Bookaddict24-7 Welcomes: Stanley Morris!
Welcome to Interview Fridays!
Today we’ve got Stanley Morris with us, an author of multiple novels! Here’s a mini-bio of Stan that he’s offered for us:
“My name is Stan Morris. I was born in Linwood, California in 1951. I wrote my first two novels in 1964. I have lived in New Mexico and Texas, and I now live on a farm on the island of Maui. I have e-published several books, and I am currently working on several others. I am married and we have two grown sons. I love to garden, and I grow lots of stuff. I love sports; I have four LCD TV’s in my man-cave. I read a lot, but not as much as I use to. I like to write; I hate to proofread. I love music. I never pirate songs, because I want to own the albums. MP3’s are acceptable only if I have ripped them from my own albums. I love to drive cars and I hate to work on them. The three greatest influences in my life are religious fundamentalism, conservative atheism, and the civil rights movement. Politically, I am an independent despising equally, Democratic Party machine politics and the crackpot anti-science Republicans.”
Thank you Stan for giving me the opportunity to interview you and show fellow writers and readers what runs through your mind! Stay tuned at the end of the interview for links to purchase his novels and where to find Stan on the web!
Welcome Stan:
1. What inspired you to write for the Young Adult audience?
“Two reasons:
First, it is still a magical time in a person’s life. The belief in fairy tales has disappeared, but there is still a belief that all things are possible and that there is a right and a wrong.
Second, my belief that young people deserve blunt honesty from adults and not a dance around the truth.”
2. From the various novels you’ve written I can tell you’re very interested in space. Ever had any encounters, or know someone who has?
“No, and my impression is that as more people own cell phone cameras, there is less chance a confirmed encounter will occur.”
3. If you could teach one person anything you wanted, what would you teach him/her?
“That racism is a result of being incredibly ignorant of the world around you.”
4. Have you ever had a time where you questioned why you write?
“This question occurs all the time. I suspect most writers view writing as an obsession.”
5. Describe your perfect morning after finishing a novel you’ve been working on.
“I am suddenly deluged by people who demand the right to be beta readers.”
6. Can you recall where you came up with the idea for your first novel?
“The first novel I wrote was a science fiction novel. I wrote it when I was thirteen, and I’m sure Star Trek was my inspiration. I not sure where I was when I came up with the idea for Surviving the Fog, but it was probably after I had read Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein for the umpteenth time. I have always been annoyed by Lord of the Flies and Surviving the Fog is my response. Tunnel in the Sky was certainly part of the inspiration.”
7. Who were/are your harshest critics?
“I get some harsh criticism for my grammar and my editing, and I appreciate those comments, especially those that are specific. They’ve taught me a lot, and they’ve helped me do rewrites that have made my books better. Other harsh criticism comes from people who are opposed to the concepts I’ve introduced. For example a review and a one star rating for Surviving the Fog;
“Setting: a Christian camp for kids as young as 12 focusing on teaching abstinence, but also distributing condoms and diaphragms- who would send their child to that camp?”
(I’m not sure this reviewer read more than part of the book.)
And from another view about Surviving the Fog-Kathy’s Recollections;
“The camp’s administrator is a complete abstinence Nazi and her words were cracking me up.”
(To be fair, this person only had access to the first part of the book)
I get a great sense of satisfaction when I read these two opposing viewpoints describing the same concept. I know as a writer, I’ve done my job, to cause people to think about what they’ve read.”
8. What’s the best/hardest part about being published?
“The best part is knowing that other people are reading your words. That is also the hardest part. Your mistakes will eat at you.”
9. What is your life’s greatest goal, and have you achieved it yet?
“There are four kinds of people in the world. Well, actually there are many more kinds of people in the world, but for the purposes of this question, there are four; those who have goals, those who have missions, those who have tasks and those who… now what was the fourth? Aliens? No, that’s not it. Anyway, I have tasks not goals. I’m happiest while working on a task. When I finish…blah.”
10. What is the most influential book you’ve come across?
The Bible. It has clearly had the greatest influence on the western world. If we set aside all religious books, then my honest answer is, I don’t know.
The influence of books about history and political science is somewhat measurable, but the influence of books dealing with psychology and sociology is not. Let me answer it in this way. The philosophical winners of the twentieth century are Adam Smith, John Locke, Karl Marx, and Susan B. Anthony.
So, who are the philosophical winners of the twenty first century? It is impossible to tell at this point. I suspect one of the philosophical winners of the twenty second century will be Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I think historically, he will be much more important than Gandhi.”
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Thank you Stan!
Here are some cool links you might want to check out:
Stan on the web: Blog | Goodreads | Twitter
Check out Stan’s books: Goodreads
Buy a copy of one of Stan’s books: Smashwords
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That concludes this week’s Interview Friday! Stay tuned for next week’s featured author!
Happy reading!
