Slaves to the Muse: Alba Arango

Alba Arango

Alba Arango is a secondary school teacher of eighteen years. With Bachelor’s degrees in both Education and History as well as a Masters degree in American History, Alba enjoys the telling of a good story and has decided to turn her attention and talents to the writing of short stories and middle grade fiction. Several of her short stories have been published in various anthologies and she is currently seeking representation for her debut novel, The Magic Sapphire. Please visit her website at http://www.albaarango.com/

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Slaves to the Muse: A Place for Authors and Artists

The Torture Chamber

Slaves to the Muse is happy to have Fred Rayworth as our featured author.

Tami: Fred, it is a great pleasure to welcome a fellow member of Henderson Writers Group as this week’s feature on Slaves to the Muse. Can you tell us how you’ve benefitted from being a member of a writers group? Would you recommend it other author’s?

Fred: If it wasn’t for the Henderson Writers Group (and before that, the Highland, Indiana Writer’s Group), I never would have been where I am today. When you are writing solitary, there is only so much you can accomplish without a second set of eyes, or in this case, many sets of eyes. Books and the web can only teach you so much. When you read to a group, or listen to others reading their work, whatever you may have read or heard about writing starts to sink in. I’ve learned so much from the group that I cannot even measure it, but a few things include: proper grammar for fiction (versus technical writing), point of view, showing not telling, and cutting out the flack. I think for anyone to be a successful writer in today’s world, they need to become a member of a writer’s group. Just be careful. Ensure that the group you choose is constructive and not destructive. If you leave every meeting mad, you are in the wrong group. Here in Las Vegas, the Henderson Writer’s Group is by far, the best. The people know how to give advice without blood on the floor. Plus, with so many members, there is a vast pool of resources for anyone that is willing to ask. Many of us also help each other outside of the group setting.

Tami: I know you have written several books. Can you share with us the titles and genre?

Fred: My first full-length novel was a sci-fi story called The Cave. It will never see the light of day! Once I learned my basic chops, I wrote my first icky bug (horror) story, The Greenhouse. From there I started my adventure/thriller series with Lusitania Gold, Spanish Gold, Palmdale Gold, Turkish Gold, Lompoc Gold and Las Vegas Gold. Notice a theme here? My next foray was into fantasy with Meleena’s Adventures – Treasure of the Umbrunna. It is the start of a new series. I also recently finished another icky bug story, The Factory. I am now working on a sequel to Meleena’s Adventures called Gods Of The Blue Mountains, another Gold series story called West Virginia Gold, and have been dabbling into a sci-fi thriller that is yet unnamed. That is not including the dozens of short stories I’ve written over the years.
I have had five short stories published. The first three were part of a horror trilogy set in West Virginia. The second and third parts of the trilogy were published in our own Henderson Writer’s Group sponsored Writer’s Bloc I and II. My fourth short story was science fiction, called Fun In The Outland and was published in the science fiction anthology First Voyage, by RMJ Publications. My most recent short story is fantasy. It is a glimpse into the past of Meleena, the main character in my forthcoming novel. It is called Don’t Mess With A Snorg and is featured in the fantasy anthology A World Of Their Own by Nightfall Publications. All of these anthologies are currently available through Amazon.com.

Tami: Why are you driven to write in the Science Fiction genre?

Fred: Just about everything I write has a touch of science fiction in it. Science fiction is another realm of existence. I like it especially because it stretches the possibilities of technology (as in the Gold series). It often involves space travel and alien worlds.

Tami: I know you are an amateur Astronomer. Can you give us a few details about this passion?

Fred: It started when my grandpa took me out in the yard one night in Playa del Rey, California. He pointed up to the sky as this light moved across. We tried to look at it through an old ship’s spyglass, but it was like trying to peer through a soda straw. That was 1957 and the light was Sputnik passing over Los Angeles. That inspired me to look at the sky. In 1966 I got my first telescope for Christmas. It wasn’t big enough to satisfy my curiosity. Since I couldn’t afford a larger one, I decided to make one. I started grinding and polishing my first 8” telescope mirror and completed it in 1968. I’ve never looked back since. Just recently, I bought my first-ever commercial telescope because the beast I’ve been using for 20+ years (a 16” reflector) was getting too heavy to lug around. I am what’s called a visual observer. I actually look through the eyepiece and have no interest in taking photos. I leave that to others. So far, I’ve logged over 1,400 deep-sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, star clusters). My friend, Roger Ivester and I started an observer’s challenge. We select an object for the month and challenge others to observe it and report what they see. I compile it in a newsletter that we post on the Las Vegas Astronomical Society web site.

Tami: It is completely mind boggling how many rejection letters you have received in your search to get your works published. What’s even more amazing is your persistence in the face of adversity. Can you share with us just how many rejections to queries you’ve gotten and what it was that helped you to push through?

Fred: I’ve had 621 rejections so far, but who’s counting! I started in 1994 after I finished The Greenhouse. At that time, the Internet was still relatively new, so my queries were printed material through the mail. I must’ve gone through hundreds if not thousands of dollars on that until things started going online. Back then, my only source for agents was Jeff Herman’s great books on writing and agents. However, the info tended to be out of date by the time it was printed. I got rejected many times because the agent changed genres or went out of business. Today, I use the Agent Query web site.
90% of the queries involved either no responses or generic rejection letters. Out of all of those 621 rejections, I got direct feedback from maybe a dozen, at best. Most of those personal rejections were constructive and encouraging while two were extremely harsh and cruel. Funny how both of those publishers are no longer in business.
Each rejection was just a bump in the road. Even the nasty and cruel rejections never deterred me. I have always had faith that someone, someday would read my stuff and go “Wow!” Then again, since getting published is secondary to creating and writing my stories, rejection has never stopped me from writing. I used to think that maybe I was just too dumb to quit. At times I’d thought to just stop bothering to get published. Then I’d see a book published that was absolutely horrible and think I could do better than that. So, I’d be back to querying agents and publishers. Despite all of that, it has never occurred to me to stop writing. When it comes to trying to get published it’s like dreaming to win the Megabucks. If you never put any money into the slot, you are guaranteed not to win.

Tami: Please share with us your good news about finally getting that revered publishing contract. What is the book called, and when might we expect to see it hit store shelves?

Fred: After 16 years and 621 rejections, I can finally hold a signed contract in my grubby little hands! At the 2009 Las Vegas Writer’s Conference, I pitched my fantasy, Meleena’s Adventures to Crystalwizard from Cyberwizard Productions. She had me send the manuscript to her and I was floored a few months later when she sent a contract. I couldn’t believe it. I’m still pinching myself. With their backlog, it will be around 2012 before I see it in print.

Tami: Is there any word of wisdom you might share with fellow authors who are still in pursuit of achieving publication?

Fred: The only reason to write is because you love it and you have to. Don’t do it just to get published. Do it because it is something you love. That will make it easier to take the harsh reality of the publishing business. Rejection is not the exception, it is the norm. The longer you keep at it, the more the frustration can set in if your only goal is just to get published. Be prepared for harsh and even cruel criticism on occasion. Be prepared when someone, even diplomatically, tells you your work stinks. Be prepared when people you trust tell you a scene doesn’t work, a character is unnecessary, the dialogue is lame. These are all things you will run across until (and sometimes even after) you get your chops. Don’t write something and think the next step is getting published. Be prepared for editing. Writing your story is the easy part. Things get tougher when you start editing. Some of my stories have 25+ full edits, and they are still not done!
I was lucky enough to find a mentor in author Carol Davis Luce. I read her book Night Passage back in the 90’s and loved it. I contacted her, and it grew from there. Her very kind help and advice kept me going, especially in times where I started to wonder why I was bothering with it all. I cannot even begin to express how much I value our friendship. If you’re lucky enough to find a mentor like her, you will succeed!
Last but not least, keep trying, never give up, and don’t keep to yourself. Join a writer’s group!

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