your perfect
evening.
(Sorry, nothing comes to mind.)
Don't be sorry, Steve. That means they all must be pretty good. Where do you get your
inspiration?
I get up early in the morning, before my wife. Once I’ve
walked and fed the dogs, I sit quietly and let my mind wander among common farm
animals. I ponder, if I was one of them, what behavior would I like to perform that, because I don’t
have “thumbs,” I can’t. If nothing comes to mind, I don’t worry about it, since
my experience is that once I get my mind moving, something will pop up.
What do you do when you
get a writer's block?
As I mentioned, I have a number of stories that I work on.
My books are short rhymes, about 40 pages, one short verse to a page. In that
sense, a “block” for me probably isn’t the same as a novelist; if I get
frustrated, I can move on to a different story. But, if nothing’s coming at all,
I’ll work on my genealogy, do some Facebook marketing, or pick up the guitar.
Sometimes it takes a couple of days before I find the solution, but I’ve
learned, the hard way, to not try to force it. For me, trying to force through a
writing block is like buying a cheap vacuum cleaner: in short order, you’re
going to buy another one! If I force it, I’m going to do it over.
Who is your favorite
author?
Ayn Rand. Whether a short novel or the longest one, I’ve
never read anyone else who makes every single word count! Including Atlas
Shrugged.
Best book you ever
read.
Atlas Shrugged. Have probably read it eight or nine times
and I find something new every time. The story is a relevant today as when Rand
wrote it, and the character development continues to amaze me. In fact, it’s about time to read it again!
Last book you read.
I’m terrible with titles and authors. Makes it hard to
recommend a book to someone! My favorites are spy novels and fantasy, with some
sic-fi thrown in if the story isn’t completely unbelievable. I’m reading Lord
of War by A.K. Chandler. Very innovative. If the story doesn’t keep my
attention, back to Amazon it goes!
What would you do for a
living if you weren’t a writer?
Well, I’m a retired college dean, and I have no illusions
about making a living as a writer. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I
want to be a musician. I think if I had started young enough and practiced
enough, I could have been a decent musician.
Who is the one person
who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
My mother. All of us have our ups and downs, but throughout
my life, Mother never lost faith in me. She always believed I’d amount to
something. I’m not sure she was right, but she was the one person I could talk
to about anything. Although she’s been dead for 10 years, hardly a week goes by
that I don’t find myself saying something like, “Wait ‘till I tell Mom about
that!”
If you could sit down
and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who
would it be and why?
Abraham Lincoln. Almost 375,000 American were killed in the
Civil War. In retrospect, was there anything he could have done to either avoid
the war altogether, or at least lessen the number of deaths? In other words,
was war “inevitable?”
What advice would you
give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Be prepared to self-publish through something like
Createspace, self-market through something like Facebook, and concentrate on
ebooks. In my view, ebooks are simply too convenient, too cheap to produce, and
too inexpensive (or free) to buy. Print books cannot compete now, and that
trend will continue to accelerate. Format for ebooks first. Forget royalties;
concentrate on commission.
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