Interview with Gregory Allen, author of "Well With My Soul"


Gregory AllenGregory G. Allen moved from Texas to New York in the late 80s and has been in the entertainment business for over twenty years as an actor, director, producer, songwriter, playwright and author. He’s had over ten shows that he has written produced on stage, been the recipient of musical grants from BMI, ASCAP and the Watershed Foundation, and has had short stories and poetry published in Off The Rocks, Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal, The Oddville Press, Perpetual Magazine, Loch Raven Review, Word Catalyst Magazine, and Rancor’d Type.
He is a member of ASCAP, The Dramatist Guild, and the Theatre Communications Group. He now lives in the suburbs of New Jersey and for the past five years he’s managed an arts center on a college campus. Proud Pants: An Unconventional Memoir was published this summer and is available as a digital download on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. This is his first novel.

For more information on Gregory, visit his website at www.ggallen.net or http://www.facebook.com/author.gregory.g.allen.

Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life, Gregory. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

A: I started writing as a child around the 5th grade (creating scripts for TV’s Laverne & Shirley). But it was 9th grade of high school I wrote my first musical that was produced on stage by a local children’s theater company.

Q: Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

A: Well With My Soul is a family drama about two brothers searching for their own type of peace of fifteen years of their life. The title makes it seem as if all is well, when it’s a far cry from that. The book is told through the perspective of both brothers and deals with addiction, religion, and sexuality. I first wrote this book as a play, but knew I needed to novelize it. Following stories in the news of high profile men caught in homosexual situations and attempting to understand that type of fear and ego that would keep a man in the closet was the main reason I wanted to tell this story. I was brought up Southern Baptist and writing a novel about religion and sexuality (set in the late 70s and 80s when our country was in a very different place) where I could show two opposing views intrigued me.

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced writing it?

A: I find writing in general to be lonely when you are wondering if the characters and story are heading in the correct direction. In this particular book, I am slightly younger than the period so I had to research the late 70s as well as addiction. I wanted to get all of those elements correct in the book.

Q: Do you have a press kit and what do you include in it? Does this press kit appear online and, if so, can you provide a link to where we can see it?

A: My press kit has my bio, information on the book, high res photos and links to a few interviews with me. http://www.ggallen.net/#/about-me/media-kit

Q: Have you either spoken to groups of people about your book or appeared on radio or TV? What are your upcoming plans for doing so?

A: My book launch is Tuesday, Oct 11 and then there are several readings and signings planned through Oct, Nov, Dec. I also have a few radio interviews lined up as well.

Q: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

A: I do not have an agent for writing. I think an agent is very helpful to open many doors, but I also believe an author has to be able to deliver once that door is open.

Q: Did you, your agent or publisher prepare a media blitz before the book came out and would you like to tell us about it?

A: I worked with a publicist and together we created press releases and emailed many media outlets about the book: targeting the gay community in some ways and in others, letting this family drama speak to a wider range of people.

Q: Do you plan subsequent books?

A: Yes I do. I’m already working towards publication in 2012 with a very different story of a woman who discovers a horrible past through therapy and must patch her life back together.

Q: Thank you for your interview, Gregory. Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

A: Thank for having me. You can go to my website www.ggallen.net which has links to the online locations for my book or always ask your local indie bookstore to order it for you. Deep down, I still love patronizing the local stores. You can also get information at www.asdpublishing.com

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