Brian L. Tucker has written a lot of books, and his most recent, Pokeweed, is special and unique in its own way, not only apart from his other work but apart from a lot of southern and Appalachian literature. In the tradition of Robert Gipe (cited by Brian himself as a source of some inspiration) Brian worked with a fantastic illustrator named Katerina Dotneboya to add a ton of amazing artwork to the novel. The result is a piece of historical fiction that is at once unique and almost melancholy in all the good ways.
This the Twitter section of an interview that took place over the course of an afternoon earlier this month. To read the full interview, visit plumbjournal.wordpress.com.
***
Sheldon Lee Compton
If you want, let’s start with where you’re at. I’ve heard tell of writers working in coffee shops, but it’s something I’ve never been able to do very well. It keeps me from getting into the trance state I need. That makes me sound insane, but I probably am by any standards.
Brian L. Tucker
Hey Shel. Definitely. I think mostly everyone I’ve met in Chattanooga prefers their home/apt. I’m an odd bird, because I need to see people while writing. There’s a spot on Dayton Blvd. in Chattanooga called ‘The Meeting House.’ They have bottomless coffee and it’s a big, open room with lots of space. I think it’s connected to a church somehow. I love the space and endless mugs of caffeine.
Sheldon Lee Compton
It does sound cool. So tell me about Chattanooga. Is it a writer town? Do you have a community there or is it like in Eastern Kentucky – a long, hard journey alone.
Brian L. Tucker
Sure thing. Chattanooga is very artsy. It reminds me of a bigger Berea, but I’ve found support in writers who write a lot of different genres. There’s a group called the Chattanooga Writer’s Guild I just joined. They do writer fairs, workshops, and things that make me think about the EKU writers studio I used to have. I’m like you though, and I’m writing about Kentucky while being in TN. It does feel isolated at times, especially with how few write about the mountains and home. My co-worker writes a superheroes series, and I think because we write such different things, it allows us to talk about the process of writing without ever really cramping each other. It’s not competitive of anything and that’s good. Haha. He helped me get started in 2014 with the first collection and navigating Amazon for the stories. Since then, I’ve gone to him for help with things on Kindle, etc.
Sheldon Lee Compton
That’s a good setup for sure. So quick question: You mentioned having a name that is sort of common and how that can be challenging for a writer. I have to ask – what’s the L. stand for, bud?
Brian L. Tucker
Me and you share the same. 🙂 My dad is a Lee and his dad. My parents didn’t mean to but I came away with the ‘BLT’ combo. Haha. I’m a sandwich. Albeit a good sandwich. Yours flows though. I always shared the joke of Bruce Lee…then Brandon Lee with The Crow. I started as B.L. Tucker then moved to Brian L.
Sheldon Lee Compton
I swear I honestly suspected it might stand for Lee. But, yeah, I think you’re name works well. So, if you could pick your ideal publisher for the next book, which publisher and why? Have you had any brushes with New York’s big six?
Brian L. Tucker
Thanks man! I appreciate that. Yeah I shouldn’t hide the L. This book is the closest I’ve come with interest from multiple publishers interested. Not big 6 mind you. And Wheelman came out when human trafficking topics were really in the media. It got a few nods and gained some traction down here in Chattanooga (close to ATL and those news stories that came out). That book was advertised on campus news sources and NPR combination. But, no single story has made it to Harper Collins or such. I like HC, because they do sometimes pair with religious fiction, and my previous two had YA and religious combos inside them. Pokeweed’s illustrations added to it joining the ‘visual’ market. I’m optimistic that it’ll get more reviews as it nears 9.20. Do you know anyone in NYC? haha.
Sheldon Lee Compton
I really wouldn’t know if I did know anybody there. I’ve had contact with a few agents from there but with friends on Twitter and Facebook, etc. I never can remember where everybody’s from. At the risk of sounding odd, if folks are from anywhere besides Kentucky, they pretty much might as well live in another country for all I know. Harper Collins, indeed a fine publisher. Well, your next book Pokeweed is about the drop. Tell me a little about getting that book into print.
Brian L. Tucker
Pokeweed. I submitted it to roughly fifty publishers. Most of rejections fell in the first couple of weeks of sending it out. Some were really good about responding within the first day or 2. So, with an Excel sheet open to tally up the Ys and Ns, it went quickly. Unlike Wheelman & Swimming the Echo, I didn’t use http://pw.org or http://newpages.com to find this one. I used http://author.me and a few other places. I’ve done these works unagented and it’s worked well so far. Black Rose has been around for a while and they were right before another publisher to say yes. I had said no to one before them that didn’t look like the best fit. I tried to analyze website, marketing, and other things the publishers did on their sites and Amazon. The production team at BRW has been stellar so far. We’re still a little ways away from Sept. But with my wife and me expecting our first baby in Aug. I needed all the help I could get. 🙂
Sheldon Lee Compton
Hey congratulations! Sorry to skip right to the baby, but that’s how I roll. Ain’t nothing better in this world than a child, man. Pure innocence. Staying with the ol’ name game, what have you got lined up for this young Tucker?
Brian L. Tucker
I had a nanny I always loved. She took care of pretty much everyone in Wayne Co. haha. Her name was Zella (meaning blessed). We went with Zella Rose. Leah loved the name too. I was ready for the boy with all kinds of names, but when we discovered it was a girl we had to regroup. she’s due in about a month.
Sheldon Lee Compton
Oh man that’s nice. Really happy for you, truly. And Zella Rose. Wow, that’s a winner. That name is a champ, son. Okay, so I have a question related to something I’ve struggled with due to having family members who belong to church….Tell me about being a Christian and a writer. Is it ever limiting? Writing about Kentucky, one is bound to write themselves into a situation where certain vices might become necessary to make an honest character. I’m curious how you handle that.
Brian L. Tucker
Thanks. She will be ready for all kinds of trips from grandmas. I’m glad you asked that question. Writing true scenarios is something I always want to do. With Wheelman I wanted to be objective to the ills in the world, but I also didn’t want to be preachy. The publisher for it, Vox Dei, was a Christian imprint to the larger company, and they gave a lot of freedom to write how a family of recovering faith would handle such adversity. It was a nice outlet. Since then, I’ve tried to write scenes as honestly as I could. I think Flannery O did such a great job of being transparent with evils and faith encountering one another. She was so good at staying in the thick of it, wasn’t she? I feel the limits you mentioned, because I always want to take the easy way out in scenes and say ‘Then they prayed and everything was better.’ But, often the danger stays in the room. Pokeweed has some seriously greedy/vile things happening around the Snopes family. I wanted to keep the warring factions present throughout the book’s entirety. Evil didn’t go away when preacher man showed up, but he was the calm solace for the two boys. He was a soothing voice of reason. I liked when he stepped onto their path. But, it’s a constant balancing act of saying what is believable and true and avoiding preachy over the top stuff.
Sheldon Lee Compton
That makes good sense, especially your point about Flannery. She was of the faith in a big way and still went to those places in a genuine way. Nice. And I think you’ve managed the same thing in Pokeweed. So I noticed the surname Snopes right away. Are you a fan of Faulkner? If not, who are some of the writers you lean to when you need a refill on inspiration or prodding?
Brian L. Tucker
Man, there have been so many ‘new’ voices for me in the past year that are largely rather old. I found Thomas Merton and he’s been my inspiration outside of fiction centric books. I read his New Seeds of Contemplation and underlined pretty much every other line, and I never read non-fiction. Lol. But, for fiction I’ve latched on to Harriette Simpson Arnow’s Hunter’s Horn and loved it even more than The Dollmaker. Found a first edition online and snatched it up. It features maps of the homestead and just embodies everything about e. KY that I love. She really was an under-appreciated sage. Then, I read Maugham’s Of Human Bondage last week and it hit home much like some of Hemingway’s larger works. It fused nonfiction stuff with fiction, and I loved the balance of the two and Philip Carey made his way around England and France. But, I find a lot of great reads on Kindle too. John Rector is a great thriller writer. The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis is a lot like True Grit and The Road conjoined. I read all over the place, and I mix it up from something heady like Merton to something light like Roy Blount Jr. And of course, there’s always Wendell Berry. He sits on the shell alongside Merton. They always bring nature and God and life into one happy, thoughtful space. If you pair those two together, be prepared for a sudden urge to run into the woods and not come back for a while! I know you read a Large variety of books too. Much larger than me. If you read those two, be prepared to unpack it slowly. 🙂
Sheldon Lee Compton
For sure some powerfully good reading right there. I need to check out more Berry. I read a book of his years ago but haven’t revisited. I tend more toward the Larry Brown, Harry Crews direction with southern literature. One last question and I’ll leave you to the coffee, my friend. Tell me how we can get our hands on Pokeweed when it comes out. And let me say it has been great talking with you and that we should keep in touch. Thanks, man!
Brian L. Tucker
Shel, I definitely want to keep in touch. You are a well-read man, and I’ve loved your works. You bring so much to life inside your stories and novels. I agree Brown and Crews are some fabulous writers to come out of the South or anywhere worldwide. Larry Brown and Tom Franklin’s Poachers bring me to that ‘happy place’ of reading for enjoyment and understanding story construction better. Pokeweed is up for pre-order already at the publisher site: http://www.blackrosewriting.com/childrens-booksya/pokewood