This month’s featured artist is an urban designer, graphic designer, illustrator and prolific writer. Gregory C. Randall shared some insights about his writing and his latest book, Elk River which was just selected by the Independent Book Publishers Association and its Benjamin Franklin Awards as one of the three best books in the LGBT category.
How much do you write, and what’s your process?
I try to work two hours a day, up at 5:30, 12 cup coffee maker bubbling, fingers poised. A thousand words is my goal, but when I’m hot I can get 1500. My blogs help sharpen my pen and my style, they go about 1800 words every week. That’s about 7000 words a week, and I have published five of my own books so far. I have been a practicing landscape architect and urban designer for forty years, and designed hundreds of communities and projects from housing to high tech. Each is a process with a beginning, middle and conclusion. It’s easy to look at writing as the same process.
What is it about each story that compels you to write it?
I’m not a stylistic writer like Pat Conroy or others, but the idea of crafting a story that engages a reader intrigues me and to be honest, is a lot of fun. If I can entertain that’s my goal.
What do you hope readers take away from Elk River?
A sense of timelessness. Howie’s story is not unique, families are faced with huge troubles and for the young it can come at them hard. Also a sense of wonder. City kids miss a lot of the softness and hardness of nature. It’s also the times (1950s) and the migrants, the medical care, the lack of anti-depressants, the issue of culture and smoking, and of course homosexuality. Some are verboten now, others were then, but times do change and the reader begins to understand the complexities of even simple societies. I hope.
Trying to do Gregory’s work justice in 250 words is darn near impossible (and I failed). So you’ll have to flip over to one of his many sites, blogs or buy Elk River and find out just how prolific and talented he is.
Greg C. Randall Website
Writing4Death Blog
Elk River Blog
2 Comments on First Friday: Gregory C. Randall
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The most inspiring 250 words I’ll read today.
His illustration is gorgeous. I’m going to check out more of his work at lunch.
Cool post, Karen!
A little correction, too. As Gregory has indication, his illustration is of “a muskellunge (a very large predator fish in the upper Midwest lakes) the muskrat is a large rodent that lives like a beaver in the same lakes often in areas of muskeg, Muskegon is a town south of where these can be found, in addition you also find musk plants and musk turtles as well. Michigan can be a very musky place.” I guess that makes it a no cologne required state.