Flashback Friday: Writing Dad: Author Mike Dellosso

Welcome to Flashback Fridays! For the summer and beyond, I’m going to run some nostalgic posts on parenting and writing from writing wannabes, newbies, and published authors. Many of these prepublished writing interviews are now published. So I encourage you to visit their sites and see what they’re up to today.

2008

I don’t know how I found Mike on the internet, but when I started reading his blog, I knew he had something. I was drawn to his words, his faith, and his love and integrity in his writing. And since I love suspense, I felt right at home at his blog. After reading his blog for a while, a spot at Writer…Interrupted opened up and I knew without praying about it that I wanted Mike to write for me. In about six weeks Mike’s debut novel will hit the shelves. What should be one of the best times of his life is now shadowed by the fact Mike’s been diagnosed with cancer. You can read more about it on his blog and in this interview, but I wanted to take this opportunity to ask for your prayers for his surgery on Wednesday. Depending on how the surgery goes, they will decide if radiation and chemo is necessary! Thanks for your prayers and look for a future post highlighting Mike’s debut novel, The Hunted!

Tell us a little about your family and your call to write.

I’ve been married to my wife, Jen, for ten years and we have three beautiful daughters ages five, seven, and nine. They’re a lot of fun. We have good times together.

As for my call to writing. Well, I can’t say “I always wanted to be a writer.” I didn’t. In fact, all through school I hated reading, writing, English class, literature, and anything else associated with those topics. My call was very sudden and I can still feel the nudge as if it were just last week. Ten years ago my brother-in-law was in a serious motorcycle accident and landed himself in a deep coma with a prognosis of death or, at best, persistent vegetative state. Jen and I went to the hospital to visit my sister and Darrell and left distraught, angry, confused, you name it. I didn’t know what to do with the emotions I was having and I remember feeling a sudden urge to write them down. So I did. I grabbed a pad of paper and pen and started pouring my heart out on paper. Now, I’ve always stuttered and have had a hard time expressing myself verbally but when I released my emotions on paper I felt a freedom I’d never felt before. I could say exactly what was on my heart and in my mind and say it fluently! I’d found my voice and I haven’t stopped writing since. Oh, and by the way, Darrell proved the doctors wrong, pulled through, and is doing just fine now.

How did you get your first “writing break?”

In 2006 I attended my first writer’s conference in Philadelphia (Greater Philly Christian Writer’s Conference) with a proposal for a completed novel titled The Hunted in hand. I went fully expecting to land a contract (yeah, I know, how foolish of me). Not because of pride, but because I had prayed and prayed about it and really felt like the Lord was going to do something at the conference. I had studied fiction, read books about writing, practiced and practiced and thought I had a quality manuscript to pitch. Man oh man was I disappointed. I met with three editors and an agent and all of them basically said thanks but no thanks. I was bummed. But I still had a critique scheduled with novelist Kathryn Mackel so I knew there was at least some hope for maybe a little encouragement before heading home. Kathy not only encouraged me but offered to endorse my book and help me find an agent. A couple weeks later she referred me to an agent friend of hers, Les Stobbe, who agreed to represent me. A few months later Realms Fiction of the Strang Book Group showed interest and a couple months after that they were offering me a contract. Whew! Looking back on how the whole process unfolded, I’d be an idiot not to recognize God’s hand in it, how He was orchestrating things so perfectly. As he always does.

What do you write and why this genre?

I write supernatural suspense. Why? Because I’m weird. No really, I grew up glued to the TV set whenever The Twilight Zone was on and later when the X-Files aired. I loved monsters and creepy things and have always been intrigued by phenomena like Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster. I have a very active imagination and writing in this genre allows me to let it run loose, let that leash out and give it some freedom to do its thing. And so far, so good, except for the occasional, “What in the world is going on in your head?” question I get. But hey, it’s all good. I know I’m weird.

Do you have any recent contracts and up coming releases?

My novel, The Hunted, is releasing June 3 and I just signed another contract with Realms for my next book, tentatively titled Scream, and tentatively due to release Winter of 2009. Watch for this one, it’s a real . . . scream. Corny, I know.

What do you hope to accomplish through your novels?

I want people to not only be entertained by a good story but to see God in a totally different way than they’re used to. I want them see God outside that box they’ve put Him in, to see Him as the all-powerful, all-knowing, yet oh so personal ruler of the universe and heavenly daddy. I want them to be encouraged to let God unleash His power in their life.

And now for the tough questions…

How do you balance being a dad, husband, writer, and working?

With a heavy sigh and a lot of prayer. Sometimes I feel like I’m burning the candle at both ends and the flame is centimeters from my fingers. I’m one of these Generation X dads who like being involved in the every day chores of the house: laundry, ironing, bathing the kids, cleaning up after meals, you know. It would be really nice to be a full-time writer but that’s just not where I am so I have to make the best of the time I have. I’m careful not to take time away from the family or my responsibilities at home to write.

When do you find the time to write, and do you ever feel like you’re neglecting your wife and children when you write?

At my regular job I work three ten-hour days and two five-hour days. On the five-hour days I usually stay after and write at work (the office is closed and quiet) for a couple hours. Other than that, I get up early (4:30 or 5:00) every morning and get a little writing done. If Jen takes the girls out shopping or something I use that time too. With all the other things going on in life I have to squeeze writing in where I can. So far it’s worked out okay.

How do you handle interruptions in your writing life?

Hopefully with grace. It’s hard because when I start writing I get in kind of a zone, a rhythm, and any interruption breaks that. It’s then hard to get started again. That’s day to day. Big picture, I don’t know what could be more interrupting than being told you have cancer. On March 17^thI found out I have colon cancer. Since then, life has kind of been put on hold. I’m slowly getting back into the regular routine while fitting the cancer treatment in where I have to. I’m getting some writing done, but not near as much as I’d like. I have to accept that, though. God has me going through this particular trial right now for a reason and I want to take time to make sure my family is nurtured. I’m also seeing the importance of just being with God and finding what He’s teaching me in all this. It’s been a trial, I won’t downplay that, but I’m trusting that when this is all said and done and I’m back to keeping my regular schedule that my writing will take on new meaning and dive to new depths. I’ll appreciate all the more the gift God has given me and want to use it all the more to glorify Him.

How do you position yourself to HEAR God’s voice when all the noises of life are swirling around you?

I get time alone. Sometimes it’s in my car, sometimes it’s taking a walk, sometimes it’s just hiding in the bathroom at work (don’t tell my boss). I know when I need some time apart, and I have to be creative with how I take it. There is time, though. It’s a priority thing. I used to teach the singles Sunday school class at our church and I would tell them, “You find time for the things you really want to do. Everyone finds time to eat. No matter how busy my day is, I find time for food. I can also find time for God.” My favorite thing to do, though, is be in God’s creation. I love the outdoors (and this is reflected in my books), taking a good hike or just sitting by a lake. That’s when I hear God the best.

If you do feel your priorities slipping, what do you do to get back on track?

Ha, usually I don’t notice them slipping and Jen is the one to say, “Hey, Bucko, you’re leaving us out.” She’s good about keeping me in line like that. It normally happens when I’m particularly engrossed in a certain point of my book and I just don’t want to stop writing. I’m feelin’ it, you know what I mean? And I don’t want to loose that feeling, that groove. After she brings it to my attention, I try harder to make sure family comes first, then writing.

Has there ever been a time God told you to set aside your writing to focus on other areas of your life? If so, how did you handle that?

Um, yeah, right now. As I mentioned above, I recently found out I have cancer. I took that as God saying pretty loud and clear that I needed to set writing aside for a season and focus on other things, things like my relationship with Him, my relationship with Jen and the girls. It’s been a real time of seeing the important things in life again. Not that writing isn’t important. For me, it’s very important. But it’s not the most important. I’m hearing that message. I’m also noticing all the time we spend fretting and gnawing our fingernails over mundane, silly things in life. Cancer has focused me, and as I stated before, when this trial is over, I’ll be a better person for it. One other thing, I’m learning things about myself and God that I don’t think I would have learned otherwise. God is good and gracious and takes us by the hand, leading us through valleys to show us more of Himself.

Did you ever feel like you’ve “missed” God in regards to writing, that maybe you should be doing something else?

No way, writing is a passion and I know it’s from God. In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell tells his sister, “God made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.” Well, God made me to tell stories, and when I write I feel His pleasure. Indeed I do.

What advice would you give to writing dads who have their hearts set on publication?

Never give up. Never. Give. Up. 100% of writers who are published didn’t give up. That’s the truth. Now, that being said, realize that getting published isn’t everything. God may have something else in mind for you. Maybe your calling is just to write for your church newsletter and minister to the folks who read it. Maybe it’s just to write for your family. Don’t downplay where you are now. God can use you to reach someone else anywhere and in any form. And really, published or not, isn’t that what it’s all about? Really? Sure you can reach more people by getting published, but there might be one person that God wants you to reach through your writing. And that one person makes it all worthwhile.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Thanks for this opportunity, Gina! It’s been an honor to share my heart and a small slice of my life.