Pump Up Chats with Gregory Allen, author of “Well With My Soul”

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GGAllen_web Gregory G. Allen moved from Texas to New York in the late 80s and has been in the entertainment business for over twenty years as an actor, director, producer, songwriter, playwright and author. He’s had over ten shows that he has written produced on stage, been the recipient of musical grants from BMI, ASCAP and the Watershed Foundation, and has had short stories and poetry published in Off The Rocks, Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal, The Oddville Press, Perpetual Magazine, Loch Raven Review, Word Catalyst Magazine, and Rancor’d Type.

He is a member of ASCAP, The Dramatist Guild, and the Theatre Communications Group. He now lives in the suburbs of New Jersey and for the past five years he’s managed an arts center on a college campus. Proud Pants: An Unconventional Memoir was published this summer and is available as a digital download on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. This is his first novel.

For more information on Gregory, visit his website at www.ggallen.net or http://www.facebook.com/author.gregory.g.allen.

On Well With My Soul

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

A: This book cried out to me to be written because of the amount of high profile people I saw in the news that were caught in some sort of sexual situation (many times closet gay men). I wanted to attempt to get in the mind of a person that dealt with homophobia: both internally and externally. It was especially important for me to show two sides of the story so I told it from the perspective of two very different brothers.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

A: The history of the late 70s and early 80s as I was a child then. I wanted to get that right to stay historically true to what was happening in our country. I was never in Studio 54, but my character is. So I needed to do plenty of research on those elements.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

A: When you make a decision based on selfishness or pride, it always affects those around you.

On Writing

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

A: I wrote my first short stories in the 5^th grade and then would write small plays and direct the neighborhood kids in my shows. By 14 years old, my first musical (that I wrote the book and the score) was produced onstage by a local children’s theater company.

Q: What’s the most frustrating thing about becoming a published author and what’s the most rewarding?

A: That’s a tough question. I felt I knew what was in store because of people I’ve known that have gone before me into the world of being published, so I was ready…I thought! But I actually think it’s the self promotion. My day job is managing an arts center and I do marketing all the time. But when the ‘product’ is you; it’s a different story and it can be somewhat hard to ‘push’ yourself on to others. The most rewarding is the ‘firsts’ that happen along the process. Seeing the cover design for the first time. Holding the book in your hand and flipping through the pages. Seeing a display of your books in an indie bookstore. So rewarding and makes it all worth while.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

A: I feel everyone should be true to themselves when they write. I don’t mean the ‘write what you know’. I mean your style. I don’t follow all the rules. I don’t give the reader exactly what they expect. And I’m sure I’ll continue doing just that the more books that I put out for readers to see.

On Family and Home:

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

A: I live in NJ with my partner of 11 years. Three years ago we had a civil union ceremony (which is something that could never occur in the book I wrote) and I’m so lucky to have such a supportive man who understands my quirk and gives me my space to create. We have no children, but do have nieces, nephews and godchildren in our lives. (My favorite kind of kids: the ones we can give back to their parents after we spoil them.) 😉 No pets, but there is a stuffed animal named Kitty who goes on all of our travels with us. Sort of like the traveling gnome. That cat has more photos in different countries than I do.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

A: The corner of my comfy sofa with my laptop. I know, I know – not the smartest way to write, but I enjoy it.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

A: Travel. We’ve cruised the Baltic Sea from London to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Germany, St. Petersburg, Russia. The Mediterranean Sea from Italy to Egypt to Israel as well as Mexico, the Caribbean and New England. We also love road trips. Makes me think of being a kid again.

On Childhood:

Q: Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

A: I was. My mother was a reader and she passed that love to me. From the Boxcar Children books to Superfudge and A Wrinkle in Time – I loved reading all kinds of books.

Q: Can you remember your favorite book?

A: I remember owning The Little Bear Book by Else Holmelund Minarik and I loved that book! I loved how he could turn a cardboard box into a toy…great book on imagination and I still have it stuck back in my mind today.

Q: Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

A: I had a huge imagination and would write stories, direct them as plays or movies and loved doing it. My mother kept spiral notebooks of many of my short stories that I would write back then.

On Book Promotion:

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

A: I knew I needed to get visibility on the web so I created a website prior to the book even coming out (when I was getting short stories published in anthologies) and started my promotion there.

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

A: Absolutely. So important. I have a facebook author page, twitter account, goodreads page, and blog as much as my can.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

A: Social Media is the new wave of promotion and meeting people. There was a time when an author could write (even as a different gender) and no one would know better. Now they need to be out there constantly marketing themselves both online and in stores. I’ve heard from many authors that it is so difficult to physically get into bookstores for signings now (unless you are a big name author) so promoting on the web is that much more important. With each book signing opportunity I get, I am very grateful I can still participate in that tradition.

On Other Fun Stuff:

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

A: This will sound so silly, but I wish everyone could experience the joy I’ve felt in my life (at different times) of being able to do what I love. So many people have jobs that they hate or have a life of regret of not trying something or going after something. I advise my friends who are sitting on the fence of trying something new to ‘go for it!’ I left home at 18 to be an actor in New York and the past 24 years have been filled with amazing moments that I can forever look back on and say “I got to that!”

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

A: Some place warm. Jersey is heading into winter and I absolutely hate the cold. My other half and I keep talking of moving south.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

A: You know when you ask that question you make an author get a lump in their throat, right? I would thank Anthony first and foremost for standing by me through thick and thin. My mother and my family for support that goes above and beyond simply feeling proud of me because I’m family. And those handful of close friends that are my lifeline to what is real and what is true when I’m having a moment of doubt. And naturally – everyone that reads my book! (Have I mentioned you should check it out?) 🙂

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How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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