Alan E. (Al) Strunk interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

Alan E. (Al) Strunk grew up on California’s central coast among a diversity of hard-working peoples living in awe of nature. As a boy he experienced the sea from the decks of small boats. A U.S. Navy veteran, he crossed the Pacific several times serving in the littoral waters of Viet Nam. A graduate of U.C. Santa Barbara with completed graduate studies at Humboldt State University he earned his MFA in Directing and Criticism at Tulane University, New Orleans. After forty years of wandering he has found his way home, enjoying an active retirement in the seaside village of Los Osos, California.

When did your love of books begin?

I borrowed  John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men from my mother's bookshelf at age nine. I've never looked back.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I've been a writer since high school. Since I was a boy, I was assigned the sports page on the school newspaper. That's when I changed from Alan to Al. Who ever heard of a sports reporter named Alan? Now that I'm an author, I've changed it to Alan E. (Al) Strunk.

The local daily picked me up as a stringer at two-bits a column inch. I loved track and swim meets as I would cram every statistic of the day into those columns. I spent my teen years imitating Steinbeck until I realized our difference. He had something to say.

At various times through my career I have written for and edited publications ranging from a monthly feature article in a private magazine for mobile home owners to a bi-weekly paper for the local Kiwanis club.

After retirement, I decided to try my hand as an author.  

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

There's that old saw, "write what you know about." That leaves out any trips to the moon or mars in literature. But I did know about ships and the sea, having crossed the Pacific Ocean four and a half times as a U.S. Navy sailor during the Viet Nam War. I'm a history buff and an indefatigable researcher. So I set my first novel, Pacific Sail in 1848. There are rumors of gold in the Californias.

Once I “finished” I gave the book several months of rest. I didn’t edit, re-write, read, feed, or water it. It just sat there, in the dark, inside a flash drive, alone, ripening like a young avocado.

It is hard to keep the writing of a novel secret. Word leaks out, curiosity sparks conversations. I was lucky enough to have friends who follow my progress. They prod and poke me into action over many a fine Scotch in my favorite seaside tavern.

I finally open the files and read the book, machete at hand to chop off fingers in case I am tempted to rewrite. I want to read it, period, just to see what I've created.

To my surprise, I liked it.

I have a picture of Ernest Hemingway frowning down at me from above my desktop monitor. Not really a “Papa” fan I did pay close attention to his quote: “The first draft of anything is shit.” I put the machete away and went back to work. I rewrote, re-worked, re-ordered, cut, cut some more, and suddenly, I was done. For years I had asked studio artists, sculptors, painters, how they knew when a work was complete. I never got an answer more than the artist just knew it was done. Now I was done with writing my novel. How’d I know? I knew. Case closed.

I wrote Pacific Sail without a plan. I had no editing software except an out-of-date version of MS Word. I figured my agent would get me a publisher who would provide an editor to clean up whatever small errors I might have made. And Unicorns romp in my back yard.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Find the joy in the work! And writing is work. There will be times when the scariest thing you see is a blank page. No one can tell you how to write your novel, though people are willing to take a lot of your money trying to do it. Listen to your characters. They'll let you know when you've lost track of where you're going.

Tell us about your book/books:

Pacific Sail is the first book in a planned trilogy I call Pacific Saga. It follows a host of characters. Eighteen year old Charles Hagglund strikes out for adventure aboard the sailing Brig Azalea. He sails with Simon Harrington who shepherds a load of Maine lumber to the Californias.

On the Pacific Coast, Richard Taverner sails aboard the coastal schooner Swallow. Shanghaied in San Francisco, he finds himself Arctic bound aboard the whaler Icelander.  Roselyn Stalworth's rescue from shipwreck brings the two together.

Mary O'Connor sails aboard Gra Due, a Norwegian vessel carrying contracted brides away from the starving shores of Ireland. Her real adventure begins in the wilds of Australia's outback.

In her five star review, Amazon best selling author L. Collison, summarizes the book: "Told with insight into maritime detail and human nature, the author captures the voice and spirit of the mid-nineteenth century in his turn of phrase and dialogue, including under-represented minorities (women, Africans, Aborigines) as full-fledged characters."

Quarantine Quickies - Pandemic in Paradise is a collection of Facebook posts and stories based on the Covid-19 experience on California's Central Coast. Added content by community members and friends across the nation paint the picture of quiet heroism among just plain folks. In the village of Los Osos there was resignation, too much panic buying for a bit, political disagreement, the ebb and flow of fog and sunlight, and the howl of coyotes echoing off the Irish Hills. In other words, it was almost normal.

Almost.

Except for the fears. Of the unknown. Of the midnight question: "Will any of us get out of this alive?"

Guns and liquor were never in short supply.

I learned a valuable lesson about book titles. Don't assume the reader will see things the way you do. "Quarantine Quickies" ended up on the porn pages of Amazon alongside pictures of half naked firefighters.

French Market Mayhem - An Early Times New Orleans Murder Mystery.

Early Times never meant to become a detective of any flavor. He escapes his San Francisco past and its romantic complication by fleeing to New Orleans. James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux would warn Early about taking that drink at Bourbon Street’s Smuggler’s Den. Tony Dunbar’s Tubby Dubonnet would buy the round. Drink it, Early does. One “Micky.” Straight up. Fantasia and gin.

Good times roll until a severed head lands on Early’s front porch, leaking on his morning Times-Picayune.
Tarot cards appear in his mailbox. On his kitchen bulletin board. Under a windshield wiper. Neighbor Angélique Rolé leads Early through the mysteries of Caribbean occult, serving up gore and ritual with the hush puppies. Early fights his personal ghosts while finding new ones.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

The ability of most of us to enjoy each others work. Many a time I've said, "gee, I wish I wrote that," and mean it as a complement to the author.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Thank you, Dear Readers, for your support, your comments and criticism, and your patronage. Without you, I'm just a fart in the wind.

Where can people connect with you?

https://amazon.com/author/al_strunk

PacificSaga@yahoo.com

https://www.facebook.com/al.strunk.9

https://medium.com/@alstrunk

Coming soon:  https://www.books-by-al.com