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drawn commenter during the tour. To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment below. And to increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit other tour stops and leave comments there, too!
Bio:
Raised on a farm and having been a volunteer at different
animal rescues, it’s no surprise that Phil’s book is about animals and the
connections we share.
From Phil’s first high school job to present, he’s spent his
career working with clients, explaining complex ideas in an easy to understand
manner. Phil enjoys using his talents to make a positive difference and sharing
all the things he learns along the way.
You’ll often find Phil outdoors exploring and sharing his
experiences via writing, photography, or videography. Phil’s credits include,
multiple I.T. certifications, Reiki master, photographer, author of two blogs,
author of the Backyard Tourist column, contributor to Bucketlistpublications.com
and whatever else he can get into.
Welcome, Phil. Please tell us about
your current release.
The book is
a compilation of my personal animal stories and the insights I learned from
watching them. Pet lovers can attest that each animal has its distinct
personality and mannerism, so its easy to appreciate the diversity of the
stories. I wrote it to be easy to read, almost conversational and nothing too
heavy. Just a good read that encourages readers to make positive changes and
also pay more attention to their furry friends.
People
often think the book is entirely about cats because of the cover photo. There
are three stories that involve cats and two about turtles so it’s an
entertaining mix. After publishing the book, I thought of even more stories.
Maybe that’ll be the sequel.
What inspired you to write this book?
It was
actually a combination of things. As a volunteer I saw heart wrenching animal
stories both happy and sad. Each time I volunteered, I kept thinking I really
wanted to bring more awareness to the animals but in a positive manner and not
in an extreme way. Itt was one of those ideas that got lost in the far reaches
of my brain.
At the same
time, I was writing a lot of stories about my personal life insights and realized
that most of them involved animals. Well it wasn’t long before it hit me that I
could put my stories in a book, which could inspire others as well as bring
positive awareness to animals. So I took the leap….
Excerpt:
Ever since I took Keiko to the park that day and let her out every
evening, she was wired. Every morning she was under foot, walking around the
kitchen and living room. I’d be upstairs getting dressed and here would come this spindly, almost wobbly cat
blasting up the stairs. At times, it was really annoying to hear the constant meowing, so I’d pick
her up. “What is your problem?” I’d ask. I thought she might be in pain.
As soon as I picked her up, all I heard was the familiar sound of
contentment: purring.
What had changed with her? I had not given her any different medicine,
and she had become skinnier by the day. But something was obviously different.
Let’s see, she went from just hanging around the house and receiving
whatever “leftover” attention I had to being the first to receive attention. She received my attention first and
foremost, and we spent quality time together.
What exciting story are you working on
next?
Currently
what’s taking up most of my writing time is travel blogging. It’s a place where
I can combine my writing, photography/videography, and showcase great places
local and far. My laptop has folders with book ideas ranging from my experience
hiking the Grand Canyon, my dad, and other diverse story lines. I seriously
could write for weeks and not get through it all.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
Ironically,
I’m still getting used to that term. I’ve been writing off/on for several
years, but never thought I would get published. Then it happened, without any
effort or fanfare; I posted a story online about an event at a state park where
I volunteered. I wrote the article as if I was talking and didn’t think much
about it. I figured it’d be another online post that would get lost in the cyberspace.
About a
week later, a friend called and asked “have you seen the paper”. “I don’t get
the paper, why do you ask?” I responded. She laughed and said you’ll see at when
you visit the park. I went to visit the state park and the ranger excitedly
took me to a room and pointed to the wall. I just stared in disbelief; it was
my article published in the local paper.
I was
stunned at how easily it happened. I really didn’t put that much effort into
the story; I just wrote what I felt. (I’ve since learned those make the best
stories!)
It only
takes that one someone or event to give you that much needed boost. That
article was the turning point. I began submitting more stories, became a
regular in the paper and just kept writing from there.
Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?
Officially,
I work in systems administration and information security. However, I really
enjoy being creative so I also write a column titled Backyard Tourist that highlights
local places to explore. These articles are published on our website and in a
local online magazine. Where I work, we have our own T.V. station, and each
month I find a positive story to write, interview and host.
In my
“spare” time I write a weekly article for the travel blog,
bucketlistpublications.com and for my own blog, theworldaccording2phil.com. By
the time I get home, cook dinner, and exercise, it’s close to 9pm.
To squeeze
it all in, I schedule certain evenings where all I do is write. I’ll pick
something simple for dinner like leftovers so I can just come home and get to
it. I have a list of articles that I work from so I always know what I need to
complete. If I didn’t do that, I’d never get it all done.
Currently I
have enough things to write that I could literally spend all day writing so I’m
deciding how to focus more on writing and less on work.
What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I usually
start an article with a question as if we’re having a conversation. I really
like to have the reader feel like we’re talking to each other.
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
I wanted to
be a teacher or an engineer and ironically I’m doing a little bit of both now
via the technical and writing. I really enjoy working with people and knowing
how things work so those two paths work well together.
Anything additional you want to share
with the readers?
First off;
thank you for following my blogs and reading my book. It’s really fun to hear
other people’s stories and connect with them. I bump into a lot of people who
want to write a book and I enjoy sharing my experiences. One thing I often
forget to explain is that writing a book will change you in a lot of positive
ways. For example, I really wanted my writing to be more soulful and several
life changing experiences brought that out. I wouldn’t change what I’ve
learned, continue to learn and the great people I’ve met along the way for
anything.
Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Thank you, Phil!
9 comments:
Thank you for hosting
I really enjoyed your comments. I know that my animals have feelings. I try to understand them.
I'm not surprised that many authors wanted to be teachers as children. It seems like that may easily go hand in hand!
andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com
There is a lot we can learn from animals.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thanks for sharing the interview and the giveaway. Sounds like a cute book. evamillien at gmail dot com
Nice compilation of stoires
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Great interview!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Sounds like a really good read!!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Thanks for the interview and excerpt.
kareninnc at gmail dot com
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