INTERVIEW SERIES - B. CRAIG GRAFTON

INTERVIEW WITH B. CRAIG GRAFTON

​Author is a retired attorney having practiced for 35 years in Illinois who now lives in Texas and started writing stories about a year and a half ago.

Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
 
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.  

Retired attorney. Practiced 1973-2008 in Illinois. Retired and moved to Texas 2011..
 
Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school?

No.

Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student?

Not good at English grammar but wrote clever funny essays that my last English teacher liked and gave me good grades.
 
Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career?

None. I’m too old to have a writing career. I only have one career to look forward to, death the final career.
 
 
Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far?

Just silly stories for online magazines.
 
 
Q: When did you decide to become a writer and why? What was the principal reason for taking up a pen (metaphorical speaking) and write that first sentence?

I have never have decided to become a writer.

Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

Part time three or four stories a month.
 
Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration?

I’m sixty nine. Old people have seen a lot. Thinking back it’s easy to come up with ideas.
 
Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

No. At same level as I was in high school.

Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

Outline it in my mind and see where it goes from there once I start typing.
 
Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing?

Forcing myself to start typing.
 
Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing?

Once I get going it’s hard to quit.
 
Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?

No.
 
Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books?

I read fiction, mysteries and contemporary thrillers, non fiction history and biographies, and short story collections of a literary nature.
 
Q: What book/s are you reading at present?

A book about the Jewish resistance to the Nazis in Poland during WWII.
 
Q: How do you relax?  

Read.
 
Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying?

“You’ll never learn any younger.” My father’s father used to say that to me when I was little. He would then proceed to learn me about whatever it was that he was just talking about. Even if my old age based on that I try to learn something new every day.


Q: What is your favorite quote?

The one above.
 
Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time?    

Deceased.
 
Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?   

There’s no substitute for hard work and honesty. (I made that one up not my grandfather,)
 
 
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?   

My advice would be, “Ask someone else. I’m not qualified to give advice.”
 
Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future?

Nowhere I’m too old for a future.
 
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?      

See P.S. below.
 
Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work?         

I have none of these things.

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

P.S.-----
 
I know that these answers aren’t much and if you don’t print them I understand. Making up these stories and committing them to paper is something I view as a challenge. Something to do in my old age. I certainly wouldn’t have had the time or even thought of doing so when I was young and in business. It’s a challenge to see if I can do it and get somebody to print them. That’s enough for me. If they ever get beyond the internet it will be sheer luck as I have no idea how to market them and one thing that I’ve learned through the years is that luck has a lot to with the outcome of one’s life. (But then again one can create his own luck by jumping at all opportunities.)   
Thank you again for printing what I have sent you. I really appreciate it.
Good luck with your magazine. I can see that you have all the necessary spirit, desire, drive and ambition to succeed. I’m sure you’ll be successful.
 
B. Craig Grafton

Thank you Mr. Grafton, both for your kind words and for your valuable contribution to our magazine.