Writers4Higher features author Rick Burnham

Hi Rick. Welcome to the Writers4Higher family!

1.     Tell me about yourself. Your book(s), your life, your inspiration.

I am originally from Jasper, Fla., a small town about an hour or so east of Tallahassee. That is where my heart is, and that is where a few of the fictional towns from my book are located.

The Air Force took me away from all that – at least for 22 years. But I was able to see the world, and visit places that I would almost certainly have missed otherwise. Korea. Panama. Portugal. Washington, DC.

Education came a little later than most. I have a couple of undergraduate degrees: Psychology from Saint Leo, and English from Valdosta State. I absolutely enjoy the classroom. Just a little weird like that, I guess.

I also enjoy writing, obviously. My first attempt, “Lute Casey, Redneck Vampire,” is a curious little cross between Stephen King and Jeff Foxworthy and was more fun to write than I care to admit. The second took a more serious turn. “Moon Over Berlin” follows my father’s trek through WWII, with a nice little fictional jaunt thrown in for fun. It was my intent to get it into his hands while he was still here, and I was very happy to achieve that.

The plot of my third and current book, “Hank: The Storyteller’s Story” is a bit more involved than the first two. At its core, I guess, “Hank” is a love story, though it is more about the bonds of family and friendship than romance. Sorry, no “50 Shades” this time around.

I currently live in Cairo, Ga. with my wife Stephanie, and work at the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. I have been there for two-and-a-half years.

2.     Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?

My job at the Department of Elder Affairs gives me the opportunity to meet and talk with a great number of elders living in the state of Florida. I mention that because I believe our elders to be a tremendous source of inspiration. They are an absolute treat to talk to, and their stories and experiences are a veritable treasure trove of material. If there has been one theme with my books, it has been “old folks talking.” I intend to explore that path a bit more thoroughly.

3.     How do you use your talents/time to help others?

A couple of ways. Through the newspaper of the Department of Elder Affairs (The Elder Update), I am able to tell the stories of a few of our citizens here in the state. I enjoy doing it, and if my work brings an enhanced sense of pride and satisfaction for the people I write about, along with those who read my stories, then I have done my job.

Also, I have been blessed with a very (very) vivid imagination, and if the stories I put down on paper offer any respite at all from world events for my readers, then all the better.

Readers can connect with Rick at:

suwanneerivernole@gmail.com

Thank you, Rick. 

We wish you the very best!

Rhett DeVane, author and blogmaster

www.rhettdevane.com

Writers4Higher features author Jeff Weddle

Hi Jeff. Welcome to Writers4Higher.

First of all...perfect shirt!

1. Tell me about yourself. Your book(s), your life, your inspiration.

I am a native Kentuckian living in Alabama. My family has been here for eleven years and we love it. My day job is teaching in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. I am a pretty average guy. Wife. Son and daughter. Cat. Dog. I practice Tae Kwon Do, as do both of my kids. I also happen to be the son of a writer. My mother, Laura Weddle, has published two short story collections and I’m proud to be following her lead with my new collection from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, When Giraffes Flew.

The strongest influences on my writing are probably Charles Bukowski, Barry Hannah, Raymond Carver and Richard Brautigan. I have loved short stories since I was old enough to read them and was fortunate enough to take classes from Barry Hannah when I was a graduate student at Ole Miss about twenty-five years ago. Barry taught me a lot about narrative voice and the delicious ways in which humor and simple human tragedy can comingle. While I don’t write every day, I have been a steady writer for many years. This new book is a culmination of my efforts over a long stretch.

2. Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?

When Giraffes Flew is my fourth book. My first, Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of The Outsider and Loujon Press (University Press of Mississippi, 2007) won the Eudora Welty Prize and my others are a poetry collection and a co-authored text on negotiation strategies for librarians. I’ve also published a fair amount of fiction and poetry in little magazines over the years. With Giraffes, I feel like I’m on a roll and am looking at putting together another story collection maybe in a couple of years. I might get ambitious and try my hand at a novel.


3. How do you use your talents/time to help others?

I am a teacher by profession, so I hope I can say that my job is helping others. The fact that I teach in a program that educates future librarians makes me feel like I’m helping not just those that I teach, but also the communities they will help when they find jobs as librarians. I also do volunteer work for the Tuscaloosa City Schools, most recently teaching Tae Kwon Do to elementary school kids. I have also taught classes in Book Arts and Origami for the kids.

To order When Giraffes Flew: http://www.syppublishing.com/when-giraffes-flew/

Do you have a taste for the bizarre, abstract, and peculiar? This eclectic collection of short stories will tantalize your imagination and your sense of propriety.

Here you will find exploding chickens, flying giraffes, and one very ugly monkey. Barbers sick with love and school spirit. A mailman with a vendetta against junk mail. Mayhem. Love gone wrong. Lost souls of all stripes. Join Jeff Weddle—Eudora Welty Prize winning author—for twenty-nine excursions into the dark heart of contemporary American letters. When Giraffes Flew is sure to grab you and not let go.

 A blurb from a reviewer:

"Weddle's stories are dark gems. When cracked open they reveal the pathos of the twisted light that governs the strangeness of the human psyche."

George Eklund, The Island Blade, Poems, and In the Arms of the Fog, Poems in Spanish and English

Where may I find Jeff Weddle?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeff.weddle1

Webpage: http://threestorycaves.wix.com/jeff-weddle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeddleJeff

Author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Weddle/e/B001JRZKX0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Thank you, Jeff.

Rhett DeVane

southern fiction author and blogmaster

www.rhettdevane.com

The purpose of the Writers4Higher blog: to feature authors in a new light, a fresh look at the way writers use their talents and life energies to uplift humankind. Writers4Higher doesn’t promote religious or political views. Authors are asked to answer three simple questions: simple, yet complex.