Hi! I am
Carolyn Howard Johnson, your trusty New Book Review blogger and author of the
multi award-winning HowTo Do It
Frugally Series of books for writers. This blog has heretofore been
exclusive for reviews but I thought I’d do a special series of interviews after
I chatted with Jeanie Loiacono, President of Loiacono Literary
Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary! I
thought sharing the interviews would help the many subscribers and visitors to
this New Book Review blog, including authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers
who just might find a new favorite author among the featured books and
authors.
So, today
welcome Thomas E. Simmons.
Simmons grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi, attended Marion
Military Institute, the U. S. Naval Academy, the University of Southern
Mississippi and the University of Alabama. Tom was once the commercial captain
of a seventy foot sailing vessel, has been a pilot since the age of sixteen,
(3000 plus hours in the air), has flown professionally and participated in air
shows flying aerobatics in open-cockpit bi-planes. In the late 1950s he served
as an artillery officer in Korea. He is the author of three nonfictions: The
Man Called Brown Condor (Skyhorse, 2013), Forgotten
Heroes of World War II: Personal Accounts of Ordinary Soldiers Land, Sea and
Air
(Taylor Trade, 2014), Escape from Archangel (University of
Mississippi Press); and two historical fictions: By
Accident of Birth (TouchPoint Press, 2015) and The
Last Quinn Standing (TouchPoint Press, 2016). He has also written
numerous magazine articles, an example of which, “Growing Up With Mr.
Faulkner,” was published in The Oxford
American, a literary magazine founded by John Grisham.
- What is your genre? Is it
fiction or nonfiction? Both historical fiction and
nonfiction.
- What made you want to be a
writer? My
love of books, and the fact, as with most writers, I write because I am driven
to.
- Of all the authors out there,
who inspired you most? Too many to
list.
- What is your writing style?
Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Linearly. Why? It is the way my brain works.
Nonfiction should flow as the history of your subject to make it easier for the
reader to follow and understand. I write fiction linearly for it wouldn’t be fun
if I knew how my story will end. I want it to be as big a surprise to me as for
the reader.
- Do you write every day? How
much? How long? When working on a project I
write a little almost daily. If my muse is flowing, I may write late into the
night when all is quiet and there are no interruptions.
- Do you think reading is as
important to writing for an author? Absolutely. Why? It presents a study of sentence
structure, new ways of looking at specific words, different story or fact
presentation, implants the desire to do better; all, of course, if you read
quality work.
- What are some of the things
you would like to share with budding authors? Perseverance, dedication,
courage, research, research, research
until you know your subject, character, setting, facts…never get caught stating
facts or details that are wrong; revise,
revise, revise; develop a thick hide to handle criticism, rejection slips,
and disappointment, and work hard to get an agent (mine is Loiacono Literary
Agency, Jeanie Loiacono www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
) in the field of which you are writing. If you can’t get an agent, rework the piece
and try again. Remember, John Gresham (with his book The Firm ) was
turned down by some thirty-nine or more agents.
- Do you have any marketing and
promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to share? Work with your publisher,
work with independent book stores in your area, use any contacts you have with
radio stations, TV stations, newspapers in your local/regional area, volunteer
to make talks and book signings, use social media. Friends will spread the word,
and last but not least, read Carolyn
Howard Johnson’s book The Frugal Book
Promoter.
- Do you think conferences are
beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which
ones do you frequent? Yes, they are beneficial.
Only been to one and that is where I met my agent. There is much you can learn
at conferences about writing, publishing, and marketing.
Where can we
find you, your books and when is your next event?
You can find me at my web site www.thomasesimmons.net; at my E-mail tesim@bellsouth.net. I have a new novel,
By Accident of Birth, which
has just been released, with launch at Barnes and Nobel 15246 Crossroads Parkway,
Gulfport, MS 39503, and a second printing of The Man Called Brown Condor
(which won the Gold Medal for Biography from the Military Writers Society of
America) this time in soft cover due out in January 2016; its launch at Barnes
and Nobel 15246 Crossroads Parkway, Gulfport, MS 39503.
Three books of
mine are currently in print and can be obtained at any book store, Barnes and
Nobel, Amazon, Kindle, and one as an audio book. Nonfiction: Escape from
Archangel; Forgotten
Heroes of World War II: Personal Accounts of Ordinary Soldiers Land, Sea and
Air and The
Man Called Brown Condor, hard cover and soon in soft cover.
Fiction: By Accident of Birth just released. www.thomasesimmons.net Amazon Author
Central
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/thomas-e-simmons
MORE
ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her
forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and
all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors
succeed.“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
IF YOU WOULD
LIKE TO SEE MORE INTERVIEWS--TO FIND GREAT READING OR TO NETWORK WITH
AUTHORS--PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG. YOU ARE A WELCOME ADDITION TO THIS
FAMILY WHO LOVES BOOKS! YOU'LL FIND A WINDOW TO DO THIS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG
PAGE.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
