Interview with Stephen Black

Today we're chatting with writer Stephen Black. He's an American from Ohio who's been living in Singapore for the last decade. *does the expat secret hand shake*

Welcome, Stephen. How long have you been writing? 

My father sells books; I grew up surrounded with boxes and boxes of books. I’ve written for as long as I can remember. 

Tell us about your books and what inspired you to write them.

Obama Search Words was planned to be a book about the man’s life using food as a motif: the African food of his father, the Hawaiian food of his childhood, the range of Chicago cuisine, etc. I went to Jakarta to research what he had eaten there and discovered that very very few people had heard of him.Then he became the Democratic Presidential candidate and I realized that history was being made. I needed to challenge myself to record and interpret things; the book would have to be more than recipes,restaurants and the relationship between culture and food. My other books have been inspired by things like Japanese restaurants, the letter W or strolling. 

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self- edit? 

I am very honored to have professional editors, curators and writers as my sparring partners. 

Are you a planner or a pantser? 

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” -Douglas Adams

Actually I am an OK planner. I do meet deadlines, though the days preceding them are usually very interesting. 

What’s the hardest part of writing for you? 

The silence of the pages. 

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

The music of 3how. 

If you could have any super power, what would it be? 

(The five paragraphs above were written in invisible ink, in keeping with my super power of invisibilty.)

LOL. What's the weirdest thing you've googled? 

The world’s deepest pub.It’s in a former donkey stable in what used to be a gold mine.

Interesting! Okay, quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: hot chocolate, kangaroo, and water balloon.

I replied with an anagram made of hot chocolate, kangaroo, water balloon and a few letters more:

"Aha! Nona, your collaborator’s tooth... Acknowledge!"

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs. 

My parents, my brother, my daughter. V Weston. M. Lee.D. East. Mr. Subra. Spirits. 

And finally, where can people find you and your books online? 

Obama Search Words http://www.amazon.com/Obama-Search-Words-ebook/dp/B001U8981S 
Furikake http://www.amazon.com/Furikake-ebook/dp/B002PAQAXE 
Contact With Shadow http://www.xinxii.co.uk/contact-with-shadow-p-333066.html 
Book Merah of Facebook and Twitter 
Blog of sorts http://stephenblacksteps.weebly.com/ 

Stephen, thanks for chatting with us today. I wish you lots of success with your writing.

THANKS DOROTHY!