Interview Paul Musgrave

by

A. Dee Carey

1. How old were you when you started writing?

I think I wrote my first stories when I was eight or nine years old. I wrote a full length novel while in high school. It didn't sell, but it was an interesting experience.

2. What single fact motivated you?

Nothing, really. I think I've always been a compulsive communicator and that translated into writing. As soon as I had the language skills, writing just came naturally.

3 Have you ever, ever written in another genre?

I've written thrillers, horror and sci-fi.

4 Tell me about your book. Is it unusual in any manner, unlike the other writers?

I think it's a well-plotted murder thriller. It doesn't have any literary pretensions; it's just intended to be good entertainment.

5. Now that this work is published what do you plan on next?

I have a couple of other projects in the pipeline.

6. Do you have any special method of working? What hours do you write? Do you write on the computer, work from notes or longhand?

I always work on my computer. A journalism teacher in high school told me to write on a typewriter (it was a few years ago) because a reporter wouldn't have time to write longhand, then transfer it to type. When I left high school and actually became a newspaper reporter, I found he was completely correct. And, since I can semi-touch-type, the keyboard process doesn't really interfere with the flow, so to speak.

7. Are you employed in another field not related to writing?

No. I'm a reporter turned layout editor. Everything I do is related in some way to writing.

8. What do you envision in the field of e-markets? Do you see a future where all books will be electronic?

I think this will depend on the success of electronic paper. I can envision people carrying an e-book reader in the manner they now carry a pocketbook. However, the readers will have to be lighter, cheaper, and more power efficient than they are now. Once such a device is widely available, I suspect e-pubs will sink or swim on quality. Frankly, I think there's a lot of really poor writing presently hanging around electronic-land, simply because it's relatively inexpensive to publish an electronic book. I could see a publisher's good name being its most important asset. And I can see readers avoiding anything put out by a particular publisher.