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HELLO TO ALL YOU FANS AND FRIENDS!

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My name is Deborah Still and I am so very pleased to now be a new junior editor with Open Heart Publishing, helping with interviews! The people at OHP I have met so far are awesome people and I can’t wait to meet the rest of this year’s authors, and maybe someday, you too! I’ve looked at the list of submissions that Open Heart Publishing has received over the years and was intrigued when I saw that there were so many authors from other countries who were interested in An Honest Lie. Although this year’s authors all come from the United States, they do come from a variety of places, including Texas. I thought that was terrific, because I’m from Texas too!

I also am a writer and understand the nuances of this wonderful world of writing. I hope to expand into editing others’ work, which is more fun than editing my own! Sound familiar? I have some published short stories and have moved from them into the mystery genre novels. These are still unpublished but where’s there a pen, there’s a way!

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My first interview is with Greg Kuehn, who as you will see has some great responses.

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During this interview, Greg gives us a peek into the great streak of humor that runs through his veins. In addition to that, his loyalty for his country has not gone un-noticed, and his passion for his fellow Marines shines through.

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You will be able to see Greg had some fun answering my questions, and was open in sharing the complexities of his life. Let’s see what he has to say!

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So, without further delay, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Greg Kuehn!

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Deborah: I understand you are not a newcomer to the world of writing. Can you tell us why you decided to submit your work to An Honest Lie?

Greg: I wanted my story to find a home amongst a respectable print publication. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

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Deborah: OH! I think I see the publisher blushing. What a nice compliment, thank you! While we are on that subject, what caused you to be a writer and how did that happen?

Greg: I’ve always liked writing, even the grammar and usage side of it, and yes I understand that that makes me a bit of a nerd, but I’ve learned to live with that. It wasn’t until very recently that I began writing short fiction. I took a couple writing classes in college, one of them a writer’s workshop with Sybil Baker, author of The Life Plan and Talismans. It was then that I realized you can do more with writing than just produce boring academic essays, and I got the itch, the writer’s itch. I’ve been in love with writing fiction ever since.

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Deborah: I’ve got a great back scratcher for that itch! (I’ll give it to you.) Speaking of talismans, would you rather be an eagle soaring the skies of the Rocky Mountains or a country mouse eating blackberries under the bush, and why?

Greg: Flying scares me, even in the safety and comfort of an airplane, so I’d be a mouse by default. Also, blackberries are delicious and loaded with vitamins and antioxidants.

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Deborah: If you’re the mouse, you had better keep under the blackberry bush. Remember the eagle is always watchful for the mouse below! Is there a writer that makes you soar and what do you like about their style?

Greg: That’s a tough one, because I have so many. I’ve always enjoyed the storytelling abilities of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, the stylistic genius in the writings of Hemingway and Faulkner, and the emotion and creativity that flowed through the poetry of Sylvia Plath. But if I had to pick a favorite, I guess I’d have to go with a more contemporary and unfamiliar writer, Kevin Wilson. He is such a talent. Every word is the right word and in just the right place. His stories are unlike anything else I’ve ever read, dark but humorous, sometimes disturbing, and entwined with genuine emotion that will move you. Every time I read one of his works I say to myself, “I wish I had written that.” He’s good.

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Deborah: Having read your story, “The Easy Way Out”, I’d say you are well on your way to achieving your goal! Do you have a writing nemesis?

Greg: I’d say Danielle Steel. She just keeps pumping out crap and people keep buying it. I don’t get it. I’d rather have my face repeatedly mauled by a honey badger while being forced to listen to Nickleback than read one of her books.

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Deborah: You know, behind every good writer is a supporting family. How about you? Would you tell us about your family?

Greg: My parents were married for 27 years before they divorced a few years back. They have both since remarried. I have two brothers, Nick and Chris. The three of us did everything together as kids and tried to kill each other on more than a few occasions. We’re pretty good friends these days. Then, there are my Marine Corps brothers. I will always have a special place in my heart for them. I live with my fiancée, Candy, and her two children Samantha and Alex, and as far as I see it, they are part of my family now. The rest of my relatives are cool, but they’re jealous that I’m so much better than them at board games. I have a pet fish named Mighty Mouse. I’m afraid the kids are going to overfeed it one day and I will have to buy a look-alike while they aren’t home.

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Deborah: Does your muse look anything like Mighty Mouse?

Greg: No, she’s a fat and pale middle-aged Italian woman, somewhat handsome in the face, and she always carries around a stone scroll in her right arm. She is so demanding.

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Deborah: We so understand about your muse. They must all be related! So, you’ve now told us about your muse, what about the characters in your writings. How do they compare to the antagonists you’ve encountered during your tours and/or any you may have had in your platoon?

Greg: The Marines I served with were incomparable. There are no characters that could ever do justice to them, any of them, even the ones I didn’t much care for. As far as my characters, I try not to base them around anyone I know. I prefer them to be unpredictable strangers whose actions will surprise not only the reader, but me as well.

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Deborah: So, you like surprises! Did your decision to join the Marines surprise you and what inspired you to join?

Greg: There was a lot that went into my decision to enlist. I had a couple friends that had joined a year before me and they told me nothing but good things about the Marine Corps. I was at a time in my life where I wanted a change of pace and a challenge. But what really swayed my hand was when I watched the Marines making the initial push into Iraq in March of 2003 and I thought to myself, “I could do that.” I went into a recruiter a few weeks later and said, “How do I join the Marines?” and he handed me some papers with a mischievous, almost evil smile and said, “Here, just sign all these,” and that was that.

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Deborah: Like any good interviewer, I simply must ask that age-old question that starts with “tell us how you felt”. How did you feel, Greg, when you received your certificate of commendation, the meritorious mast, and your combat action ribbon as a field artillery cannoneer?

Greg: As far as the recognition, it was okay, but the best feeling was coming home.

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Deborah: Yes, coming home’s always the best part! But before you came home to stay, you were deployed again to Iraq in 2008. You said on the second tour, you were a team leader for a key traffic control point in the small city of Rutbah . I understand you and you team worked to ensure that illegal weapons, drugs, and highly valued individuals were not permitted to pass into the city. My question to you is what did you learn about people and personalities while you were there?

Greg: The civilians in Iraq , they are just like you and me. Sure, they look different, and speak a different language, and probably pray a lot more, but they are just people trying to live their lives and be happy. It’s just a shame that such a small percentage of them have given a bad reputation to their race, religion, and nation.

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Deborah: Were there any situations during your tour that would be good for a story?

Greg: Yeah, there were a few, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers.

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Deborah: Okay, no spoilers here folks! So we have to sit and wait like everyone else! While overseas your nerves had to be on high alert. Will any of your future writings relate to that time in your life? Or is that part of your life shelved and over?

Greg: It’s definitely there if I ever want to write about it. I still remember everything so vividly and honestly there is a lot that I could use. I just don’t know if I could ever put on paper something that was so much a part of me. I prefer to write about things a little less personal. I’d hate to base a character around me and then have someone say to me, “I think your protagonist is a little flat,” or even worse, “That guy is a douche.” No one wants to be a douche.

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Deborah: Are you kidding me? With your personality and humor, no one would say that about you! At least with your being a Marine, I’d think twice before saying that! Let me ask this. What do you feel about the following quote “Imagination is more important than knowledge?”

Greg: Well whoever said that must have been an Einstein. Before I read J.R.R. Tolkien, I had no prior knowledge of hobbits, or Middle Earth, or Sauron, but thanks to my imagination and the brilliance and creativity of a much smarter man’s imagination, I, like many others, was able to enjoy one of the greatest stories ever told. Your knowledge is limited, but your imagination is endless.

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Deborah: Didn’t they do a song about imagination? Kidding! Besides writing, what other sorts of deviant behavior do you happen to enjoy?

Greg: Well as much as I’d hate to consider myself a conformist, I’m not really sure if I engage in much deviant behavior. I’m almost thirty and still play video games. Does that count? Also, I like to cycle, paint with acrylics, and I grind my own coffee beans, so in yo’ face Starbucks.

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Deborah: Sounds like you’re really serious about your coffee! (Me too!) Where do you believe humanity is headed as a whole?

Greg: Have you ever seen the movie Idiocracy? Yeah, that’s where we’re heading.

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Deborah: That is an incredible simile there. I’ve got to ask, what other writing endeavors are you currently engaged in?

Greg: Aside from pumping out short stories and keeping up with my blog, I’ve been writing a lot of flash fiction lately. But what I’d really like to do is write a novel. I just haven’t yet discovered an idea that would be worthy of that sort of a commitment. But soon, hopefully.

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Deborah: We all are looking for the one great idea to make it! With that in mind, what is, in your opinion, the more important discovery of humankind … plumbing or the written word?

Greg: Definitely plumbing, I do some of my best reading on the John.

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Deborah: I hear that quite a lot! I’m more of the lying crossways on my chair-and-a-half, with my head on one arm and legs hanging over the other. Okay, here’s another question about someone famous. According to Anatole France , “To die for an idea is to set a rather high price on conjecture,” in your opinion what do you believe is worth dying for? What do you believe is worth living for?

Greg: There’s plenty worth dying for: God, country, love, faith, family, freedom. But there’s really only one thing worth living for; the never-ending quest for the most delicious sandwich on Earth. I will find you – I swear it.

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Deborah: Simper Fi to that! In your blog, you state, “As far as writing goes, I’ve always enjoyed it. The feeling of pencil against paper forming perfectly purposed lines and shapes. Deliberate sentence fragments. Unconventional punctuation.” Most writers nowadays use computers; does this make you feel like a non-conformist?

Greg: I cannot tell a lie. I do most of my writing on a computer. But there is something about breaking out the moleskin writer’s notebook and a nice fountain pen that is so much more personal. It changes things up too, and I find my style is a little different, each word considered more carefully, when I can’t rely on spell-check or the backspace button.

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Deborah: Thank you Mr. Apple-tree Washington …I mean Greg! Yes, the technical age has added an easier way to collaborate our ideas. Now, I know this is going to come out of left-field, but I’ve got to ask this question. If you were your own pet, what would you be? And why?

Greg: I’d be a cat. They pretty much have their own lives and they think they are God. They eat good too. And secretly, I’ve always wanted to kill a bird or a mouse and give it to someone as a gift.

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Deborah: You are either a cat person or have had, at least once in your life, a cat to know this! Speaking of gifts, in your blog you state, “So this blog will become my voice. More importantly, it will be my portfolio for creative writing …” How important is “your voice” to you?

Greg: For a writer, voice is everything. There are plenty of writers out there who understand the mechanics and the elements enough to put together a decent story worthy of publication. And with the way technology is going, you could probably even train a robot to write fiction. But a voice, a truly unique voice, is what makes readers want to keep pushing through to the end, and what helps a writer stand out above his or her peers, and robots.

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Deborah: Well said, very well said. You know, I just looked out my window and noticed that it’s raining today. Rainy days always make me want to pull out a good book and read. Are you a rainy day reader?

Greg: Actually, I’m more of a rainy day sleeper.

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Deborah: You’re right. That pitter patting against the window will do it every time. Before I get too sleepy myself, let me ask you this. There are only so many times you hear “I like it because you wrote it” from family and close friends and those who don’t question your abilities. How do you feel about this?

Greg: That’s funny. I’ve actually got into some pretty heated arguments about this with my fiancé. I’ve been told by more than a few experienced writers that I should take what my loved ones say about my work with a grain of salt since their opinions will most likely be weighted with bias. When I told this to Candy, she kind of took it personally and refused to read my stuff for quite a while. Honestly though, I don’t want people to like my writing just because they like me. They can like it or hate it or be completely indifferent about it. I really don’t care. I just want them to read it.

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Deborah: You’re right. Basically, most writers think the same way until the rejection letters start filling the mailbox. And then suddenly, the “I don’t care,” becomes “Just read and publish it.” It reminds me of something that Mark Twain once said, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” What do you believe he meant by that?

Greg: There’s really no telling. That dude was crazy.

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Deborah: Yes, he was, and like him, you will also have several stories published! Most people have two stories for doing anything … a plausible excuse and the real reason, why do you really write?

Greg: Would you believe me if I said I did it for the characters? The real reason; I’ve always tried to do as many things as I can to give my name a longer shelf life than my body. Translation: I want to be famous.

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Deborah: Okay, I’ll call CNN and talk to Cooper Anderson and ask for his help with getting your name out there for you! Kidding again! And speaking of kidding, here’s a really important question, maybe the most important question ever asked. Which came first, the chicken or the road?

Greg: The egg.

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Deborah: Gold ring! That was the right answer! Let’s see if we can make that two gold rings. Here’s another question about your writing. Would you tell us how would you sway the reader’s sympathies towards an antagonist?

Greg: Give them something they can relate to. Darth Vader comes to mind. Yeah, most people can’t relate to the idea of becoming a Sith Lord, but we understand why he did it. And the truth is, underneath that dark façade of evil and ruthlessness, there was a pretty decent human being who just wanted what we all want, to be loved. Come to think about it, how did he stay single for so long?

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Deborah: Probably because he was just a kid when he first met his future wife? Using this for an example for inspiration, where do you draw your inspiration from?

Greg: I can’t really pinpoint it. I’d say I’m inspired by randomness. One day it could be the perfect pink sunrise pushing across the city skyline and the next it might be a homeless dude relighting a half-smoked cigarette butt that he picked up off the sidewalk. Sometimes I’ll just see things and the creative spark flickers inside me, and, at that point, it’s my responsibility as a writer to let it smolder and breathe until it catches, and then to let it burn hot and bright until that perfect moment presents itself when the fire cries out to be extinguished.

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Deborah: Yep, you’re hooked and have the bug bad! Your answer shines with passion. Here’s another question just loaded with passion. If you were a hat, what would it be?

Greg: I’d be a Trilby hat like JT wears. Those are pretty trendy.

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Deborah: You must have a great fashion sense! Not trying to age you, or anyone else who remembers them, but Trilbys have been trendy since the 1920’s, way, way, before I was a little twinkle. Now, this is my favorite question, how does breathing new life into your characters excite you?

Greg: It’s always such a unique personal experience, like meeting your first love. Except you can make them whatever you want, and if they break your heart, you can always kill them off in the end.

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Deborah: (Laughing) Love your answer! Okay, last question, if you were a baseball, football or hockey puck (you pick one) and someone hit you, where would you go?

Greg: I’d go straight to the cops. That’s assault!!!

Deborah: I’d love to see you explaining that as a baseball, football or puck! The cops would think you’re crazy! That is a great visual though. Too funny!

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Thank you Greg! I could tell you enjoyed yourself by your answers! They were great and I know they will bring a smile or chuckle to all of our readers. Speaking of which, I want to remind all of our readers to catch Greg’s story, “The Easy Way Out”, which will be in An Honest Lie, Volume 3: Justifiable Hypocrisy, scheduled to be on sale this fall. Also, everyone, check back next week for another exciting interview!

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Greg Kuehn writes literary fiction and southern literature. While in high school he received The Most Courteous Superlative Award and the Class Clown Award by his peers and was also named The Most Valuable Player of his soccer team. Greg is currently a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he majors in secondary education with an emphasis on English. Upon completion of his degree he plans to pursue a career as a creative writer who will, in his spare time, also pursue positions as a high school English teacher and as a soccer coach. Prior to his current curriculum, Mr. Kuehn served eight years in the United States Marine Corps before receiving an honorable discharge in April 2011. During his time in the military he completed the Marine Corps field artillery cannon crewman course, the Marine Corps machine gunner course, the combat lifesavers course, and finished his enlistment as a Howitzer section chief. He deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2004 where he received a certificate of commendation, a meritorious mast, and a combat action ribbon as a field artillery cannoneer. While in Fallujah, his Chattanooga-based unit fired more artillery rounds than any unit since Vietnam during one of the most famous battles of our generation, the Battle of Fallujah. He deployed to Iraq again in 2008 where he was a team leader for a key traffic control point in the small city of Rutbah. There, he and his team worked to ensure that illegal weapons, drugs, and highly valued individuals were not permitted to pass into the city.

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