Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
George T. Arnold, Ph.D.
P.O. Box 983, Lancaster, SC 29721
1945 Hickory Drive, Lancaster, SC 29720
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Heart Beneath the Badge. At my publisher, Speaking Volumes now. To be published in 2023. Inspired by the critical success of my first western, Wyandotte Bound, which won a first place Laramie Best Western award in the Chanticleer International Book Awards competition. I grew up going to the movies every Saturday afternoon during the booming western films era of the late ’40s and ’50s. This is all explained in the dedication in Wyandotte Bound.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Because of my 46-year background as a journalist and as a journalism professor, I write short sentences, brief paragraphs, and use simple language. I try not to be overly descriptive (for example, getting carried away by the flowers on the hillside, cloud patterns, and the breeze blowing through the trees). I took up fiction writing at age 72, write for the pure fun of it, and do not sketch out stories. I get and idea, start writing, and then surprise myself about where the story goes. I am having a wonderful time writing without the deadline pressure of journalism and all the research involved in academic writing.
What authors, or books have
influenced you?
None that I can cite.
What are you
working on now?
For the first time, I am writing two novels at the same time. They are vastly different. One is a western about a sharpshooter; the other is set on a college campus in the 1960s and centers on a young professor whose extraordinary good looks clash with his ambition to be taken seriously as a great teacher.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your b
ooks?
Which Websites you like most to promote your book
Leaving that up to you
Do you have any
advice for new
Authors?
Learn punctuation and grammar thoroughly. Write short sentences, use simple language, and keep paragraphs and chapters brief. Do not write about yourself and your own experiences unless there is something extraordinarily rare and interesting about them. Write simply. Do not try to be too poetic or philosophical.
What is the best
advice you have
ever heard?
I presume you mean about writing? I guess it would be to trust your own style. Learn from others but do not copy them.
What are you reading now?
The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake
What’s next for you
as a writer?
Just to write whatever I feel like writing whenever I feel like writing. If I were young, I would have a different answer.
If you were going
to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3
or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A dog, an endless supply of food and drink, a working cell phone, and books by John Grisham, Joy Callaway, Leila Meacham, Jeanette Walls, Robert Parker, and Julia Keller.,