Ask the Author: Niles Reddick

“Ask me a question.” Niles Reddick

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Niles Reddick My most recent novel is Drifting too far from the Shore, which was inspired by the Georgia lynching victim Mary Turner at the turn on the 21st century, but since I didn't feel comfortable writing the story about her, I wrote a story about another character and Mary Turner's story is a story within a story.

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How do you get inspired to write?

Niles Reddick Almost anything can be inspirational. I might see someone in traffic that inspires a character or hear a phrase while eavesdropping on a conversation in a hall way that ends up in dialogue. Mostly, family and friends have been inspirations, but reading can often open the door for ideas, at least for me.

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What are you currently working on?

Niles Reddick I working on a new novel tentatively titled If Not For You. I probably will change the title, but in the meantime I'm fishing about ten stories to various literary magazines and journals. No nibbles lately.

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Niles Reddick Don't give up. Keep editing and rewriting. Rejections will come. They still come to me thirty years after I started writing in college. I got one this morning! You can't take it personally. It's just that what you write won't fit in every magazine, journal, website or publisher to which you submit, but someone will accept it sooner or later.

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Niles Reddick It sure ain't the pay! I told someone the other day if I relied on royalties to make a living, I'd be on welfare. The best part to me is creating stories that other people enjoy and can relate to in their own ways.

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Niles Reddick READ! The best way to generate ideas is to read other stories, novels. I always get ideas while reading. Recently, on a beach trip to Gulf Shores, AL, I packed a book of shorts by the famed author Lewis Grizzard. While reading these at the beach, I thought of three new stories I wrote while there!

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