Author interview with Bill Hazelgrove, author of “Rocket Man”
1. Tell us about your latest book.
Rocket Man is the story of a man struggling to keep his home in the suburbs of Chicago. It is a satire of the American Dream…a modern Revolutionary Road. It is really about what is going on right now.
2. How did you get started as a writer?
I graduated from college and didn’t know what I wanted to do and so I sat down and began to write a novel. After the first chapter I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
3. What does a typical day look like for you?
I go to the Hemingway House and up to the attic where I have a studio. I then write my blog http://www.williamhazelgrove.blogspot.com, then begin working on my novel. I break for lunch and then continue on until five oclock. Then I head home.
4. Describe your desk/workspace.
I write in Ernest Hemingway’s attic in his birthplace in Oak Park IL. I have had a studio up there for ten years, http://www.billhazelgrove.com . It is dark, dusty, cold, hot, and very quiet. I can see the rooftops from my desk and I prop my laptop on a steamer trunk owned by his sister.
5. Favorite books (especially for writers)
Revising Fiction by David Mcfadden
The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
6. Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you
I write in Ernest Hemingways attic.
I never took a writing course.
I flunked English composition in college.
7. Favorite quote:
“If you can’t be a great artist, be a great criminal.”
8. Best and worst part of being a writer?
The solitude and the solitude.
9. Advice for other writers
Never write for the market and never give up and never take rejection personally.
10. Tell us a story about your writing experience.
When I flunked English composition in college, I had to take a summer class. I met the professor in the classroom and he told me to write a story. He left the room while I wrote, when he returned he read my story and looked at me. “Why are you here?” I told him I had flunked English comp and he shook his head. “You know how to tell a story, you have a sense of style and a command of the language. Go enjoy your summer.” He passed me and I never went back.
Where can people buy your book?
You can buy my book at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com or go to my website http://www.billhazelgrove.com and that will link you to Amazon. I write a daily essay for my site The View From Hemingway’s Attic http://www.williamhazelgrove.blogspot.com on culture, politics, and writing.
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