Interview with memoirist Allen Long

I’m kicking off a new week with an interview with memoirist Allen Long. We’re chatting about his book, Less than Human: A Memoir.

During his virtual book tour Allen will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Allen Long was born in New York City and grew up in Arlington, Virginia. He holds a B.A. in journalism from Virginia Tech, an M.A. in fiction writing from Hollins University, and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Arizona. He has been an assistant editor at Narrative Magazine since 2007, and his fiction and memoirs have appeared in a wide variety of literary magazines. He lives with his wife near San Francisco.

Welcome, Allen. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Less than Human tells the story of how I overcame child abuse, PTSD, and a nightmarish marriage to find true love with my second wife, Elizabeth. We’ve been married twenty years. The book also includes all of the most dramatic highs and lows in my life. Some of the other subjects covered include the corrupt business world, teenage love, a nervous breakdown, and fatherhood.

What inspired you to write this book?

After I’d published several short stories in literary magazines, I decided to write in a different form for a change of pace. I ended up writing a magazine-length memoir about my anger and disgust with the dishonesty and corruption I witnessed when I worked in the management consulting sector of the business world. A writer/editor friend praised the piece and suggested I write additional memoirs. So I wrote magazine-length memoirs about the most dramatic highs and lows in my life until I realized I’d written a book.


Excerpt from Less than Human: A Memoir:

This scene is about how I met my wife Elizabeth.

I remember only a fragment of our lunch conversation. Sophia, who used to work at the textile design firm where Elizabeth was employed, brought up the name of a colleague who was agonizing about whether he was gay.

            Elizabeth surprised me by saying, “If he can’t make up his mind, I’ll make it up for him—he’s definitely gay.” There was absolutely no malice or derision in her voice; she simply stated what seemed an obvious fact.

            I laughed, pleased by her presumptuous humor. Also, a few weeks later, the co-worker in question came out of the closet and has seemed contentedly gay ever since.

            After lunch, Sophia made a quick getaway and Elizabeth and I stood in the parking garage near her black cherry Dodge Shadow and talked for another hour and a half. Again, I remember only one snippet of this conversation.

            “I have to tell you how important my daughter Stephanie is to me,” she said. “We’re best friends, I love her dearly, and she’s my number one priority.”

            “I understand. That’s how I feel about my boys,” I said.

            Tears glazed Elizabeth’s eyes, but she didn’t cry. I felt such a strong connection to her I trembled.

            “Would you like it if I called you?” I asked.

            “Yes, very much,” she said.

            We hugged and fell in love.


What exciting story are you working on next?

Right now I’m writing magazine-length memoirs and short stories on various subjects. This activity may lead to another memoir collection, a short story collection, or both.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I started telling stories when I was a small child. In sixth grade, my teacher let me write a short story a week instead of doing regular English assignments. The summer before college, I attended a writing workshop at Michigan State University. In college, I excelled at all of my creative writing classes. Then I sent several short stories to Hollins College (now Hollins University) which has a fabled creative writing program—William Golding was the first or one of the first writers teaching there, and that’s where he wrote Lord of the Flies. When I was accepted into the M.A. fiction writing program with a scholarship, I realized my dreams of becoming a writer were finally coming true.

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?

I work full time as a hospital nurse. I get one weekday off per week, and I have every other weekend off, so that’s when I write. When I had a lot of momentum going with my book, I wrote in the evenings as well.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My writing often contains an undercurrent of fairy tale images or themes. I’m guessing the reason is that I was physically abused as a child. Fairy tales were a great escape from reality. Also, I realize now that I also probably enjoyed fairy tales because good almost always triumphs over evil.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I think I always wanted to be a writer. After a brief flirtation as a forestry major in college, I switched to journalism and also took a slew of English and creative writing courses.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

The image on the cover of my book is an alligator. This was my suggestion. When my brother and I were in elementary school, our neglectful parents encouraged us to swim in a Florida lake inhabited by an adult alligator while they visited inside with our grandparents.

Links:

Facebook | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

My pleasure. Thank you.

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