1. Kindly introduce yourself.
I’m Canadian born indie author Rusty Blackwood who chose my non de plume in 2001 when I became a serious writer. You can tell by the date that I’ve been writing a very long time, and I still love it as much as I always did, if not more. I grew up on my paternal grandfather’s farm in south-western Ontario, and I have resided in Niagara since 1985.
2.What inspires you the most?
I would have to say nature. I love sunny mornings with clear blue skies, a soft warm breeze with bird’s singing. They celebrate life every second, and they encourage us to do the same, while we’re here, and while we can. I love nature in all its forms, and I draw great inspiration from experiencing it all,however I can.
3.What are your favorite literary journals?
I wish I could run off a list here, but time at my keyboard allows little for anything other than work. As time goes on the busier, I become, but I’ve worked long and hard to gain reckonigition, and in the literary world one never knows how long one’s name will last.
4.When did you start writing and why?
I’ve written all my life, but it wasn’t until 2001 that I began writing seriously. I was 51, and though it seemed an uphill struggle to begin a new career that late in life, I decided to see where my writing could take me. I had complied a huge collection of poetry and decided to publish my first collection in 2009, which I did. Because I was a novice at the time, I did this mostly to get my feet wet in the self-publishing business and to see how I was going to like it. During the time when I began writing seriously until my first publication, I was writing my first romantic fiction drama which I published in 2013 through the now defunct Createspace, titled Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary. By this time, I realized that writingwas what I was intended to do in life, and I’ve never regretted that descion.
5.What was your family’s reaction when you received an author copy?
I was alone when I received my very first author copy, but I remember feeling super elated, like I had finally found my intended road in life. My family, especially my eldest daughter-in-law along with my eldest granddaughter, are two of my biggest supporters. I have 2 sons, and Jamey, my eldest son, is most proud, and Jason, my youngest, often accompanies me and assists me at different literary events.
6.What makes you smile the most?
My children, my 4 grandchildren, and my 3 great grandsonswhom I try to spend as much time with as I can.
7.What was the most difficult point while writing the novel?
I’m not sure which novel you are referencing, but I would think it would be Return to Autumn Part 1, though I could be mistaken. However, Return to Autumn Part 1 is the second novel in what has become the Autumn Trilogy, beginning with The Perils of Autumn that I released through Tellwell Talent Publishing here in Canada in 2019, and Return to Autumn Part 1 that I published myself with the assistance of my producer, Don McCauley and released on Amazon November 2022, and the 3rdnovel in the trilogy, Return to Autumn Part 2, produced, and recently published the same way. The official release and launch of Return to Autumn Part 2 happens April 29th/23, and I am so looking forward to it. I suppose if there was any problem that I might touch on during the time of writing what has become the Autumn Trilogy is the time span between the 1st and 2nd novel in the series. I would have preferred to have released them closer than the way it turned out, but it is what it is.
8.What’re the advices you would like to give to the aspiring writers?
Follow your heart, and don’t ley anyone tell you it cannot be done, because only you know your capabilities, and your own mind. First and foremost, write what you know, and research what you don’t in order to make your story as realistic as you can make it.
9.Which’s your favourite genre?
Romantic fiction drama with suspense throughout.
10.Do you believe in love? What love means to you?
I very much believe in love, as you will read within the pages of the Autumn story. I’m a die-hard romantic who believe the heart chooses the path; sometimes the path chosen may not always be the wisest, but if it’s true, and meant to be, it will be all you ever dreamed of.
11.What’re all expectations from this novel?
I write for the enjoyment of my readers. It’s always wonderful to experience sales, for it takes a certain number of sales to continue the self-publishing path, and of course one always hopes to see their work grow in popularity and demand, and I hope this novel, as with the entire 9 before it that I’ve written,will continue to do well.
12.What was the most difficult point while publishing your novel?
The time frame surrounding the initial idea to its fruition. As a writer and author, I can become impatient when things are not moving along as quickly as I would like, and of course I always want things done yesterday. But if I’ve learned anything through my life thus far, is everything happens in the time it’s supposed to, and I’m okay with that.
13.Anything that you would like to tell the audience about life?
Live it, to your best ability because it’s never promised, and it goes by fast. Also, read books to keep your mind stimulated, and working to its best ability.
Thanks!
