Adam Niswander, Author and Bookseller

Current Agent: Cherry Weiner, Cherry Weiner Literary Agency

Partial List of Published Works:

1. “The Charm”, Integra Press, Phoenix, AZ, 1993, Hardcover

2. “The Serpent Slayers”, Integra Press, Phoenix, 1994, Hardcover

3. “The Hound Hunters”, Integra Press, Phoenix, AZ 1994 *appeared only as an uncorrected proof/advance reading copy

4. “The Sand Dwellers”, Fedogan & Bremer, Minneapolis, 1998, Hardcover

5. “The Repository”, Meisha Merlin Publishing, Decatur, GA, 1999, Trade Paperback

6. “The War of the Whisperers” – not yet released

Adam, how did you get started writing professionally?

My first published work was a poem in the Stars and Stripes in the early 1970s. My first novel was published in 1993.

About what subject?

The poem was patriotic drivel.

The novel is a modern-day dark fantasy with Native American medicine people struggling against an ancient wind-demon. But the message of the novel is cross-cultural cooperation.

What interested you about that subject?

I wanted to try to find a mid-point between Tony Hillerman and Stephen King. They were both best sellers at the time. I found that point. Unfortunately, it did not result in best-selling.

Did/does the subject tie into something in your personal or professional (pre-writing) life?

I live in Arizona, near the reservations. Native American cultures fascinate me.

And, have you always written, as while you were growing up and long before trying to get published that first time?

I wrote a lot of poetry as a youth. Some of it is not too embarrassing. I started writing seriously in 1977. I sold my first novel before I sold my first short story.

What type of worker are you when you write, i.e., do you write at certain times, or for a certain amount of hours daily, in long stretches straight through, as the spirit moves you, or???

I write every day. I generally arise, make coffee, turn on the computer, check email, do business, and then start writing. I usually start writing at about 10am and finish around 2am. I take breaks, of course, and am not always as productive as I would like.

Did you ever take any school or adult education courses in writing? If so, what, and did they help you? If you are a technical writer, have you taken courses in that area?

I had the usual course in high school and college – English, creative writing, etc. Nothing special. I studied the writing of authors I liked and tried to do what they did. I started a writers’ group in the 1980s and learned the most from that experience.

Do you conceive of an entire story or subject line to be covered in your head before starting to write, or do you get just an idea and sit down, outline it and flesh it out, or???

I hate outlining.

I have a general idea about my story – how it starts, how it will end. The hardest part is the first third of the book because I have to get to know the characters before their actions and words start to flow smoothly onto the page. Once I know the characters, things move almost as fast as I can type.

If you have had a deadline for submitting work to a publisher, how did/does that affect you, i.e., have you ever found that having to produce on a schedule causes the creative juices to dry up?

I love deadlines. They mean something I’m doing is a sure sale. I have only missed one deadline (by a month) and that was because my life turned upside down. As it was, the deadline wasn’t firm in the first place and I need not have worried. I prefer writing with a deadline as it is a motivator hard to ignore. When I am tempted to take a break, I feel too guilty to do so. For me, this is a good thing.

Tell us how you first got published, and whether it was difficult that first time. Did you have an agent for that first published piece? Was it a book, an article, a paper, or what?

Nothing really counts before “The Charm”, my first novel.

I’ll try to make a long story shorter than it is.

I began the story in 1978. I showed the first rough chapter to a girl friend, who had grown up next to an Indian Reservation. She bawled me out because I really knew nothing about Native Americans and was just faking it.

As a result, I shelved that first chapter for a few years before returning to it. When I did, her ire (though we were no longer together) was memorable enough that I decided to do all the research I could in order to make the book accurate. I read over 150 books on Native Americans, conducted over 200 interviews, and visited reservations all across the state.

When I went back to the writing, I had a solid grasp of the cultures I had selected – and there were 12 different tribes involved, so that was no easy task.

When I had finished “The Charm”, I began submitting it. I did have an agent already, but it takes time for a publisher to read and make a decision on a novel – and most do not want to read anything that someone else is reading, so it has to go out one at a time (no simultaneous submissions is the rule). Each publisher can take from three months to a year to decide. “The Charm” went out over a four-year period, but ended up being rejected by everyone. They all seemed to agree it was a good book, but observed that it was too different to market it successfully.

My agent finally gave up on it, but I didn’t.

Eventually, a friend read the manuscript and was so impressed that he went out and bought a small press. He then contracted with me to publish the book.

The book got panned by The Library Journal (who has never liked anything I’ve ever done) but got a rave review from Publishers Weekly. The first printing sold through in three days. The reviews (heh, except for Library Journal) are available on my web page.

How do you feel about editors?? Does it disturb you or comfort you to have someone checking your work pre-publication?

I love editors. I have never had one do anything but help improve my work.

How are you (or your publisher or agent) publicizing your current work?

Unfortunately, I’m between publishers at the moment. Small Press publishers are not terribly affluent and I seem to find acceptance with small presses. This means small print runs, no advertising budget, and less exposure. I have to keep reminding myself that it isn’t my fault, but there has been some bad luck.

Integra Press had a hit with “The Charm” and followed six months later with “The Serpent Slayers”. Then, just before the scheduled release of “The Hound Hunters”, the distributor stole all the money (for both the first two books) and put Integra essentially out of business (though they did come back and do another book about three years later). That’s why “The Hound Hunters” appeared only as an uncorrected proof. My most recent publisher, DarkTales Publications, just closed their doors. Nothing to do with me, but it has short-circuited my immediate plans.

I do hope to announce a new deal shortly. I have a verbal commitment from a new publisher, but the contract isn’t signed yet.

Have you ever been on a tour with one of your books? If so, what is that like? Did you find that it helped increase sales of your book?

I spent 1993-1995 attending conventions and doing signings. I spent more than I made writing. I think one good Publisher’s Weekly review sells a lot more books than personal appearances. I love doing the appearances, of course, but I don’t think they really do much to sell books in any kind of significant number.

Can you tell us a bit about a book (or whatever format you are writing in) that you might be working on now or plan to start soon? If you do have another in the works, are you writing a series, on the same subject as your last work, or on something totally different?

I’m currently working on the fifth Shaman Cycle book, titled “The Nemesis of Night”. Assuming the new contracts come through, the first two novels will be re-released in early 2004, then “The Hound Hunters” and “The War of the Whisperers” (books three and four) will come out for the first time in 2005. Then the balance of the series (13 planned novels) should follow each year.

Could you please give us a synopsis of your current book/work and, if a series, what the whole series is about?

The Shaman Cycle is about a Great Gathering of Native American medicine people who get together, despite tribal rivalries, to battle ancient evils released in the modern world. The shamans are wise men and women who understand that a combination of ancient tradition plus modern technology is a desirable combination. Twelve Native American tribes are represented in the Great Gathering, with the white man functioning as the legendary thirteenth tribe. That is why the series is planned to comprise 13 novels.

“The Charm” tells the story of a demon dust-devil, “The Serpent Slayers” deals with a 500 year old winged serpent, “The Hound Hunters” tells the tale of a drug dealer who has created a designer drug that opens the door to another dimension admitting creatures called the Hounds. “The War of the Whisperers” is the story of invisible creatures who manipulate man by whispering in dreams. “The Nemesis of Night” tells of creatures who can only function at night – who would die in sunlight (like vampires).

“The Sand Dwellers” introduces a Private Investigator named Aiden Mardian. I plan to tell more of his tales, as well.

“The Repository” features Ambrose Bierce, the famous writer, who now is an investigator for Satan’s Legions making a report to his boss about their failed battle with a fellowship of magicians.

Tell us a bit about how you go about doing research for your work?

I read, of course. I do interviews. I work very hard for accuracy – especially since I am writing about a culture other than my own. I also maintain an extensive reference library.

Any stories about the hazards of trying to make your way as a writer, particularly when starting out?

I never used to believe in luck. I was raised to believe that one can achieve any goal, be anything one wants to be, if one works with discipline and dedication. I never minded sacrificing comforts to achieve my goals. But I have come to see that there are factors beyond my control and that luck is a factor.

The business of writing is very competitive and the chances of financial success are slim. That is just reality. Mergers and closings of various publishers and publishing lines have cut the market down to a fraction of its former size. IF financial success is the goal, I advise new writers not to bother. Most, however, can’t be discouraged by such talk – which is the way it should be. I write because I can’t not write.

Any advice to aspiring writers on finding an agent or contacting publishers?

You don’t need an agent until you have something to sell. Just work on your writing. Start something and finish it, then refine it, then submit it. When some legitimate publisher tells you they want to publish your work, you shouldn’t have much trouble finding an agent to negotiate a decent contract.

Also, just to save new writers from a misconception I labored under for years, agents do not sell your work. You sell your work. Agents negotiate your contracts.

Are you a reader? If so, what types of things do you enjoy reading? Do you ever buy your own reading material online (had to ask that one!)?

I am a reader, but I learned long ago that reading is not writing. I try to read one leisure book a month. I read whatever is necessary for research.

I do buy research materials online and books.

What other types of things do you enjoy doing, besides writing? Any hobbies? Pets? Sports? Traveling? Gardening? Music or art, etc.?

I collect books and original art. I play with the Society for Creative Anachronism – which is an international group that re-creates the better parts of the middle ages. This usually involves camping and large battles with rattan swords – but, no, I’m not a fighter. I am known as Friar Adam in the SCA and my camping tent is a large canvas monastery I had custom-made (it is larger than many apartments I’ve lived in). It looks like a stone castle with turrets. I also attend conventions whenever I can.

Please tell us anything else about yourself you’d like us to know, either personal or professional, and thank you very much for allowing us to interview you!

I am also a bookseller. I opened a brick and mortar bookstore in 1983 and closed it in 1995. I now sell exclusively online. While my profession is writing, I have never made enough money doing that alone. Being an online bookseller provides the extra income that meets my immediate needs and lets me stay home to write. Since I love books, it is the best of both worlds.

Adam’s Bookstore specializes in Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Dark Fantasy), though I do carry general titles as well. My listings have been on ABEbooks, but I am in the process of leaving there and listing on Choosebooks.com, a new service. Why? I hate marked-up prices. I hope book buyers learn that they should always contact the dealer when ordering books online, no matter where they find the books listed. That’s good for dealers and good for buyers.

[Last minute note from Adam Niswander: Just signed contracts with Meisha Merlin Publishing and my Shaman Cycle novels will come out in two-novel omnibus volumes under that imprint in early 2004, early 2005 and the rest (nine more) separately after that.]

Check out my listings at http://www.choosebooks.com/search_browse.jsp?dealer_id=1851

or visit Adam’s Bookstore online at:

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BooksBrowse?vendorclientid=549819&page=CLIENT

#authors #booksellers

Ken Fermoyle, Author and Bookseller

Email/Contact Info: kfermoyle@earthlink.net, Phone: 818 346-9384

Current Publisher and/or Agent: 2 agents currently interested in repping for the Vietnam book: “Hawks, Doves And The Dragon”, no agent yet for incomplete mystery. I have never worked with an agent for my freelance non-fiction (mostly magazine articles, some ghostwritten for others). Sold my 1st two freelance articles (Sports Car Racing on Frozen Michigan Lakes) direct to editors in 1952 and never saw a need to change.

Published Work(s):

“Mankind in Transition: A View of the Distant Past, the Present & the Far Future”; Author: Masse Bloomfield; Masefield Books, Canoga Park, CA, 1993 – edited and produced while a co-publisher in Masefield Books. Non-fiction

“How To Use A Library”; Author: Masse Bloomfield; Masefield Books, Canoga Park, CA, 1992 – edited and produced while a co-publisher in Masefield Books. Non-fiction.

Produced and edited three software user manuals for Genoa Technology, 1989-1992.

Wrote 75% of book (an annual softcover) on 4-Wheel-Drive vehicles and driving for Petersen Publishing in 1975.

Have had more than 2,600 articles published in everything from Playboy, Popular Science and PC World to Motor Life, McCall’s, MacWeek, Mechanix Illustrated, Better Camping, Wheels Afield, Microtimes, Computer Currents, L.A. Times Book Review, Detroit News, Outdoors Calling, and too many more to recall.

I think I anticipated the current trend toward multiple career changes by a generation or two – but always in writing and/or editing jobs. I started in weekly and daily newspapers, did a stint as house organ editor and speech writer at Ford’s Research and Engineering Center in Dearborn –where I first started freelancing. Swtiched to magazines full-time in 1955 (Motor Life, Petersen Publishing) and was auto editor of Popular Science in late, 1950s, early 1960s.

Sidetracked into advertising and PR for 5 years in mid-1960s, returned to magazines in 1966 when I moved to California as editor of Petersen’s Wheels Afield (a camping and RV magazine). Got into corporate publications in 1977 at Hughes Aircraft, where I began using computers and became the electronic publishing guru for our publishing group. Started freelancing for computer publications in 1984 and moonlighted as a partner in a pioneering desktop publishing service bureau in 1986. Took early retirement in 1989 to devote full time to freelance writing and publishing. Had syndicated computer column with up to 500 editor and webmaster subscribers from 1997 to 2001. Have been working on Vietnam book since early 1990s, started mystery novel in 2001, just after “opening” an online bookstore.

How did you get started writing professionally? About what subject? What interested you about that subject? Did/does the subject tie into something in your personal or professional (pre-writing) life? And, have you always written, as while you were growing up and long before trying to get published that first time?

Decided I wanted to be a writer at age 11 or 12. A Detroit News columnist, H.C.L. Jackson and, later, Ernie Pyle, inspired me, along with authors as varied as Kenneth Roberts, Hemingway, Thorne Smith, P. G. Wodehouse, Nordhoff & Hall and Upton Sinclair.

My first pro job was as sort of an intern on a weekly labor paper published by the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, beginning in 1947 while a freshman journalism major at the University of Detroit. They started paying me $5/day after a month. Moved up to a large weekly, The Highland Parker, as sports editor, feature writer and proofreader (luckily they had a janitor!) in 1948.

What type of worker are you when you write, i.e., do you write at certain times, or for a certain amount of hours daily, in long stretches straight through, as the spirit moves you, or???

I’ve done it both ways. As an auto writer and editor, I often worked 18-20 hours straight on deadlines for new car issues. I have never been able to discipline myself to work X many hours per day. I often get up at night, however, to write thoughts, sentences or long sections that have come to me.

Did you ever take any school or adult education courses in writing? If so, what, and did they help you? If you are a technical writer, have you taken courses in that area?

Although a Journalism major, I took nearly as many English and Lit courses in college. I’ve taken some post-grad writing courses (screenwriting, novel) at UCLA and extension programs, plus the outstanding Professional Publishing concentrated summer program at Stanford. But I’ve actually taught more writing courses than I’ve taken, beginning as early as 1952, when I taught several journalism classes at the University of Detroit. I’ve taught many classes on successful magazine writing, producing newsletters and desktop publishing over the years.

Do you conceive of an entire story or subject line to be covered in your head before starting to write, or do you get just an idea and sit down, outline it and flesh it out, or???

I seldom use outlines. For articles, I focus on a subject, write a head and summary “query” paragraph or two (for submission to editors). I begin with the lead (hardest part, most often) and a rough outline of the piece in my head. I most often write the 1st draft in one sitting for 1,000- to 2,000-word pieces, two or three sittings for longer pieces. Then I do a quick edit/revise and walk away from it for a couple or hours or longer, depending on deadline pressure. Usually I do a final reading/revise and off it goes.

For the Vietnam book, my subject and I (it’s a memoir) started with a rough outline. After much trial and error, we developed a routine. We work on a chapter at a time. My subject (and colleague for 15 years, beginning with our desktop publishing endeavor) prepares an outline and some anecdotal material. We do taping sessions (1 to 2 hours, enough for 8 to 12 pages) in which he fleshes out the outline and I ask questions. I write a first draft, usually with quite a few parenthetical notes and questions, go over it and make some revisions, then e-mail it to him. He inserts his comments and answers and gives me a hard copy when we get together for another taping session.

With my mystery novel, I started with an idea for the first chapter and a cast of main characters reasonably well fleshed out in my mind. (I gradually built bios for them and others who cropped up later.) Unlike most of my articles and the Vietnam book, I did not have a working title – and still don’t. I did have my first sentence:

“The body slid partway down the short slope, right hand splayed out on the bike path below, left heel hooked on the parking lot pavement above.”

Ideas and new twists have come to me as I progressed. I now have about 75% of it plotted out in my head.

If you have had a deadline for submitting work to a publisher, how did/does that affect you, i.e., have you ever found that having to produce on a schedule causes the creative juices to dry up?

I’ve long been accustomed to writing on tight deadlines so pressure doesn’t cause problems. In fact, I often write better under pressure when I don’t have time to agonize over every sentence.

Tell us how you first got published, and whether it was difficult that first time. Did you have an agent for that first published piece? Was it a book, an article, a paper, or what?

I wrote on my high school and college papers, but my first published pieces were in The Wage Earner, mostly short items I condensed from long articles or memos. My first bylined piece as a pro was an account of a farm workers’ strike in California. My first freelance pieces, both bylined, were about sports car racing on a frozen lake outside Detroit: a photo essay in the Detroit News Sunday Roto section and an article in a sports car magazine.

How do you feel about editors?? Does it disturb you or comfort you to have someone checking your work pre-publication?

Having worked as both an editor and a writer, I appreciate both sides of the coin. A good editor is invaluable to a writer – and vice versa. With my experience on both sides of the desk, I always tried to make things as easy as possible for editors with my freelance work (probably a major reason I have had only one article rejected in my career, and that was my own fault). That means being familiar with the publication’s style and following it, suggesting heads and subheads, finding decent art and photos – and, above all, knowing the audience that the publication addresses and writing to it.

Best editor I ever worked with was Frank Rowsome, managing editor of Popular Science while I was auto editor. He was a gem.

Having been a magazine and book editor but not yet a published book author, I hope I find the cooperation and useful guidance in editors for my books that I tried to provide authors in the past.

How are you (or your publisher or agent) publicizing your current work?

Not really applicable yet but I expect to use the Web, personal appearances, interviews, self-generated PR releases, etc., as much as possible. A lot depends on who publishes the books and how much they contribute. I think my past PR experience will be an asset.

Have you ever been on a tour with one of your books? If so, what is that like? Did you find that it helped increase sales of your book?

Not applicable yet, though I have done a lot of PR for publications I’ve been involved with: personal appearances, radio talk shows, TV appearances, trade conventions, etc.

Can you tell us a bit about a book (or whatever format you are writing in) that you might be working on now or plan to start soon? If you do have another in the works, are you writing a series, on the same subject as your last work, or on something totally different?

I talked a bit about this above but can add some tidbits. “Hawks, Doves And The Dragon” is about a man, Tran Ngoc Chau, who played a singular variety of roles in Vietnam from WWII to 1975. While a teen-ager, he served as a courier for a resistance cell against the Japanese and their puppet French government. He joined the National Army of Liberation under Ho Chi Minh, with tens of thousands of other nationalists, in 1945. After rising to the equivalent rank of Major or Lt. Colonel, he left the Viet Minh late in 1949 when pressured to join the Communist Party, casting his lot with the newly-created South Vietnam. He was in the first graduating class of the South Vietnamese Military Academy and served with distinction (6 medals, including the country’s highest, the National Medal of Honor.) Tapped by President Diem for a relatively minor job in the late 1950s, he became virtually the only Buddhist member of Diem’s inner circle and was appointed governor of Kien Hoa province and mayor of Da Nang. He returned to Kien Hoa as governor after the coup in which Diem was assassinated. But I’m running on and into too much detail. Chau’s story is a complex one. His efforts drew many Americans to him, including Daniel Ellsberg, John Paul Vann (the “civilian general”) and many more.

In fact, when President Thisu (a former friend) had Chau arrested and imprisoned him in 1967 because Chau was beginning to represent a threat to the Thieu regime, many of Chau’s U.S. friends were incensed. Reports were that this action, tacitly supported by the CIA and Saigon U.S. Embassy who were trying to keep Thieu in power, was the last straw that convinced Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers – and Ellsberg has pretty much agreed that was the case.

My mystery is set in Ventura, CA, a seaside down on the lower part of the Central Coast – about 45-50 miles from L.A. Protagonist is a bookstore owner (!) but an atypical one. Kevin Corcoran retired at 37 (entered the USNA at 17) after more than 15 years as an Office of Naval Intelligence agent. He buys Main Street Books with an inheritance from an uncle and settles in to a peaceful life – until a member of an informal group of readers who meet at his store (and call themselves the Main Street Regulars) is murdered. He works with a Ventura PD detective (Miguel “Big Mike” Morales) and a beautiful investigative reporter (Marisa) to solve the murder. First suspected as a drug killing, it turns out the young victim was providing marijuana for seniors in the mobile home park where he lived – and arranging to get low-cost drugs for them in Mexico as well.

As the case develops, the trio learns that the hit-and-run death of a Ventura County official may not have been an accident. It seems too much of a coincidence when another official is listed as a suicide and a third dies in a suspicious drowning down in San Diego County. Were they potential whistle-blowers silenced to prevent them from blowing the lid off a huge scandal in County government? My plan is to have the first murder and the scandal connected by the final denouement. I have it pretty well figured out but haven’t plotted the exact details yet.

Could you please give us a synopsis of your current book/work and, if a series, what the whole series is about?

See above.

Tell us a bit about how you go about doing research for your work?

The Internet makes research so-o-o much easier today. What used to take days, even weeks, of endless phone calls and letter-writing now can be accomplished in hours. I have used search engines extensively for about 6 years. They are especially helpful for finding technical, historical, company/product and many other types of information. Learning how to use various search techniques is important.

Some things still require hours of reading, library time and correspondence. This has been particularly true of the Vietnam book. (I have become a minor expert on the country over the past 12 years.) For my mystery, I have to determine if the city of Oceanside, CA or San Diego County require autopsies in drowning deaths where there were no witnesses and there are indications that it might have been homicide. I also need to learn more about the structure of Ventura County government, recent slow-growth laws, the permit process and building inspection practices. That will take a few days in Ventura – a most pleasant duty.

Any stories about the hazards of trying to make your way as a writer, particularly when starting out?

I’ve been lucky enough to support myself and my family solely as a writer/editor and journalist. I didn’t make much money in the early years on newspapers – and I never got rich though I never had to live in a garret – but things picked up when I got into magazine work. And I’ve supplemented my income by freelancing over the years.

Any advice to aspiring writers on finding an agent or contacting publishers?

Write, and keep on writing – whether you aspire to journalism, novels, poetry, screenwriting or whatever. A 10th grade English class hammered that home for me. The teacher announced the first day of class that we had to write 1 page of something every day, no matter what other assignments he gave us. It could be an essay, poem, short-short story, slice-of-life…anything – but it had to be at least a page of normal handwriting. It was torture at first but some of us came to enjoy it, and looked forward to reading our work to the class.

I’ve found that concentrating on things that interest me and I know something about works best for me.

Are you a reader? If so, what types of things do you enjoy reading? Do you ever buy your own reading material online (had to ask that one!)?

Oh boy, am I a reader! I was sickly as a youngster (asthma, bronchitis, a few bouts of pneumonia) so I missed a lot of school. No TV then, so reading became my passion. At about 10, I read 25 books in 5 days one summer week. All my friends were away on vacation so I went to the library, read a book there, took home my allotted 4 books, read them that afternoon and evening – then repeated the procedure for the next 4 days. Admittedly, these were mostly Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazon novel – but not the skinny, large-print “children’s books,” either. My major reading feat, however, was finishing both Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time And The River by Thomas Wolfe one quiet Sunday while in the Army. I finished up after Lights Out by reading in the latrine.

And I have bought reading material online.

What other types of things do you enjoy doing, besides writing? Any hobbies? Pets? Sports? Traveling? Gardening? Music or art, etc.?

I have traveled a lot all my life, some of it in the line of duty (press junkets, covering events such as races, the Mobile Economy Run, conventions, etc). My wife and I have been to the Pismo Beach area, Palm Springs and Maui so far this year, with trips planned to the High Sierras, Newport Beach and New Orleans later this year. During my camping period (1961-1976), I camped from Canada to Mexico, Maine to California and loved it.

I was a serious cyclist for more than a decade (1980s-1990s); amassed about 34,000 miles before an old neck injury forced me to cut back. I still ride, but no more centuries (100-mile rides), weekly averages of 100- to 125-mile weeks or age-group competition anymore.

Crossword puzzles are a life-long passion; love the NY Times Sunday puzzles especially.

Cooking is another long-time interest. Got interested while stationed in Rome in the Army. Took my first cooking class in 1950 from a great Austrian chef, and later became his assistant for a time. I’ve since attended the odd cooking class during my travels. I do almost all the cooking for my wife and I. Specialties include Gumbo, Jambalaya and other Cajun/Creole dishes; curries and other Indian dishes; various stir-fry combination (I have a great wok), and stewed chicken and dumplings with a Southwest tilt (includes bell and chili peppers, tomatillos and chayote squash).

Please tell us anything else about yourself you’d like us to know, either personal or professional, and thank you very much for allowing us to interview you!

*Writing speeches for Earle S. MacPherson, inventor of the MacPherson Strut front suspension which was virtually the de facto standard for many years. He was a true gentleman as well as a brilliant engineer.

*Covering the Indy 500 13 times, covering Daytona Speed Weeks and the 500 in the 1950s when they ran on the old beach and road course – then covering many races at the Tri-Oval after it was built – and even driving around it with Bill France as a passenger.

*Doing my first “foreign correspondent” bit, covering a soccer match for Reuters circa 1948-49.

*Selling a piece to Playboy in 1967.

*Being wooed for the auto editor job at Pop Science.

*Being paid $1 per word the first time for a freelance article.

*Making my TV debut by doing the middle commercial on “The Day Lincoln Was Shot” at CBS in Hollywood, 1957. The show was done live with Raymond Massey as Lincoln, Elsa Lancaster as Mrs. Lincoln, Jack Lemmon as his assassin, Charles Laughton as narrator – and I was in the studio watching. BTW, Bing Crosby did one of the other commercials.

Not career stuff, but memorable moments…

*Spending a year in Rome (1945-46 in the Army

*Winning the flyweight boxing championship of Camp Wolters, TX

*Winning several drag race competitions in the ’50s.

*Winning both my class (65 and up) and overall in the Gold Coast Tri-County Senior Olympic

bicycle race in 1992. And loving how teed off the 55-year-old 2nd place finisher was to find some 10 years older had been the one to pass him on the last lap.

*Returning to Rome last year – after 52 years – and still loving it…while surprising myself at how fast my Italian, learned all those years ago, came back.

#authors #booksellers

Interview with Piet Wesselman, of Antiqbook

Q: Piet, how and when did you originally get into the book business?

As a high school dropout I wanted to become either a bookseller or a journalist. Bookseller was easiest. I worked in a (new books) bookshop and with a publisher from age 17 to 23. But during these years I got interested in academic matters while reading a lot of the books I handled, so I got serious and after my army service moved to Amsterdam, finished school in evening classes and went to the University to study social psychology. And stayed there as a teacher, first in group psychology, and from there it was a small step to families and social development of children. In the end I found myself researching “turn taking behavior in mother-child dyads’ play in 9-month-old prematurely born infants”. You can learn a lot from things like these, but I found it too restricted. I guess I have a “bookseller’s mind”: I like it better to know something about everything than to know all about a little. So I loved teaching, but loathed research. And always, and increasingly, thought of myself as a lost bookseller…

Still – family to feed, missing the necessary knowledge and experience or investment money – I held on to the job until almost 50. Then again I got serious, went for a bookseller’s diploma but still did not have any money to invest, and antiquarian and used books came to mind, because in that area I could start small.

Q: What has been the course of your career as a bookseller, i.e., a bricks & mortar shop, book fairs, paper catalogs, etc.? When did you go online, and how?

First I tried to learn by visiting auctions, bookshops, talking to book dealers, buying books, reading books on the trade and my own interests: literature and botany. Spent months on collecting and reading Pound and Pessoa, or books on cactuses or mesembryanthemums, and studying bibliographies.

Q: What are/were your specialties?

And decided to specialize in these two. Poetry in Dutch is my favorite. Not that you can sell it but some of it is among the best 20th century poetry in the world. And ‘high’ literature, Nobel prize class (or what I see as worthy of a Nobel prize), in original languages which I try to read…

When I had enough books and knowledge to think I could start selling the Internet was just beginning here. This was before the World Wide Web existed. I decided that it was the most cost effective way to sell books, so I started to enter them in my self-made database program to be able to publish catalogs in mailing lists and news groups. Luckily the WWW developed, which made things a lot easier.

Q: How does being a bookseller in your country differ from how you see U.S. book dealers operating?

Holland has nearly 1,000 used and antiquarian book dealers with a population of 16 million, so I guess this will be the first difference. General used books are for sale in almost every little town, and specialists and antiquarian book dealers are in all of our larger towns and cities. A popular guide to used bookshops counts 117 book dealers in Amsterdam (pop. 700,000). And book fairs, both outdoor and indoors, are very frequent here too.

Another difference is that we hardly have a mail order tradition like in the US. This is why the book trade on the Internet is developing slowly here; people are used to getting their books around the corner and are not accustomed to ordering them through the mail. But the more special the book the farther you have to go to find it, so in this situation it is best to specialize when you want to make a start. Another difference: there are few book collectors who consider their collection a financial investment. We do not have the first editions frenzy you know in the U.S., and the sanctity of the dust jacket is not as enormous as in your country.

Q: What originally gave you the idea of starting an online book database?

We started Antiqbook originally just for Dutch booksellers, but were soon discovered by booksellers from other countries, and as the number of web catalogs rose we realized that we had to proceed to a more comprehensive way to present the books.

Q: And how did you go about setting it up?

I just started. Read a manual on web databases and started making a website. At first it was a small program on an ISP’s database. My skills grew with the database. And it’s not rocket science…

Q: Did you have a background in computers? Or databases?

Not at all, I just knew everything about babies… I did however write some computer programs I needed for research and so I was not afraid to pick up a book and find out what I needed to know.

Q: Antiqbook is a wonderful service–easy to use, wonderful customer service from you for the listing dealers. Do you still have time to sell books, or does Antiqbook now take all your time? And how many people are required to keep it going? How much time?

I haven’t sold a book for two years now 🙁 I am still buying and collecting, not really sure what to do with them later on. We’ll see. Antiqbook takes more than a normal working day. David Meesters, my Antiqbook partner, and I split the job: I do the database, he does everything else. We have part time assistance from two secretaries who do advertising, PR, and part of the database maintenance. For technical matters and some of the programming we hire people when needed, and financial administration is outfarmed, as the modern jargon has it.

Q: What are your plans for the future, as far as Antiqbook and the book business?

Antiqbook has to grow in size somewhat to stay viable, but I don’t like the idea of having an office, and personnel. We now all have our office at home and stay in touch by email, phone or chat programs.

We like to think of our niche as the European book market and ‘better books’. I am not sure whether we will be able to realize this exactly. If anywhere, it is on the net where the market dictates in part which course you have to take. We have also come to realize that contrary to the expectations of some years ago Internet is not creating one global market, but is still very much a conglomerate of local markets. For example, you can hardly sell American books in France or Germany, or books in German or French to many people outside these language areas. There are exceptions, of course, notably in antiquarian and scientific books. We are thinking of ways to adapt to this situation. We are well situated at small distances from the UK, France and Germany, and we can communicate in their languages. So we will diversify online.

Q: Do you see more and more U.S. business coming through Antiqbook?

Antiqbook is now large enough so we don’t have to rely too much on the meta-search programs. There is something like a critical mass and I think we have crossed that point. Direct sales from the Antiqbook site are about 3/4 of total sales, and our visitors are from all parts of the world, including many from the U.S. There is also a steady rise in the number of American book dealers, but…

Q: Have the recent events in the U.S. (World Trade Center and anthrax) affected your business much?

Sure. I have the impression that just the last few weeks of November the trade is getting back to its normal course again, but from mid-September onwards sales from and to the U.S. are very much down. When we plot our sales figures you can trace all major events, like the first anthrax attacks or the Afghan war. There are also booksellers whose sales have suffered so much that they have had to cut their costs and have had to leave Antiqbook. We hope this is a temporary thing and try to make it easier on them to bridge this difficult time.

Q: Any tidbits for us about plans you have for improvements or innovations for Antiqbook?

Yes, there is a lot going on just now. We bought two new servers with multi-processors, multi-hard disks, as multi as can be, for speed and a great expansion of our database services. I am working on a redesign of the database and search programs, to allow for more precise queries, more selections (country, possibly languages, even bookseller association) and full text search.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about you, personally? Many of us have dealt with you professionally, and I think we’d all like to get to know you more personally.

Well, you have a good impression on what my daily life is like these days. Maybe the things I would like to do more if there was enough time tell something about me? My days would be filled with jazz, art, and poetry: I like to listen to the great jazz of figures like John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk: they are the greatest musical geniuses. I love 20th century art, especially modernist art and abstract expressionism, and many post-war American painters. I’d like to expand my collection of bilingual poetry editions, and just read, look and listen. Cooking is one of the other arts I admire and try to imitate; at this time Italian and Chinese food are my favorites. And I would definitely pick up practicing calligraphy again, to improve my hand but also for the pleasure of the concentrated work.

Interview by Shirley Bryant.

#booksellers