Prairieprincess Interviews Rolly A Chabot
A Hubber expounds on the power of nature, his unique style, and the process of getting published
Rolly, I immediately connected with you as a fellow Canadian writer with a love of nature. The land seems to play such an important role in your writing. Do you find that you need to be around nature, in order to be inspired? What else inspires you?
Hi Sharilee; thanks for asking me to do this with you. It has been great getting to know you over the past few years and watching you grow as a writer. Nature is a part of us all if we take the time to embrace her. She can be kind and gentle and in the blink of an eye turn a full 180 and show her strength and fury as she has with Sandy on the East Coast. I would ask the readers to keep everyone in their prayers. I have had the privilege of standing on some of her tallest Canadian peaks on a clear day and accepting her shelter on days when she decides to show me just how small I really am in comparison. Friend or foe she is always near.
For those who have come to know me they understand that at one time addictions and the steady slide downhill were a part of life for me. Rock bottom is a hard place to be, once visited it is a place you never want to return too.
A dear friend who owned a helicopter had a small contracting business to fly into remote locations and inspect microwave towers in the Yukon. He hired me to be his spotter when flying in close proximity of all the cables. He would land at my cabin and we would load my canoe, gear, rifle and dog and away we would go. The payment was he would drop me into some of the most remote and isolated countryside a man could ever come to see.
It was here that I found peace and solitude and above all, healing. He would come back at the arranged time. It is hard to run away from yourself when you are 200 miles from the next closest neighbor (not including the wild ones, who were always close at hand- some of those cared little to listen to reasoning). Inspiration comes from nature and my surroundings.
I can be comfortable barefoot in the woods or walking in a concrete jungle. I can find inspiration where ever I find myself. People inspire me, I love to sit and listen to people who share their life story with me. People have so much to offer if we take the time to listen.
Along those same lines nature speaks; she will tell you much when you stop and listen. A wonderful friend and Cree Indian Chief was my greatest mentor with regard to nature. I spent many a day listening to Johnny speak of our relationship with the Creator, how the balance of nature should be left undisturbed, and how we must take only what is needed.
For those not familiar with your style of writing, you have a regular feature called "Fireside Chat." What is a fireside chat, and why do you think these "chats" are so popular?
Good question. The Fireside Chat started really to be able to have people catch up with what was happening in my life- you know, a small blurb at the start of a Hub; an invite for people to come in and be a part of life. Over time it has evolved into a gathering of friends. I like to think its a place where anyone can come and be a part of my home and feel welcome.
Rolly, you are trained as a pastor, and have been quite involved in Christian ministries. How does your faith inform your writing?
I was only ordained in 2007, and I have been involved in different ministries, both through the church and now outside of the church. Most of the novels have faith intertwined with life situations as part of the story. I like to think they appeal to everyone. I have received emails on a regular basis from people who have commented they have not felt threatened with faith being touched upon and written into the story.
How did you first find out about HubPages, and what were your first experiences with the site? I have also noticed that you tend to not write in a "commercial" way. How did you decide to write on the creative side of things, rather than the commercial?
HubPages happened to fall into my lap from a friend. I have come and gone a few times. Some may recall me listed as “Quill”. I like to write more on the human side rather than the commercial. I think we all have enough commercial in our lives. We have it all around us.
I love the human side of others writing and have a tendency to stay clear of the commercial. Numbers and scores mean little or nothing to me. One day you can be sitting at that magic number of 100 and the next find yourself at an all time low score. I have given up on caring much about it. People are the real value in the writing community. They are whom I write for.
Finally, I know that you have several books out on Amazon right now- fourteen, the last I checked! What was your experience in writing your first book? Were you intimidated by the process the first time, and do you find the process is getting easier for you?
I was encouraged to write about some of those times after leaving the addictions behind . What I wrote was well received and one thing led to another. I just placed another novel on Amazon the other day and have two more in the editing stage and hope to have them up in November. My first experience with a would-be publisher was not a great one. What the man promised and the financial loss of the experience all but stopped my writing for several months.
I like to think I covered his family's food and housing expenses for a few months. If anything, I have learned to be independent in the entire process. My advice to anyone seeking a publisher, Editor, or any help in the writing business, is: do your homework. Type the name of the individual, the business name and add the + sign with the words "fraud" and "rip off" and see what comes up. Do your homework. I failed to do mine. When it sounds too good to be true, well, I know that is a red flag.
For the time being I have just gone with the ebook format and it seems to work well. It does involve a great deal of self-marketing. The book industry is in flux and I do feel the electronic format is the way of the future. I offered a free downloads last month for one of my novels and the results were amazing. Over 750 copies were downloaded in the three days it was up. The novel was the first in a two book series, and the benefit was it resulted in many sales of the second book, as well as many wonderful emails from people I have never met, some telling me of the second chance the book made for them. Now, that is the real value of writing.
It is very important to keep the craft alive and stirring in your blood. Since I have retired now from the work force I have set aside a goal I like to maintain daily of writing 2 to 3000 words per day. I find it keeps the ideas fresh and allows the ones written to sink in and if need to go back and repair the damage.
I submitted a manuscript to a Canadian Publishing firm and we have been communicating back and forth. It does look possible that I may eventually see my work on book shelves as the firm is very well connected in the industry.
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