Immaculate Deception: An Interview with Author Scott B. Pruden

Scott B. Pruden wrote his first novel after a long career as a journalist.  That novel, Immaculate Deception, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  Scott, can you give us a brief rundown of your journalism career?

I worked at eight newspapers between 1989 and 2004, starting as a writer, columnist and editor at my school paper at the University of South Carolina, then moving on to jobs after graduation as a reporter, columnist, copy editor and news editor at newspapers in South Carolina, Arizona, southcentral Pennsylvania and Philadelphia . Since 2004 I’ve freelanced for a number of Delaware Valley magazines.

Russell Lynes, the critic and editor of Harper’s Magazine, once said “Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.”  You’ve beaten the odds by producing a good novel.  What’s your secret?

Lots of journalists do indeed have what would probably be a good novel in them, but I feel like many can’t get past the “making stuff up” part. As journalists, we’re so steeped in truth, verifiable fact and objectivity that creating something out of pure imagination somehow seems dirty. As a result, a lot of journalists get bogged down in the fact vs. fiction element of things rather than using their usually diverse factual experiences to inform the fiction and make it feel more genuine.

I’m not sure if there’s a secret to getting that novel out, other than the old adage of ass+chair=words. My first novel emerged from two short story ideas that fizzled, but I somehow thought would combine to make not necessarily a “great” novel, but the sort I’d enjoy reading. I was initially a little concerned that I’d be the only one, but during the 20 years I was working on it, writers like Christopher Moore and Neil Gaiman gained more popularity. That’s when I realized there was already an audience for the sort of weird-ass novel Immaculate Deception was becoming.

As far as the journalist aspect is concerned, I think one of the things that makes me good at journalism is a skill that also makes a good novelist, and that’s the ability to closely observe, internalize and then regurgitate elements of what goes on around us. Unrelated to journalism, I’ve also been an amateur actor since my high school days, and that’s helped me both with crafting dialogue that sounds natural and digging up emotions to convey them accurately on the page. I always encourage aspiring writers to be both their own Sherlock Holmes, noticing tiny little details that others wouldn’t, and a method actor, digging into their own pasts to mine emotions to make character relationships and interactions in their work feel true.

You and Wayne Lockwood are now micro-publishers.  Tell us about Codorus Press.

Not to sound like a complete boozer, but Codorus Press is a great example of the amazing things that can happen when journalists get together to drink. The initial idea came from Wayne when we worked together at the York Daily Record in York, Pa., in the late 1990s. One night during after-deadline beers I was bemoaning the fact that I couldn’t get traction from traditional agents or publishers on an earlier draft of Immaculate Deception, and he noted how easy it would be for a room full of writers, editors and designers to start our own indie publishing house. Ten years later, with a much-improved draft of my novel, we did just that. Since then we’ve been gradually building up our stable of writers, focusing on keeping things small and among friends. It might not be the most capitalist of business models, but our focus is really on helping each other get our work out there rather than becoming rich and famous.

Finally, what’s next?  A new novel?

Yes. In addition to working on some short stories and getting those submitted to different markets, I’m hammering away at the follow-up to Immaculate Deception. This time around, the weirdness is more paranormal than metaphysical and set in the present day. In it, a fresh-out-of-college newspaper reporter struggles to deal with a rash of ghost sightings that seem to lead to a broader conspiracy among the living. I’m describing it as The X Files meets Ghostbusters meets Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Thank you.  You can follow Scott B. Pruden on social media, at his website, on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Goodreads. 

You can purchase his novel, Immaculate Deception, through the Codorus Press web site or or via Amazon.

And here's a link to a recent podcast on The Indy Author, in which Matty Dalrymple interviews Scott Pruden.

Interview with the Authors of UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE, Part One

Nineteen Writers from the Main Line Writers Group have put together an anthology of their short stories and poems. It's called Unclaimed Baggage, and it's being released by White Lightning Publishing of West Chester, PA.

The anthology is scheduled for release this Sunday, October 27, 2013. There will be a book release party at Nestology in the King of Prussia Mall, from 1 to 3 pm.

In advance of this book release, we interview some of the authors who have work in this anthology. (This is Part One of the interview.)

Let's start with a quick, easy question: Who is your favorite author, the one whose writing inspires you or the one you'd like to write like?

Sarah Cain: I'm a great fan of Shirley Jackson. “The Lottery” still gives me chills.

Tony Conaway: Among contemporary authors, Michael Chabon.

Sue Drummond: Oh, so many! I like Annie Proulx, John LeCarre, Amy Tan, Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Russo, Yann Martel, CS Forester. . . even got into Faulkner this year. I am a voracious reader. Presently reading Tea Obrecht. Just finished How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. So many good books!

Julie Duffy: My first favorite author was Douglas Adams (I could recite Vogon poetry at age nine...). Having been weaned on him, I went on to discovered Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and of course PG Wodehouse, Mark Twain, T. H. White. George MacDonald Fraser is another wonderful humorist. I really admire TV writers Joss Whedon, Stephen Moffat, Russell Davies and Jane Espenson for their storytelling and heartbreaking use of tension and humor. I've always been a fan of mysteries --- sneaking copies of my mother's Dick Francis horse-racing thrillers off a high shelf at a young age probably caused my love of page-turners. Recent favorites include Ellis Peters and Elizabeth Peters and (I know, I'm late to the party) Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. I fell in love with Arthur C. Clarke's use of the Big Idea as a teenager and that was my gateway drug into Stephen Jay Gould's non-fiction and John Donne's poetry as well as other sci-fi, including Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, H. G. Wells and Neal Stephenson. And I haven't even started on the historical fiction writers yet...

Joan Hill: My current favorite author is Elizabeth Berg, whose realistic fiction reaches some gritty truths. I am also very much enjoying Aimee Bender’s work. She is quirky and original.

Tom Joyce: Asking me to name my favorite author is kind of like asking me to name my favorite song or movie. It’s the kind of thing that changes on an hourly basis. But one name that comes to mind immediately is Elmore Leonard. A lot of people justly praise his quirky touches and arch tone. But I think his greatest quality was his solid craftsmanship. The man knew how to construct a sturdy story arc.

Walter Lawn: Every American who writes poetry does it in a constant struggle with Emily Dickinson. You may try to pretend she's not there, but she always is. More immediately, though, I love Paul Zimmer's poetry - affectionate, humorous, intimate - he has an amazing, light touch in his deepest moments. I want to be him.

Matt McGeehin: Mary Higgins Clark was the first fiction writer I remember reading.

Robert Charles Mercer: There have been many authors that have inspired me. To name a few, there's George R. R. Martin, S. M. Stirling, Robert Charles Wilson, and Stephen King.

How long have you been writing?

Tom Joyce: A very long time or a very short time, depending on how you look at it. I worked as a newspaper reporter for nearly 20 years, and I did a lot of writing in that capacity. But I started writing fiction only a few years ago. I discovered that fiction writing is like newspaper reporting in the respect that it’s a frequently aggravating and nerve-wracking process, but ultimately rewarding enough to get you through the rough spots.

Martha Nawrocki: I have been writing since I was 12 years old but just for fun. In high school I had a really excellent English teacher who taught the fundamentals of writing. His lessons gave me the basic tools to produce well constructed papers. I was an English major in college but wound up in the computer industry as a programmer and knowledge engineer. I did a lot of technical writing along the way, so I really have been writing for most of my life.

Sarah Cain: I've been writing over 25 years, mostly non-fiction--speech-writing, video scripts, op-eds, brochures, etc.

Matt McGeehin: Fiction writing, I started in high school. Being a meek, nerdy type, that was my way of coping with all of the crap that comes from high school.

Julie Duffy: It sounds like a cliche, but as a youngest child I was 'writing' before I could write. I remember lying on the floor dragging a pencil over a sheet of paper in imitation of my siblings before I even started school. Once I could finally make the right shapes, I was off. I read and wrote incessantly...until they started to teach us to appreciate literature (around the age of 12) at which point my writing screeched to a halt. I didn't write creatively again until after I'd graduated from formal education. Since then I've been working on and off on my creative writing. Things really picked up when I launched the StoryADay May challenge in 2010 and discovered a lurking community of would-be writers online, desperate for 'permission' to write creatively again.

Walter Lawn: When I was 6 or 7, frustrated that there were no more sequels to The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, I wrote my own. I haven't stopped since. My penmanship has not improved.

And that's all we have room for in this post. Please join us this Sunday for the book release party of Unclaimed Baggage, and look for Part Two of our interviews with the authors!

Philcon 2008, Part II - Disappointments

There were some disappointments in last weekend’s Philcon. Author and writing coach Jonathan Maberry had to cancel. My friend, Origami expert Mark Kennedy, was absent. Also missing was author and scientist Charles Pellegrino, who always has something fascinating to contribute. (Charlie, of course, is the man who originated the idea of cloning dinosaurs from their blood, collected by mosquitoes preserved in amber. Without this idea, there would’ve been no “Jurassic Park” book or movies.)

But my biggest disappointment came in the panel on “Editing Anthologies.” I had long wanted to edit an anthology, but the experts on the panel revealed that publishers no longer buy anthologies of old stories. They want only all-new material in their anthologies!

What nonsense! Surely, the best anthologies collect the best material. And when you have the entire spectrum of literature to choose from, you can get the best! (Well, you can try…you can only anthologize what you can afford and what you can get permission to use.) EVERY anthology I’ve read in the past few years has been compiled from previously published stories! Most of them have been “Best of the Year” Anthologies.

But the publishers want all-new anthologies, preferably with a few New York Times Bestselling Authors. It doesn’t matter if it’s BAD writing by a name author, just that you can put a Big Name on your cover! The example given was Neil Gaiman. I’ve read and enjoyed his Sandman work; he’s very successful. But often he places his poetry in new anthologies, not his prose. And most people consider Gaiman’s poetry inferior to his prose. What a disappointment to a reader: expecting a Neil Gaiman short story, and getting a poem!

Ah, well. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


What I’m working on at present:

• A report on the United Arab Emirates for the consulting firm Getting Through Customs
• A Promotional Idea for the Writers Coffeehouse on Sunday 29 November
• New Humor Essay for Wilmington Writers on Tuesday 2 December