Tell us Ted, how did you find your way to The Phoenix and how can our community help you and other writers?

In passing, someone romantic recommended Phoenix but I do not remember who.

You have submitted stories related to your diving experiences... do you find you draw on this a lot in your writing?

I draw on diving experiences much more than non divers do. Smile, hehehe

I have touched on your diving, can you tell us about that and how you like to relax...your other hobbies and interests?

I am most relaxed when asleep. Smile.

For 35 years, I have speared fish and dove for abalone (shellfish) along California’s cold and rough north coast. I was born with a predatory instinct and am a very proficient underwater hunter. It has been a major part of my life in good weather and bad, rough seas and calm. I prefer diving from rocky shores, entering and leaving by timing the waves as a seal does. I know our ocean well and intend to introduce readers to this dynamic coast in a novel I am writing.

This novel will be a fictional account of the first people to reach north America between 20 and 40 thousand years ago. They will arrive down the north west American coast by small boat, not by land as previously thought.

I have always been mechanically minded, creative and artistic, but not a writer. All through school, English was a loathsome subject.

I like gardening, sculpture, working with my hands, conservation, philosophy, romance, I enjoy deep conversations about new ideas. I adore women, their sensitivity, intelligence, understanding and kindness. It is wonderful when a best friend and lover is the same person.

I am one of a group of citizens who closed the wild commercial abalone harvest in California. This long hard fight spanning years was how I learned to type. In 1996 I mailed 260 letters and about 1,000 emails to our officials asking to close commercial abalone harvest. In 1997, I took my daughter Mary out of school to stand beside me as I testified in the state capital. That final day she saw her father and other citizens stand against industry lawyers and win. A powerful lesson for a 9 year old.

These days, we are asking for an equal chance to share our public near shore ocean fish. Presently Fish and Game gives most of the public fish to a small industry that wastes much of it before trying to sell it back to us while destroying resource, most fishing jobs, $ 6.3 million a year and our pleasure of fishing. California Fish and Game has an almost unbelievably disastrous record of shameful failures in spite of sufficient data and warning from the public.

What are your biggest challenges as a writer?

My greatest challenge as a writer is finding enough time to write for pleasure and not just to save a resource or help a friend.

The next biggest challenge is developing skills such as dialog.

What is your ultimate idea of success in writing?

I would like to write a beautiful novel that takes the reader through a new and exciting world of mystery, adventure, danger and discovery. I want the reader to feel like they have been on a journey spanning life times. To feel empowered and to more deeply understand themselves and their place in the world.

Have you had any thing published? Tell us about that experience. If not, would you consider attempting to get your work published?

I have never been published but would like to be once this Novel is to my satisfaction. Maybe I am ignorant, but if I like the novel, I am sure a publisher will also. Smile. Yes, I have faith in myself.

Which of your five senses would be the most devastating for you to lose, and why?

Hmmmm, let’s see, sight, sound, touch, heat, cold, smell, taste, pain, nausea, malaise and apprehension. The most devastating to lose would be common sense, next would be sight. Why, is because I receive most of my input visually.

Oh, did you know that some sharks, rays, eels, fish, plankton, mollusks and birds can sense electromagnetic fields? And that possibly some fish hear through the piezoelectric effect? Literally hard wired for sound.

The stories that you submit tend to be on the short side, why is that?

I feel that most stories are better when the same information is said in fewer words while maintaining imagery and flow. Haven’t you skipped ahead in a book looking for something to happen? If I bore readers, then I have failed.

The shortest story I submitted was “The Worm” under Horror. It was written for a horror contest that required all contestants to start with the same 7 words limiting additional words to 250 or less. The prizes were supposedly $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 with 999 other entries to beat. The judge stated that the first sentence had to grab his attention or he would read no further.

So I wrote the most horrible 250 words I could. Regrettably the judge, Doug Hornig, kept the entrance fees while admitted to violating his legal obligation by picking non horror stories as first, second and third place “winners in a horror contest. You may view these “2001-1 Winners” at;

http://www.writingcompetition.com/winners.html

Go ahead, they are only 257 words each. See what you think of Doug Hornig. Even though it was a clear violation of his legal obligations and very possibly fraud, it is not financially viable to seek legal justice. Tell a friend.

Do you have any special rituals for writing?

I don’t drink coffee so I am ready before the computer is booted up. Mornings are good for writing and to a lesser extent late at night. I like this ergonomic keyboard, the ceiling fan over head and my many distracting internet friends. Some days I get no novel writing done. Such as the last 4 days in a row.

How do you come up with new story ideas?

I have a large backlog of story ideas. I have lived an interesting life traveling many countries and have an active imagination. But I am slow at writing and demanding of my own work. I edit each story over a span of weeks before I am content. Quality is critical! I will never run out of stories to write.

Which authors do you feel have influenced your writing style the most?

Gee, this is hard. Maybe Tolkien because he showed that an enchanting new world, rich in imagery and steeped in history could be built in the imagination.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our writers?

I enjoy the feedback from readers. I am also surprised that I can write as well as I do. For almost 50 years, writing was of a different world. A world of scholars and dreamers all far beyond my ability and patience. Then came the PC with a word processor including spill checker.

At first were only conservation letters but gradually started sharing real adventure stories with friends. They liked these stories and I liked their response.

Some day I may write about the 6 blue sharks that surrounded me while spearfishing. Eventually I speared one that towed me around.

If anyone wishes to proof read the novel chapters as they are slowly produced, I would be happy to send them to you. Please remember, I write slowly. Thank you.