Five Things You Didn’t Know About Steven Verrier

1. If a book doesn’t grab me in the first few pages I’ll probably put it down and choose another. This is the standard I expect readers to apply to my work, and it’s the standard I apply as a reader to almost every book I pick up. It’s also the standard I apply as a writer. If the first few pages of anything I’m writing seem to fall flat … well, out they go. You’ve got to make an impact on the reader from the start.
2. If I’m watching Leno, Seinfeld, or sports on TV, I’m not wasting time. I’m ‘gathering material.’ A well-crafted joke … or man facing off against man … what can be more literary than that? Throw The Simpsons into the mix, too. And tell my wife I’m not the spitting image of Homer.
3. I’ve lived in a lot of places. I’ve dealt with a lot of people and read a lot of books. I’ve worked at a lot of jobs. There’s a lot more I’ve done. Accumulate enough experience and – as long as you haven’t kept your eyes closed or aren’t completely out of your element – you’re not going to have much trouble writing good stories.
4. I write every first draft in longhand. I just don’t think computers lend themselves to the creative process of writing a first draft as well as pen and paper do. As far as I’m concerned, computers are for editing, for rewriting … perhaps for anything but putting together a first draft.
5. The best time for me to write is early in the morning before cares of the day set in. The problem with that is that when I wake up early to write it usually takes so long to get functional that I barely have a chance to start writing before it’s time to take off for work or wherever. So I end up writing whenever I can. But I do manage to get the job done.

Steven Verrier, born in the United States and raised in Canada, has spent much of his adult life living and traveling abroad. Publications include Plan B (Saga Books, 2010), Tough Love, Tender Heart (Saga Books, 2008), Raising a Child to be Bilingual and Bicultural (Hira-Tai Books of Japan), and several short dramatic works (Brooklyn Publishers). Currently he is living with his wife, Motoko, and their five children in San Antonio, Texas.  You can visit his website at www.stevenverrier.com .