GARY BECK
the author of the Fault Lines
Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director, and as an art dealer when he couldn’t make a living in theater. He has 11 published chapbooks and 3 more accepted for publication. His poetry collections include: Days of Destruction (Skive Press), Expectations (Rogue Scholars Press). Dawn in Cities, Assault on Nature, Songs of a Clerk, Civilized Ways, Displays, Perceptions & Fault Lines (Winter Goose Publishing). Tremors, Perturbations, Rude Awakenings and The Remission of Order will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. Conditioned Response (Nazar Look). Resonance (Dreaming Big Publications). His novels include: Extreme Change (Cogwheel Press), Flawed Connections (Black Rose Writing) and Call to Valor (Gnome on Pigs Productions). Sudden Conflicts will be published by Lillicat Publishers and State of Rage by Rainy Day Reads Publishing. His short story collection, A Glimpse of Youth (Sweatshoppe Publications). Now I Accuse and other stories will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines. He currently lives in New York City.
I began from the need to reach others and hopefully to get them feeling or thinking about the important issues of our times.
ALM: Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
GB: Being a theater director was a life and death experience aspiring to create stage beauty, but it was trivial compared to war and science, although I committed enough energy and passion to change the world for a few. I worked in galleries then became a private dealer specializing in art of the sixties. I knew many of the artists who became famous. They were all concerned with art history to different degrees. The collectors who could afford their works scorned them, until they became valuable old masters. I’ve written 35-40 books, about 20 of which have been published.
ALM: What is the title of your latest book and what inspired it?
GB: Crumbling Ramparts, a sequel to my recently published novel, Call To Valor. Some of the characters so interested me that I decided to give them a second life.
ALM: How long it took you to write your latest book and how fast do you write?
GB: I usually write quickly. I’ve had to do a lot of careful checking as I work on the sequel to make sure the characters are consistent with the first book.
ALM: Do you have any unusual writing habits?
GB; No unusual writing habits, except working on different projects at the same time, novels, poetry, short stories, essays, plays.
ALM: What authors, or books have influenced you?
GB: John Steinbeck – The Grapes of Wrath. A seering portrait of the disenfranchised in the 1930s, and their suffering inflicted by a capitalist system indifferent to the needs of the poor. Many others.
ALM: What are you working on now?
GB: A novel, poetry collection and theater essays.
ALM: What is your best method (or website) when it comes to promoting your books?
GB: Amazon authors page, Goodreads, Face book, my web site.
ALM: Do you have any advice for new authors?
GB: Learn to laugh at rejection. If it’s courteous or gracious, accept it cheerfully. If it’s snarky, get over it. It won’t change your life or your work if you believe in yourself.
ALM: What is the best advice you have ever heard?
GB: Resist much. Obey little – Walt Whitman.
ALM: What are you reading now?
GB: Herodotus – The Persian Wars
ALM: Who are your favorite authors and what are your favorite books ever?
GB: I read a lot of poetry. GB: Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Wolf, John Steinbeck. Many American poets, the French symbolist poets, Don de Lilo, Jonathan Franzen.
ALM: What’s next for you as a writer?
GB: At least 6 books will be published in 2017, which hopefully will greatly expand my readership
ALM: What do you deem the most relevant about your writing?
GB: I began from the need to reach others and hopefully to get them feeling or thinking about the important issues of our times.
ALM: Thank you Gary. Good luck with your writing.
To learn more about Gary Beck, you may visit his author’s page on amazon.com.
