Dennis lives in the small town of Dodge, north of Lincoln, with a
population between 600 and 700 people. He grew up in Nebraska and enjoys
sports, gardening, photography, and of course writing.
Dennis Timothy started writing at least twenty years ago. His
first works were published when a local paper asked him to do an editorial
series. From there the idea of publishing a monthly called Legendary Iron
News, for collectors and restorers of antique farm equipment, flared a desire
to write fiction. One early short story, “Found Them“, was published in
the e-magazine Golden Visions. Dennis has since published a book of short
stories titled One Heartbeat Past Normal, a novel Merry
Hell, and is working on a series The Whiskey Scrolls he
hopes to publish book one this year. The first two books listed above are
available on Amazon and both rate five stars. Dennis’ style contains
unexpected twists and at times a nearly poetic pen. He brings the reader into
his mind’s eye by using the skills all writers are taught, but not all achieve
to the degree Dennis does.
Glenda: Dennis, your style is descriptive in a unique
way that engages the reader in what I would define as often poetic. For example
from One Heartbeat Past Normal, in your short story “Perspective”,
you wrote the following; “I remember the sky then darkened for an instant, as
if the sun decided to blink.” Simile is a great tool for writing, but not
always in such a way that we can imagine so distinctly. Is there any other
writer you consider a model to help find your own inner voice?
Dennis: This was a great catch on your part, Glenda. I turn
to prose at some point in all of my writings. This is homage to John Gardner
who wrote Grendel, which was the re-telling of the Beowulf
legend from the monster’s point of view. The man was a genius at poetic
descriptions, and was taken from us far too soon.
I also have a different style of rendering detail in my writing. I
describe just enough of the scene for the reader to grasp what is happening,
and allow the reader’s imagination to fill in the blanks. I don’t write a lot
of detail unless it drives the story forward, at which point I use dialog to
flesh out the finer points of a scene.
At one time I was a voracious reader; and now I find it difficult
to find the time to read as much as I would like to. C.S. Forester,
Kenneth Robeson, Robert Heinlein, John Jakes, and Nelson DeMille have probably
all had an influence on my writing style. Everyone who has read or reviewed my
work usually has the same two comments - “quick paced”, and “it’s like watching
a movie in your head”. This is the style I bring to my stories.
Glenda: Most of us, as authors, like to draw from our
experiences and then add to these our imagination. You always have more to
tell. What are some of the places or events in your life that you’ve drawn from
for your stories?
Dennis: In my book Merry Hell, I explore what
would happen if family and friends were suddenly trapped together because of a
freak snow storm. The setting is rural, and the event is Christmas Dinner where
all the characters think they be getting together for a short visit, and have
their plans interrupted by Mother Nature. The humorous family drama that
ensues is drawn largely from my own experiences. However, the idea for
the story came from an acquaintance that had this very thing happen to them.
The inspiration for One Heartbeat Past Normal comes
from a variety of sources. I was raised in the country several miles
south of Nebraska City. My brothers and I walked over two miles to a one
room country school house. As youngsters, every abandoned building, every odd
shaped tree, every owl hoot became the basis of a story we would tell each
other as we walked to school. Also, south of Nebraska City are the Seven
Sisters Hills. Legend has it that about a century ago, a man went crazy
and hung his seven sisters at seven separate hills. This area is known
for car problems, mysterious screams, ghostly encounters, and even stories of
Big Foot. This certainly influenced my imagination.
In so far as individual stories from One Heartbeat Past
Normal, the story “Found Them” was a direct result of the Seven Sisters
legend. “The Discovery in the Woods” came from a childhood story my father once
told me. “The Brothers” was based on an actual event, as were “Hunting a Haunt”
and “Home”.
Readers of One Heartbeat Past Normal will
appreciate the variety of the stories. Many collections of short stories follow
a formula or a common theme. In this collection, the fifteen stories are
completely different from each other. I build plot, character, and structure
quickly; and I vary the perspective from first person to third person depending
on the tale.
Glenda: I think the key of the previous question is
imagination. From your own experience, do you feel imagination is something we
either have or don’t, or is it something that is cultivated throughout life?
Dennis: I think it depends on the person. Obviously someone like
Stephen King had an active imagination at an early age. Frank McCourt
didn’t write his first book Angela’s Ashes until he was
66. I’ve known people with active imaginations that couldn’t commit one
word to paper, and I’ve know those who had little if any imagination.
I consider it my great fortune that I was raised in a day and age
without the electronic distractions of today. As a child, I used my imagination
for entertainment. Also, my father was a great story teller. I think it
depends, in some part, on a genetic predisposition. My mother taught piano to a
great many people, but I was her dismal failure. I have a nephew who at age six
could play the piano as though he were classically trained. I think each of us
just have different gifts and talents.
In my own writing discipline, I am constantly on the lookout for
something unusual or interesting to write about. I’ll come home from work with
my pockets stuffed with notes of things I’ve heard or thought about. I
also keep a digital recorder at my writing desk and make verbal notes of
potential story lines or scenes I might one day use.
Glenda: You wrote a publication, Legendary Iron News,
for people who like to restore old farm machinery. That’s a huge undertaking to
target such a specific audience. You must have some interest and experience in
refurbishing. Do you still publish that because of a personal interest and
articles written by collectors and restorers? How did you go about promoting a
publication? Is that any different from your promotional plan for your books?
Dennis: Wow. That’s a huge question - but I’ll do my best to
keep the answer manageable. I had a business in which I did freelance graphic
design and custom printing on caps, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and school
apparel. One day I was approached by a member of the Nebraska Antique
Power Association. His name was Jerry Wymore, and he was interested in getting
some apparel with the club’s logo. As he and I visited, it became clear
that a lot of what the club was restoring were the things we used on the farm
as I was growing up. I didn’t consider them antiques at the time.
I met with the club, and discovered that there were very few
sources who catered to the needs of these individuals. I developed a line
of t-shirts that featured old tractors and began to attend shows where
collectors gathered. Then I developed a line of reprinted manuals that these
people needed to understand their machinery.
The internet was not as active at that time. Collectors and
sellers were limited to shows and magazine ads for the items they needed to
restore this antique farm machinery. That’s when I hit upon the idea of a
“buy-sell-trade” publication that would bring all these people together, and
help me sell my t-shirts and manuals.
I contacted some of the people I had met at these shows, and they
were only too happy to share their knowledge of how things worked in
yesteryear. I had an individual, who called himself “The Tractor Doctor”,
who would answer technical questions sent in by subscribers. Another gentleman,
Menno Kleiwer, had lived through the depression while living in rural Nebraska,
and had many stories to share. I had several regular contributors who shared
their experiences of acquiring and restoring equipment. And, I sold
advertising on the back pages of the publication. I printed two hundred
of the first issue, took them to the National Antique Power Show, and passed
them out for free. The back page had a subscription order, and the rest was
history.
I became the editor and smoothed out the rough edges of the
stories people sent me. I also had a monthly editorial column that I hope
people enjoyed. I would comment of the current state of collecting, agriculture
in general, and blended the two with my own brand of humor. The publication almost
grew beyond me. I think I had subscribers from thirty of the forty-eight
contiguous states. It was a lot of work pasting it up each month, getting it
printed, and mailing it out; but it was a lot of fun as well.
The age of my contributors, and the easy access to the internet
finally brought an end to the publication. And any attempt to recreate
such a paper probably couldn’t work today.
My current marketing plans for my books are pretty mundane. I use
social media and word of mouth to generate sales. I am gathering
something of a hardcore fan base. This helps during those times when you are
given to self-doubt (a trait shared by most authors.) I try to target groups on
Goodreads, or social media, who would have a specific interest in my stories. The
mass market is a myth, so today’s author has to ferret out the niche markets
for his product.
My next story, The Whiskey Scrolls, is so epic and so
well done that I will probably pitch it to a small press or independent
publisher. It deserves at least that much effort. The story has
been professionally proofed, and the cover art is complete. So, we’ll see where
this adventure leads.
Dennis Timothy epitomizes the disciplined technical writer who
crosses over to the fiction market in a way most of us only dream. I agree with
Dennis that talent for writing comes in many different ways. Some fiction
writers develop their imagination, or it was cultivated by parents or teachers
such as Dennis’s father. Some are born with a vivid and sometimes disturbing
imagination, but where would we be without them to make us jump when gripped by
that moment when the story or a character turns.
I’ve said before that every interview I do with other writers is a
learning curve for me. I relish the styles, personalities and processes. Most
of all, through the progression of asking questions that are sometimes a bit
much, I appreciate the willingness of someone like Dennis skillfully answering
instead of requesting I break it down. He would have been right to do so.
However, he so skillfully put the puzzle together so we could understand the
entirety of his essay. There is no one particular way to write a story or a
paper that surpasses another. There is the writer and their work the way they
do it best.
