Author Spotlight & Interview - Lance Umenhofer

Recently I was lucky enough to interview Lance Umenhofer, author of 'And The Soft Wind Blows'.

Keep on reading to find out all about this great author, his love of sour candies and his new novella.

What was your inspiration behind writing ‘And The Soft Wind Blows’?

My main inspiration comes from the people I love who are in my life every day and who constantly interact with me.  I take little pieces from these people and place them into my characters and stories.  I’m constantly leeching off of people’s personality traits, their mannerisms, and life stories, and creating them into something new, a new person with an interesting story to tell, a new tale cobbled together from dozens of other stories, etc. 

Would you like to share one piece of advice you would give to other aspiring authors?

I would just tell them to follow their dreams, especially while they’re young.  Do what you want to do and find a way to get paid for it.  As I am a young author, I cannot tell you the kind of feeling I get with each purchase of my book.  It is invigorating and lets me know I’m doing what I’m supposed to.

If you weren't a writer, what else do you think you would you be doing instead?

Long before I became a writer, I wanted to be in a band, playing guitar, and possibly singing.  In fact, the reason I became a writer was because my early song lyrics soon turned into poetry, which then developed into prose.  So, I would probably be changing my guitar strings much more often and finding a niche in contemporary music (which is still not out of the cards).

Do you have one particular special ‘writing place’ or are you fortunate enough to be able to write anywhere?

I like to write outside, especially during humid, Tennessee summer nights, where I can smoke cigarettes and listen to the sounds of crickets, cicadas, and the wind, feeling the muggy air surround me while I fend off those malevolent mosquitos.  But if not there, I’m at my desk, or on the floor, or in a coffee shop.

Do you have a favourite scene in the novella (without giving the story away too much)?

My favourite scenes are the ones with Timmy and Alex riding in the car and sharing their polar opposite lives with each other.  (Well, Alex shares his.)  I love the dynamic between the forty year old, ignorant man and the much more worldly eighteen year old.  I think I like these scenes so much because I made Alex from a conglomeration of a lot of my friends, so writing it and reading it for me is almost like spending time with an old buddy.  Not to mention, Timmy’s constant desire to be like Alex (and later want to adopt him) is so comical and poignant to me.  He wishes for anything but his present reality, even if it’s turning into a young miscreant.

Do you have any pets?

Not currently, but I grew up with pugs.

What’s your favourite way to spend your spare time?

With friends, outside (especially now since it’s warm), playing frisbee and hacky-sack and enjoying their company.  There is no place better in my eyes.

What’s one thing that most people wouldn’t know about you?

I have an unsettling addiction to sour candies.  I crave them and don’t feel right going too long without eating them.  It’s bad.  I have to budget for them, and I will go shamelessly in eating entire bags in one sitting.

What’s one of the most surprising things you’ve learnt about yourself since writing?

I’ve definitely learned that I need writing in order to function properly.  Its therapeutic qualities are sometimes the only things that get me through.  Sometimes, I just need to write it all down before I can move on.  And the best part about it is, it works.  What started off as just a hobby, soon became who I was, what I defined myself with, and a lifelong companion through thick and thin.

Do you have any new works in the pipeline which you care to share any details about?

Yes!  My next book, entitled Party, is a creative nonfiction piece that chronicles one night and its happenings in the lives of college age kids, going on into the subsequent day.  Of course, the narrator finds himself at a large, house party (right here in Tennessee) and soon becomes thrown into the horrors of having to save people’s lives from a round of bad drugs.  The details get a little bit fuzzy about the previous night, and the rest of the novel is set during the next day where the narrator must piece everything together, not sure if his good friends made it out alive.

You can also visit my creative writing blog at: www.thehorrornamedgruffalo.blogspot.com


About The Book:

 Synopsis:
'Timmy Enosh is a peculiar, small man: fivethree, onehundredandfifteen pounds, and is a pharmacist in Ashton City, Tennessee.

He finds himself at fortythreeyearsold as his life starts to fall apart: his threehundred pound wife disappears, his romantic interest has lost interest and has gained hatred toward him, his coworkers harass him, customers verbally assault him, and he has the strange urge to adopt his foulmouthed, eighteenyearold coworker, Alex.

When things start to pile up, Timmy must find a way to deal: he turns to Alex to supply him with marijuana, starts sewing an elaborate Mr. Mistoffelees costume, finds solace in the wild, etc., etc., etc.

And the soft, constant wind of change blows him on, on, and on.'

Links:
Amazon