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Interview with John M. Floyd
A. I've probably been writing stories for twenty-five years or so, though I only began submitting them for publication about twelve years ago. When my wife finally convinced me to send some in to editors, I wasn't crazy about the idea--I thought my stories were pretty darn good, and I was reluctant to send them off to someone who might not think they were very good at all. As it turned out, I'm glad she talked me into it.
Q. What inspired you to begin writing?
A. Well, I've always read a great deal, and I like to think that was what made me decide to write something of my own. Honestly, though, what made me start putting words on paper was probably the fact that I used to travel so much with IBM, and spent a lot of time alone, in planes and airports and hotels. I began dreaming up stories to pass the time, and once I started I found I couldn't stop.
Q. What types of books do you most like to read?
A. Suspense fiction, mainly, with some humor thrown in. My favorite authors include Nelson DeMille, Joe R. Lansdale, Greg Iles, Stephen King, Martin Cruz Smith, Janet Evanovich, Thomas Harris, Larry McMurtry, Christopher Buckley, Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, Roald Dahl, John Sandford, and John Dunning.
Q. Who published your first short story?
A. Linda Hutton, editor of Mystery Time, in their Autumn-Winter 1994 issue.
Q. How did that first acceptance impact your writing career?
A. It gave me the confidence to keep going. I can easily see how someone who receives rejection after rejection, especially when just starting out, could get discouraged. That story at Mystery Time was the first manuscript I ever submitted to anyone, so I was incredibly fortunate. (Payment, by the way, was a five-dollar bill, enclosed with the acceptance letter. I was thrilled.)
Q. That’s very impressive! What do you think was the key to getting your very first submitted story published?
A. Luck, probably. Also, the story was very short. I think editors are sometimes more likely to read a 1000-word submission all the way through than a 5000-word submission, especially if it's from a beginner. That first published story, "Four for Dinner," was 900 words in length.
Q. For those of us interested in reading your very first published story, where can we find it?
A. An even shorter version of "Four for Dinner" (600 words) was reprinted in a recent anthology called Seven By Seven, by Wolfmont Publishing. Another author included in that anthology, by the way, was some guy named BJ Bourg.
Q. About that five dollar bill--do you still have it?
A. I probably spent it that same day. At that time, two of our three kids were teenaged boys, and we were going through 10 gallons of milk a week. (Seriously.)
Q. How many hours per day do you devote to writing?
A. If you count marketing efforts and daydreaming about plots, probably four or five hours a day.
Q. Do you have any marketing tips you’d like to share with aspiring writers?
A. The main one would be "Don't let rejections get you down." It sounds silly but it's true. I've heard that professional writers are just amateur writers who didn't give up.
Q. Do you have a writing schedule?
A. Not really. I know many writers do, but that just doesn't work for me. I can write anytime, and stop anytime, which is the way I like it. There are usually certain times of the day when I work at the computer, but that might involve more e-mailing or websurfing than writing. I've probably written more stories while waiting for our kids at soccer practice or music lessons than I've written at the computer.
Q. Can you describe a typical day in the life of John Floyd?
A. Now that I'm retired, I get up around 7:30, work at the computer a couple hours, walk 3 miles at a nearby track, lunch at 12:30 or so, run errands or do yardwork or more computer stuff in the afternoon, supper around seven, and then--when I'm not teaching night classes--I read or write or watch DVDs or visit with the family a few hours and hit the sack at midnight.
Q. What subject do you teach?
A. I teach two courses in the Community Enrichment Program at Millsaps College during each of their Fall, Winter, and Spring sessions. Each course consists of seven 2-hour classes--one is an introductory course on "Writing & Selling Short Stories"; the other is a follow-up (advanced) course with the brilliantly original title "Writing & Selling Short Stories, Part 2."
Q. Do you work on one story at a time, or multiple?
A. That depends on what you mean by "work on." I write only one at a time, but during that same period I'm usually plotting one or two other stories in my head.
Q. What’s your personal favorite John Floyd story?
A. I have several favorites. I think "Midnight" (a coming-of-age adventure story), "Lucy's Gold" (a western), and "The Messenger" (a fantasy) were some of the most fun to write--I hope they're fun to read as well. The first is available at Amazon Shorts and the second two are featured in my collection of stories coming out this fall.
Q. What is it about those stories that make them your favorites?
A. Those three include the kinds of things I like to find when I read a story written by someone else: suspense, characters in trouble, humor, and a lot of plot twists.
A. The book, called Rainbow's End, is a collection of thirty of my mystery/suspense short stories. It's hardcover, 300 pages, published by Dogwood Press, release date October 11, 2006. I hope you'll like it!
Q. I like all of your stories, so I know I’ll love the book. It’s hard to pick a title for an anthology. How did you come up with Rainbow's End?
A. First, thank you for the compliment--I'm VERY pleased that you enjoy my stories. Second, Rainbow's End is actually the title of one of the stories contained in the collection. The title itself refers to an island off the Alaskan coast where a thief and his dead partner's girlfriend go to retrieve a strongbox of stolen loot.
Q. How does one go about ordering a signed copy of Rainbow's End?
A. My publisher is Joe Lee, the owner of Dogwood Press here in Mississippi. Though the book won't be in bookstores and libraries until mid-October, a signed copy can be ordered now for immediate shipment at this link: http://www.dogwoodpress.com/floyd/books.html
Q. In conclusion, I’d like to ask a question that's been burning in my mind for a while--when can we expect a John Floyd novel?
A. I have actually completed three novels and am writing a fourth. I hope to start aggressively marketing those soon--they're sitting around aging, like tobacco--but I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy it quite as much as I enjoy writing/selling the short stuff. There's something I love about being able to finish writing a story in a matter of days and then start a completely different one. Or maybe I just have a short attention span...
BJ Bourg/John M. Floyd © 2006
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