Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site

My guest today is Miles Halcomb, member of the Enid Writers Club. Miles entered one piece in the anthology, Prose Colored Glasses, https://www.amazon.com/Prose-Colored-Glasses-Enid-Writers/dp/B0BD2BK1T9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZHQZQSK9AQIM&keywords=prose+colored+glasses+book+enid+writers+club&qid=1670442570&sprefix=Prose+Colored%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1 and it was a good one. Check it out! But first, get to know him a little better.

PC: What drives you to write?

MH: In high school I enjoyed being in the Jr. and Sr. Plays and playing the piano. I chose to major in Radio, T.V. and Films for my undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University. While attending Oklahoma State, I worked at KVRO, the college radio station, writing and selling ads for businesses like Hideaway Pizza, Eskimo Joe’s, and Subway sandwich shops. I also did voices for the commercials occasionally. At the time, those businesses had just started their growth to become what they are today. I decided to pursue law school after my father became sick with cancer to further my education and so I could stay close to home.

As you can tell, I have always enjoyed the creative process. I had the idea for my first book in 2000 and wrote the first forty pages and then had to set it aside because I was busy with work and family obligations. However, I love to create something new, and I hate to leave something unfinished. With the encouragement of Enid Writer’s Club, I was able to refocus on the idea for the book I had started and finished the book.

There is nothing I have found so rewarding as creating something that another person can enjoy. Although my first book did not become a commercial success, I had people tell me they enjoyed reading it. That is why I write. I find it very satisfying to know that someone can take my work and escape into another world for a while and that they enjoyed the time they spent reading my work.

PC: What genre(s) do you write, and why?

MH: I write mainly dystopian/apocalyptic science fiction or fantasy/magical realism. I say that because my first book was dystopian/apocalyptic science fiction and the second one I’m working on is fantasy/magical realism (as best I can tell right now). The second book is about sixty percent finished.

The piece I wrote for Prose Colored Glasses is a dystopian view of Russian based upon the current situation there if it continues along the same course it is following right now.

PC: Do you listen to music while you write, and if so, what kind? If not, why not?

MH:  I write in absolute quiet. Noises of any kind disturb me.

PC: Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing!

MH: I’m an oil and gas investor on a small scale.

PC: Who would you want to be for 1 day and why? (It can be anyone living or dead)

MH: Wow! That’s a tricky question and it would depend on what day in their lives, right? I only get one day. I think I would like to be Winston Churchill on the day he found out that World War II was over. I have always admired him for his leadership, creativity, and wit. He has quite a number of quotes that are useful sources of inspiration. He was a writer, and his skills of persuasion and encouragement assisted him in leading England during that trying time. I believe that day would have been one of the best days of his life after him watching all the hardships that his people endured during the war.

Thank you for talking to us and letting us get to know you better. Pick up a copy of the anthology and see what all these authors have to say.

What are you reading/writing this week?

This week I am interviewing Martha Draper, long time member and Vice President of the Enid Writer’s Club. Martha has pieces in the club’s anthology, Prose Colored Glasses https://www.amazon.com/Prose-Colored-Glasses-Enid-Writers/dp/B0BD2BK1T9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NBHSCUPC8MMN&keywords=prose+colored+glasses+book+enid+writers+club&qid=1668795198&sprefix=prose+colored%2Caps%2C329&sr=8-1.

You can check out her writing there.  But first let’s get to know her.

PC: What drives you to write?

MK: I was born a lover of words being read to by my sister, six years older, as well as my mother and her mother. I grew into writing early on in school and it grew from there. I love reading and incorporated children’s literature into my teaching career. I became obsessed with writing about my hometown and our family-owned-and-operated weekly newspaper business for fifty years. In more recent decades: it is my membership of the Enid Writers Club and Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc. (O.W.F.I.)  AND my long-standing writing critique group that fuels the flames.

PC: Are you the kind of writer who needs total quiet to compose, or are you able to filter out the typical sounds of the day and use your tunnel vision?

MK:  I can write mornings in a crowded coffee shop. I learned about morning pages when I read the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I also write in journals or diaries from the time since I was ten. BUT when it comes to drafting a story or working on a manuscript…I have to turn the music off, or be alone in my office, at my desk.

PC: Tell us one unusual thing about yourself—not related to writing!

MK:  I am currently going through decades of accumulation from storage which include coins, stamps, dolls, letters, t-shirts, clothes, diaries/journals, childhood toys, teaching materials, photos, etc. and find myself engulfed in their memories. Fodder for writing, yes, but this activity has swallowed up the energy I use for writing. I refuse to be labeled a hoarder, and I’m knee deep in parting with some things and weeding out and re-cycling to a degree. Another element of answering this question is that I am a movie and theatre buff. When I lived for five years in California, I grabbed every opportunity to see a play in a theatre presentation, or chase film crews all over the greater Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica areas. I even found myself seated in the outdoor crowd at one of the Academy Awards, being in the audience for a taping of Bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, and I had several visits in the audience of the Johnny Carson Show.

PC: What genre (s) do you read/write, and why?

MK:  I love mysteries and my all-time favorite author is Agatha Christie. I gobble up all the cozy murder mysteries written by Laura Childs, and re-read old favorites by Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt, Maeve Binchy, Patricia Cornwell, and Stuart Woods. Plus, I devour children’s literature and have an extensive collection from decades past to present day. I like to try my hand at different genres, but have found success with memoir, journalistic pieces, children’s stories, some poetry, humor, and a bit of mystery.

PC: What is your latest work in progress?

MK:  A story about being a professional clown and how it all came about over a span of forty plus years.

Thank you, Peggy for this fun adventure of being interviewed for your awesome blog!!!!!

Thank you, Martha for letting us into your personal life.

What are you reading/writing this week?

I once again have a brave author from the Enid Writing Club who has come forward to be interviewed. My writing club, the Enid Writers Club, will be 100 years old January 6, 2023, and the interviews are part of our celebration. Our author this week is Paula Benge.

To celebrate the publication of our anthology, I wanted to interview the authors of the book. Paula’s work is in the book, Prose Colored Glasses Prose Colored Glasses: Writers Club, Enid + Free Shipping (amazon.com) available on Kindle and paperback.

Hi, Peggy. Thank you for this opportunity!

PC: Glad to have you, Paula. My first question is what genre(s) do your write, and why?

PB: My introduction to writing fiction was a Young Adult contemporary novel because my life was immersed with college softball at the time that a EWC member encouraged me to start a novel. I’ve since written a fantasy romance and begun a middle grade fantasy.

PC: What genre(s) do you read, and why?

PB: I read or listen to books constantly, everything except horror. I really enjoy fantasy more than science fiction, but I’ve loved middle grade stories, historical romance, young adult, suspense, women’s fiction, biographies, and nonfiction. For me, the writing itself, and word of mouth, determine what I’ll read next.

PC: Give us a glimpse of the surroundings where you write. Separate room? In the kitchen? At the dining room table?

PB: My writing desk is actually on my treadmill. I also sit at the treadmill and write, mostly because there’s a large window there and I need sunshine. I’m very productive at a coffee shop, too.

PC: How did you come up with the plotline/idea for your current work in progress.

PB: The idea for the middle grade story I’m working on came from a news story about a renovation at an Oklahoma City school that revealed a chalkboard from 1917 with writing still on it. My character is a little boy made of chalk who has been lost in a school for decades.

PC: Tell us one interesting thing about you not related to your writing.

PB: Something interesting about me? I once bought an old German hymn book at an antique store, and when I leafed through it later, I found a letter from my husband’s grandmother tucked inside.

My published novella, A Neapolitan Fairy Tale at Lake Okoboji, Amazon.com: A Neapolitan Fairy Tale at Lake Okoboji (One Scoop or Two) eBook : Benge, Paula: Kindle Store is set in one of my fondest places, Lake Okoboji, Iowa. We’d visit their actual nutty bar store daily (no Neapolitan flavors, sadly, nor fairies), and we didn’t leave without buying Okoboji shirts from Three Sons. Wild Rose Press requested stories about ice cream parlors set around lakes or oceans and Okoboji was it for me.

I’m currently going through a last edit on my softball novel, At the Heart of the Game. And my middle grade The Weird Life of Chester the Chalk Boy is about half written.

For the EWC anthology, Prose Colored Glasses, I included a children’s story about Milly, a bat with silver wings. I dedicated it to my grandmother, also named Milly. We lost her a few years ago, but her love and support made a huge difference in my life. The story was a pleasure to write, and I especially treasure it.

I’d love to keep in touch. You can reach me at paulabenge.com or on Facebook or Instagram. It’s been an honor to share this time, Peggy. Thank you!

Thank you, Paula, and best of luck with your upcoming works.

We’ll have another author from our club next week. What are you reading/writing this week?

My writing club, the Enid Writers Club, will be 100 years old January 6, 2023. We have accomplished a few things in celebration of this event and one of them is to publish an anthology. We gave each author a certain number of pages in the book to showcase their talent and then listed them alphabetically by last name. Our first author is James C. Arnold.

To celebrate the publication of our anthology, I wanted to interview the authors of the book. I put the word out and some have agreed to be interviewed. The first one is James C. Arnold. I had a few questions for him so you can get to know him a little. His work is in the book, Prose Colored Glasses Prose Colored Glasses: Writers Club, Enid + Free Shipping (amazon.com) available on Kindle and paperback.

A retired plumber, born and raised in Enid, Jim now lives in Waukomis. He has written poetry most of his adult life. He wrote poetry to Beth till she married him. After she passed away, he started writing again. He says, “I wish I’d never stopped.” 

Let’s ask him a few questions so you can get to know him. Then you will enjoy his pieces in the club’s anthology even better.

PC: What drives you to write?

JA: I write to get the feelings out. 

PC: Would you rather write prose or poetry?

JA: To me the rhyme and meter of poetry conveys deeper meanings than prose. Every word has to count. Poetry is harder to do and much more satisfying. 

PC: Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing!

JA: My son, grandson, and I are restoring my 1956 Aztec Copper Corvette. 

PC: What three words describe you, the person?

JA: Unique, Dependable, Generous.

I think all three of those words are great descriptions for Jim. I’ve been in this club with him for over 10 years and he is a backbone of the group.

Pick up a copy of Prose Colored Glasses and get to know this group. They are not only talented, but you’ll also feel like you just found a new friend.

What are you reading/writing this week?