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Interview – Raymond F. Quinton

 

– When did you start writing stories/novels, what moved you to start writing?

You know, imagination is one of those talents that’s often ignored. Writing starts with the genius gene of imagination. I talk about genius genes a lot in Writing By The Seat of My Pants, my first memoir book that’s featured here. We all, I believe, have genius in us. We have to discover it and use it. I was always making up stories as a kid. So much so, that my 12 brothers and sisters thought I was more annoying than cute. English 101 at Kansas State University when I was 16, a junior in high school, was the key. I learned the basics of writing and started writing journals back then; journals filled with stories, drawings and ideas. Flash forward to 1981. I took a bus to Denver. I was gripping my diploma for dear life, saying to my self, “Okay. You’re creative, smart, funny, sensitive and you don’t want to be a beat reporter for a small-town newspaper or go back to New York. I had turned down an offer to ride to New York with Sally Hofmeister, who recently retired as arts editor of the L.A. Times. I did not want to go back to New York…not yet anyway. Now what? After a disastrous 6 months as a unit supervisor for Allstate, I quit, gave up my condo rental, packed my mattress on a rented Mercury Monterrey and moved to a roach-infested Capitol Hill studio to be a publisher, radio theater actor, jazz pianist, and corporate librarian. I’ve been breaking all the rules ever since, writing for the newspapers and magazines I founded, publishing my own best-seller restaurant guide in San Francisco, and producing as much copy as possible. But it wasn’t until I was an editor for Bancroft Whitney in ’89 that I took a stab at fiction. Burred deep in the archives of Cal. Reports bound volumes was a great story. I started that book first…but got diverted by A Pitch in Crime. Yes, I did have to pitch newspapers for a time as a last-resort after I closed my Historic Property magazine. I produced a Historic Jazz Concert at the Hollywood Theater and a Indie Music Magazine. After a partner held out on his financial commitment, all bets were off. I had to pay for all the printing and that was a disaster. $4,000 is a lot of money. I went into a hole and never got out. Thus, financial disaster…that created artistic opportunity, A Pitch in Time, a newspaper carrier handbook (Sold very well to distribution managers), AND A Pitch in Crime…based on a true story–my first completed crime fiction novel.

– In what genres do you write? Do you plan writing in other genres?

Well, I write in many genres. I’m multi-generational. We are only limited by what we believe we can do. I have a knack for satire, which is the most difficult genre. It’s hard to have more hits than misses. But, it’s natural for me. Again, another genius gene. That’s two in this interview so far. Imagination and satirical humor. You see the theme here. There are many. But, I’m also a disciplined new and feature writer. A great tool. When I started my newspapers and magazines, I was the principle writer, designer, production editor, columnist, sales manager and distributor.

I love writing self-help and guide books. I love cutting through the chaos and getting right to the point. So, several of my books fall into this genre. I love children’s books because I can go back to my childhood and imagine what I would want to read. Short stories provide opportunity to explore ideas. And, I need to feed my inner annoying child, so satire feeds that hunger.

I’m on a Bike/Writing sabbatical right now…for two months; traveling by bike/train from Berlin to Kolhn, to Strausbourg, to Basel Switzerland, to Tours, France, to Paris, to Denmark, then back to Berlin…then back to Portland, Oregon. I’ll be working on two important fiction works for me. Maybe controversial. But controversy is good. The first is to finish that first novel from the Cal Reports archives, The Power of Circumstances. The second is titled, Do Niggers Dream? Folks will have to follow me to find out more. At the same time, I’ll complete a second children’s book titled Banana Pizza, and a non-fiction social-change focused book titled From Mule To Man: Negro 2.0. I know, the questions is always, “Can you be controversial, goofy, a social change merchant and have fun with your life?” Yes you can prove that every day.

Finally, once I finish these next books, I’ll be up to around 10, I’m taking my show on the road, pulling in all my creative disciplines to produce my “Party Like a Writer: Half-World Tour” The focus will be humor, social equity, music and dancing, culminating with a guest appearance by my alter ego DJ Fog Machine. I took a hip-hop dance class at the local community college to prepare for this.

There are many messages in my books. The most important is that in order to eliminate racism, we have to confront it in a deep place inside. I know. I’m a social chameleon. I’m racist. But I’m conscious of it and I resist. Do Niggers Dream? confronts this head on. As I write more and get more comfortable with the intellectual leader buried in me, it shows in my writing. Writing can still change the world…for the better.

– Tell us about your novels. Why should everyone buy them?

Well, I only have one fiction novel right now. But it’s a barn-burner. It has everything I love in novels in it. A main character you’re not sure whether to like or not. I incorporated characters based on friends and family. Rich, of course, is me. It was an easy character to build…and not so far from the truth. I have been living life with many extremes. I don’t necessarily believe you should “Write what you know.” That’s BS. But if you’re living every day as if it were your last, you probably have a great story-line going right now. Then, I filled in with some truly evil characters AND some possibly likable character, lots of exposition, intellectual banter, uncertain race relations and some action. I force the reader to think and guess and laugh. I just finished reading the first print (as I make some final corrections) and it’s funny as hell but the reality of it really strikes home.

Ironically, Bob Grimsley is based on my x-father-in-law, who passed away many years ago. This character is a lot like him. My father-in-law was a firearms expert, would work for the courts as an expert witness. He was a sales manager for Colt and Smith and Wesson and several other gun manufacturers. He had 50 guns of all types in his vault. And when we visited him in San Diego, we’d all go out shooting. AND, his book shelf would make millionaires envious. He drove a Volkswagen Bus and worked in a downtown indie book store in San Diego before he died. He was real and he loved intellectual challenges and was a kind as they come. He dispelled all they myths about gun-loving crazies. He made the perfect co-police chief and butted heads with the younger fresh-faced educated African American lieutenant. Will they somehow learn how to work together without racial, intellectual sparring and tension? Don’t know. Read the book and see if they solve the mystery of the murdered prostitute, the paperboy, the sleazy senator, the James Bond wannabe, the clever collections agency agent from Oakland and the tough-as-nails Ferrari-driving tech genius PI who doesn’t want anyone to know he uses a cell phone.

– What is your all-time favorite novel? What makes it special?

Don’t really have any. Books, movies, magazines, all media feeds my creative process. But, I do dig Dean R. Koontz and James Baldwin. So, I want to combine those two in my stories along with a few others. So, if I mix in a little Koontz, Baldwin, Ellison, Patterson, Follet and Nesbo, I could come up with a nice fictional bouillabaisse. I love Ken Follett’s attention to detail. I, of course, am a lazy writer. That kind of detail would make make my head spin. I read a couple novels a year for fun and to observe style. I picked up a Joe Nesbo a few years back in Amsterdam and loved it. I could tell he was having fun writing these stories.

You know, I’m cheating a little. I’m writing so I can go on the road and perform and read. There’s a bit of vanity here. I want people to read my books, but I desperately want to talk about the ideas and emotions expressed by the characters and situations. I want to use prose and fiction to move the needle of understandings between all people. That’s where my memoir books come in. One new story in book two is titles, “ARIP! Active Reader in Progress.” It’s a whacky story about people who get so wrapped up in a novel that they start acting out the story as they read. The police have to call out the SARWAT team (Special Anti Reader Attack Team) to calm the situation. The other is “Smells Like Envy” about how a “successful” writer ruins a dinner party by saying, “I make lots of money with my book.”

Anyway, we have this view of reading and writing as only done by smart people. I object, you honor. We read and we write so we can understand each other. Otherwise, ain’t no point in indulging in either. Or was it neither?

– Tell us a bit about your writing process.

Okay, this is the cool part. I write without outlines. Yep. No outlines. Tried it with my first novel and got bogged down. 100 pages of character development, situational analysis and well defined story line. Hated it. That was fiction. So, I scrapped all outlines on A Pitch in Crime and dove into the story. It all unfolded on my palm 105 with folding keyboards. I couldn’t stop writing. I just got into the character’s heads and asked, “What would you do in this situation.” I watch the Justice channel all the time, so info is there and I know how sleazy people can be. I’ve also met a few sleazy people in my day. I jotted a few occasional notes if I was not at a computer, but it all mapped out. Now, that’s just me. I process on that level. The genius gene is Improvisation. I compose music my head. I plant an idea and a problem and go to sleep. The solution is there when I wake up. I process the plot for these next books and it’s there. As I write the story unfolds.

Non-fiction. I spend a few hours on a detailed outline (chapter & sub-chapter titles only); basically the whole book. Then, I just start writing. If I get stuck, I walk away. When I come back, I’ve usually figured it out.

Then, I always plan a launch or dance party for when I finish. Writing is complicated. While it’s hard to call it work. It’s difficult to do it well. I’m not perfect. Don’t want to be. But I’m efficient, fearless, creative and focused. Those things alone will help get …it done. Editing is a whole ‘nother thing. I’m an efficient editor; been editing my own copy for 30 years. If everything needed to be perfect, it would never get done. With Amazon, the cool thing is, I can keep editing as long as I want until I’m happy with it. But, it it’s a great story, publish it and sell it. I look at literature as painting with words. If every Picasso needed to be perfect, we’d have never heard of him. If you can positively influence 1 person with your writing, you ARE successful. Just make sure you can still pay your bills.

– What author would you love to have dinner with?

James Baldwin. I saw “I’m not your Negro” the other day. I could see the sadness and frustration in his eyes and hear it in his voice. Yes, another genius gene, “Empathy.” Most people in homogeneous societies will go about their lives dealing with “other” issues. When you are a minority, you have to layer that on your collective experience. It’s like having a constant headache when you’re trying to enjoy your day. You know, you’re having a nice dinner at a sidewalk cafe and somebody drives by and shouts, “GO BACK TO AFRICA NIGGER!” The food doesn’t taste good anymore. You don’t “feel” like you belong. You just want to close the door and not come out. This is all very real all around the world, and especially in America, where race, culture and class are reaching “another” boiling point. Baldwin used story and lecture(voice) and fiction to help us see within ourselves and maybe act or think differently an hour from now or tomorrow. If we write just to write and get published and sell a million novels, we lose. That depth of reading, unfortunately, is reserved for those who have a lot of leisure time. But, if we all follow Baldwins lead. Yes, there are lots of writers who have done the same. That’s where it’s at. That way, when I walk into a lecture hall with a thousand white writers, people don’t look at me and ask, “What’s he doing here. Bet his books are about the ghetto, gangs, angry black men and women and slavery.” They’d be wrong. My books are about people interacting on a level that’s memorable, passionate and real. You dig?

– Tell us about your hobbies and passions other than writing.

I love this question. The reason I think that I win if even 1 person is moved by my books is because writing is empowering and freeing. Our society was founded on the organization of ideas. I don’t expect everyone to love all my ideas. In a 700 page novel, maybe only one. But, I do hope when people read my books, they’ll underline what they like or don’t like and email me. As you can see from this interview, I’m passionate about trying to touch souls and get at the truth of human interaction.

That said, I don’t spend my days thinking a talking about writing. In fact, I don’t talk much about writing at all. Most of my friends don’t even know I’m a writer. Once I say I’m a writer people immediately start talking about how they’re a writer too and go on and on about books they love and friends who are writers and people who wrote words on a napkin…you know…stuff like that. As a Negro, they don’t want to hear that I’ve sold tens of thousands of books, starting with my first at 27. So, the conversation is lost.

Next, I found that there’s so much intellectual noise in my head. The tactical gene (yet another) was conflicting all the other processing genes. I needed ballast. So, several years ago, I cancelled my contract as Media and Sponsorship Director for a large sustainability expo (I’m totally passionate about green living). I got a job a local amusement park for the summer and as a baggage handler on the International arrivals bus at the airport (working on the airfield). I loved operating equipment so much that I did it a second year. The fall of my first year, I also got my Commercial Driver’s License. I could then drive the international shuttle buses on the airfield. I had not had that much fun in such a long time. That winter, I drove school buses and wrote my first children’s book BEST RIDE EVER! In it, Bus Driver Raymond takes kids to Oaks Park. Kids love it. Oaks Park Loves it. The bus company I worked for bought books for all the buses. It’s a hit.

What’s most important is I found I needed to feed the tactile part of my brain in order to be more creative. Driving satisfies part of that need. I also build things. I’m working on my first patent this summer. That’s hard writing. But I’m up to it. I have about 10 ideas I think are good, so what the hell. Why not? I’m an avid bike rider. I do my best thinking on bike. My wife and I are doing a European tour this summer. I produced the first regional bicycle touring guide for Oregon and Washington called PUMP! I watch a lot of crime TV and sci fi movie. I always wanted to be Astro Boy or Superman. Reading the New York Sunday Times is a hobby…takes about a week. Right now I drive for the college in Portland. As is customary with me. Don’t just be a driver. Be the BEST driver. So, I have one of the best driving jobs around and I’m on the college schedule, breaks, summers off. It’s really quite nice. Then, we have two grown children who need us. That’s pretty awesome. I love them very much.

I was a gardening book, cookbook editor, almost 30 titles, including Cooking A To Z. We grow vegetables and herbs and I cook as often as I can. As a restaurant review for my regional foods-focused newspapers, I reviewed most of the great restaurants. I know a lot about food but I don’t like to talk about food all the time. I like to talk about the culture behind the food and the origins of things. You know, you eat. It taste good. It comes out the other end. But that’s not going to make life better necessarily. You eat and discuss the origins of the tomatillo and it’s use in ancient cultures. That’s interesting. Let’s pay respect to all the geniuses in ALL the cultures from past times to present.

There’s other stuff, but I’ll reserve that for another interview.

– We have many followers who would like to start writing a book or are already writing their first novel, any advice for these brave people?

Yes, my book Writing By… focus a lot on this. I’ve touched on some of my ideas in this interview. Even A Pitch in Crime focus some on this. There is a scene at a Writer’s retreat that’s kind of funny. And Rich is like me, a writer, pianist, paperboy. There’s a lot of anxiety and frustration built up around being a writer. I think people the first thing people should do is stop calling themselves writers to distance themselves from the word. The word connotes, intellectual, academic, smartocity, years boring yourself to death reading the classics, things of that nature. Modern society has a weird perception of writers. I am a storyteller, performer, actor, salesman, master bus driver, inventor, philanthropist, arts promoter, revolutionary; all of those things I’m interested in and/or have mastered. My stories reflect my collective experience, interest and furtive imagination.

Then, there’s this thing called destiny. What is that? Well, if you were meant to write, you will write. You will find a way. If you were not meant to write, you will find excuses. In 1981 while I was publishing Rabid City Magazine, I thought my writing lacked depth and complexity. So, I subscribed to the New Yorker for a year and read every article, word for word and underlined the punctuation. I’m not an academic intellectual powerhouse and I get bored easily with complex rules. But I can learn style and technique quickly and it sticks with practice. And, I could type better copy faster and unencumbered by doubt because sentences felt like the stuff in the New Yorker. A Pitch in Crime is an experiment. And at the end of the day, in this current reading, the most important thing I ask is, “Does it sound like a novel/good story?” After 18 years of it sitting in my desk, I can say, “yes.” That’s exciting. The next one will be even better.

As a self-styled jazz pianist, I listened to Bill Evans day and night–lots of other pianist, too. I actually opened for Rob Mullins every Friday. He and I are still friends and I still love his style. But, the idea was to keep playing and experimenting until I sounded a little like Bill Evans…then I added my own style. Writing, I believe is the same way. The desire comes first. Then comes an investment of time. Then comes passion. Then comes sitting you ass down in front of a computer and getting it done. There are a million distractions. The final note is that you have to know when your story lacks depth and really sucks. Hey, I’ve written crap. The first draft of A Pitch in Crime was really preachy, kind of boring. I used huge complex sentences. I was bored to tears until I got to page 500. So, I cut, tightened, edited to my strengths. My strength is dialogue and complex interactions. That’s empathy.

Alz I’m getting to is to learn the language of creating. You’re not a writer. You’re a creator of worlds, moods, language, voice, character and love. Write with passion, confidence and break every rule if you want to in the first draft. Don’t worry about anyone else liking it but yourself. Like I said, you just have to know if it sucks. If you don’t, don’t be afraid to hire an editor and be clear with them when you tell them, “I need to know if this sucks or not.” Again, writing is storytelling in your head. It’s like, “Oh! I have a great story I need to tell someone. Okay, I’ll spend ten years thinking about it, then I’ll tell someone in a book!” By that time, the excitement has waned and most people get tired of thinking about it and become afraid that other people won’t like it. IT DOESN’T MATTER! A story has many parts. Talk about the part that relate to your every day life to keep the process alive. We are part and parcel if the people we meet and the stories we hear. Get out of your head and go meet somebody new, perhaps a Negro and learn about their experience. Then, perhaps, you might add a Negro to your novel, or a Native American, or somebody different. It’s not the sameness that makes us interesting, it’s the differentness. That’s what makes great stories.

– How often do you write, daily, every other day or?

Well, this summer I get to finally feel what it’s like to write every day. But, I’m tempering it with music composition and book marketing. I’ll let you know what it’s like in a couple months. My career has been so diverse. I’ve been a writer/editor/publisher for so long. I’ve made a lot of money writing. When I worked for the marketing agency, I wrote 8 hours a day; manuals, scripts, training programs. I have the dubious distinction of having written all the content for UAW/Ford’s Chemical Safety Program. Yes, I know all about diisocyanates and poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Yep, that’s me, a chemical safety expert. Spent a year on this one.

So, I mentioned finding balance. I found that when I spend too much time in front of a computer, I get a little crazy. I need to go out and drive a bus or something or build something. So, I learned to write in intervals. I drive from 2:30 in the afternoon until 11 p.m. Then I watch movies until 1 a.m. By 1:30 I’m sleeping. 6 hours is average. In the morning I’m refreshed and don’t mind writing from 10:30 until 1 p.m. after I’ve done my daily planning and spent an hour or two sipping tea or coffee and zoning out. A lot of quoteunquote successful writers talk about discipline. That’s cool. It’s fine to be undisciplined as as long as you write. As I’ve said, when I write, I’m extremely disciplined because I’ve been training for a long time. That training was deliberate. So, you should think about your style and your training. I write fast and hard. I’m a journalist. I did the phoning in stories to the city desk thin. I wrote on deadline. Some people have never experienced that. That’s why I say that we should kick the term writer to the curb. The process and content of writing is as much a unique and personal thing as their are snowflakes. Tomorrow, when you wake up, get a cup of tee or coffee, sit at your desk or in the garden and ask these few simple questions: “Who am I? What stories to I want to tell? What am I willing to do to tell my stories? Can I find balance and meaning in my life while I’m doing it? Why is the cat nibbling on my Toes like that? Okay, I digressed. But you get what I’m saying. Then, grab your typewriter and charge forward with purpose until you’re done.

– Do you keep a notebook with ideas for your novels? If so do you carry the notebook with you so you won’t forget any ideas?

Yes, I have a note pad. I scratch ideas down and put them in a file. As you might guess, it’s huge. I’m not sure I’ll have enough time to get to it, but by George, I’m going to have fun trying. You’ll be happy to know, I have made time to complete most of the important, coolest ones and I’m plucking away at the others. To do so, I’ve had to re-orient my career and my life. For example, It’s hard to be creative when you’re wasted. Nothing worse than booze infused prose, text messages and emails. Been there done that. Not pretty.

I like hard copy notes. I’m very technologically savvy. It was my job at Hollywood Video to review the best technology for our marketing purposes, so I saw technology in early 2000 that’s just now being launched. But we still need to be able to back away from it at times. I have lost so much in my stupid cell phone that I gave up using it as a camera. I have a laptop, Android notepad, smart phone I only use as a phone and to watch youtube movies, and an old school cannon camera with SD disk. I also have 400 gig back-up drive. I backed out of all the cool tech and ONLY use what I need.

– How important is research when writing your books?

Very important. As I mentioned, I tried outlines but it took up too much time. So, now with the internet AND libraries, it’s possible to speed up the research process…if you know how to do it quickly and vet your sources. I was a geological and legal librarian for four years. Valuable skills. Again, all these skill compounded to today’s collective me. I was never afraid to quit a job when I got bored with it. I was never afraid to write because it fed me. Writing is different when you have to write for food. You learn to do it better faster or starve. So, I refined the research process; know bad information when I see it, and I’m not afraid to hang out with 50 books until I find what I’m looking for.

As I said, there are writers out there right now thinking, “I’ve got this great idea…BUT…there’s going to be a lot of research and I need to wait until I retire and have more time.” That’s the kiss of death for most books, my friends. First, you may not have tomorrow. Second, there’s nothing more frustrating than having a good idea trapped in your head going nowhere. It’s like being intellectually overweight. You’ll always be thinking, “If I could just get rid of this book, I could be happy.” Third, as I mentioned before, if it has a chance of ever being written, grab that cup of coffee or tea, shoo the cat away from your toes and start writing the damn thing.

Research be damned. Find what you need when you need it. And don’t forget, there’s such a thing as a story being bogged down with complexity. If you are not an expert researcher and well trained to decipher and disseminate lots of information into a story, don’t go there. It could be a great story without all the research. I found a little detail is great for most readers. Some readers who have all the time in the world don’t mind being bored to tears with details (I say that respectfully and with love–I don’t mind at times as well). But there are more than enough people who love movement, action, a little detail to set the scene, fights, broken hearts, love found, sex, guns, cultures…you know, things like that. Detail is not a reflection of intellectual prowess, either. Sometimes its merely a matter time.

– What are you reading at the moment?

I’m reading A Pitch in Crime. I got the first publisher’s proof right before I left Oregon two weeks ago. Can’t put it down. It’s come a long ways, fairly clean and a cool story. So, I’m anxious for people to read it so I can get some feedback, good or bad. Oh, you know, I’ve been getting my ass kicked most of my life. Sales and marketing is thankless and brutal. Did commission sales and business development for 7 years after my divorce. Wanna talk about emotionally scarred. Yes, it got to be pretty brutal for a while…after my divorce and my regional restaurant guide newspapers had to be liquidated as part of the assets. So, I know what it’s like to be in the hot seat. I don’t expect everyone to like my book. But, I’ve written so many and had so much success as an author. I mean, come on, BEST RIDE EVER! was a guaranteed audience. Who doesn’t like amusement parks, buses, trains, etc. So, like I’ve emphasized again and again. Ballast is really important.

I got a signed copy of Michael Eric Dyson’s book Tears We Cannot Stop. Saw him in Portland. I dig the intellectual improvisation style. Now, he’s really smart AND passionate. I’m reading it again because I want to integrate some of his philosophies in to Mule to Man: Negro 2.0.

For fun, I’ll find the latest James Patterson or Ken Follet or the next Stieg Larsson installment. James Baldwin and Stieg Larsson have a lot in common. They walked the walk. They didn’t just write. They lived their passions. In Writing By the Seat of My Pants, I write about wanna be writers waiting until they retire to retreat to some beach house somewhere to write. We may not be granted that luxury. And it’s not about fame or fortune. I can tell you that for many fame sucks. And there’s such pressure to stay famous. That’s what drives people insane. So, I’ll find another book from either of these writers. I like quirky, damaged characters. And, I really appreciate it when writers add even a minor character of some other ethnicity. Sometimes I read books and think there are no Negros in all of the world enjoying their lives and interacting with white people. It’s kind of weird. But I keep reading ’cause I like the stories.

– Certainly, you have had some interesting episodes as an author, fans related or others, share one of them with us.

Well, my most fun one is the Cannelloni caper. My first book in San Francisco was a Lunch Guide to San Francisco’s Financial District. I reviewed and rated over 300 lunch spots. It became the standard lunch reference book and the only one in the country. I had hopes of going national then international. I sold lots of books, but I was young and not so business savvy and got in trouble with the tax man and had to file bankruptcy for my publishing company. Hey, I was 27 or so. Young

I was doing lots of interviews back then; for newspapers, radio shows, television shows. Pretty cool. I got invited to interview on the local PBS station. It was a big interview. Studio. Lights. Very hot. And it was live. As I’ve said, I was a respected cookbook editor by that time and worked with most of the well known food writers, photographers and got to know the restaurant owners. It was kind of a cool time.

So, the interview is going well until the interviewer asks me, “So, what’s your favorite lunch spot to have cannelloni?” I thought for a moment and I think she could see the confusion in my eyes. She cocked her head to one side and waited a few seconds. My eyes started darting back and forth from her to the microphones to the engineer and back again. I screwed my courage and blurted out, “Oh, you mean the squid, right?”

She was waiting, “Oh, no, no, no, the pasta. You know, the pasta rolls with cheese inside.”

By that time sweat was pouring down my forehead.

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” I said, “Of course, Kuleto’s on Powell.”

By that time, it was done. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I swore off interviews. By that time, though, I was exhausted doing interviews and trying to sound clever all the time. I only published the book so could know where to go to lunch. I never really thought about it being popular or famous. So, that’s why I say I did not enjoy being famous. It’s exhausting and you always have to be on. So, with a partner, I founded the most popular tourist guide, a commercial property guide and we both managed the rental guide. As founder, editor and publisher of San Francisco’s best tourist guide (Bay City Guide), I didn’t have to do interviews. I could do the interviewing and indulge in all the arts and culture I wanted for free compliments of PR agencies and I had way more fun without all the spotlights. That was the way to go.

– A final message for our circleofbooks.com readers.

Thank you for this opportunity to share my ideas. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can put a cohesive block of words on one page. Kudos to those who can put them on 700. It’s an awe-inspiring task and responsibility. I’ve been in fame recovery for 30 years. I’ve nurtured and supported writers and editors with my publication, even served on the board of the Pacific Northwest Writer’s association for a year. Now, with Amazon, the time is right for people who have stories to tell to scribe them and with open hearts and minds to ideas and cultures, to talk to each other and share nuggets of truth. That’s what I hope for. That’s my goal for the last quarter of my life.

Live every day. Live every word. Scribe and participate.

Namaste – Raymond F. Quinton – Portland, Oregon – From the Land of OZ

Thank you Raymond F. Quinton. We at circleofbooks.com wish you much success!

Click here to visit the author’s page here on circleofbooks.com

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