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After graduating from Utah State University, Fred enlisted in the Marines. Although he received orders for Vietnam, an injured back requiring surgery kept him from going overseas. "I look back at that period and wonder if my life was spared for a reason. Hence, the writing of my novel, An American Sin," he says.

He earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Connecticut. To celebrate, he and his future wife, Gail, bicycled across America.

The couple settled in Bellingham, WA, where Fred taught temporarily at Western Washington University and worked part-time at an optical engineering society. He attended a creative writing class for 5 years, sometimes bringing in a chapter of An American Sin for critiques. That the class liked the manuscript so much gave him hope for publication.

After 10 years of trying agents and publishers (with two near-misses) to no avail, Fred self-published his novel (www.bytewrite.com).

Thank you Frederick for answering a few questions for us! What kind of awards have you received for your book An American Sin?
 
An American Sin was a recent finalist  in the 2009 Eric Hoffer Awards. It was also a winner, "Multicultural Fiction" category, Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards 2002; Finalist, 2002 Benjamin Franklin Awards, Publishers Marketing Association, "Best New Voice - Fiction (first book by a new author)"; Finalist, The Binghamton (NY) University John Gardner Fiction Book Award 2001. I was also editor of Technology of Our Times, which won a Seattle Society for Technical Communication award.
 
How has your education, profession or background helped you in your writing career? Or conversely, how has your writing success helped you in your profession?
 
I was trained as a physicist. In writing my Ph.D. dissertation, I found out that I enjoyed the writing of the dissertation almost as much as the problem solving aspects of it. At age 40, I realized I wasn’t going to add anything new to the field of physics and I wanted to try my hand at writing fiction. I also wanted to try to leave some kind of legacy with my writing. I’ve learned that writing clearly, whether science or fiction, is paramount.
 
What kind of other works (books, scripts, poems etc.) have you had published?
 
I was editor of Technology of Our Times, SPIE Optical Engineering Press. I’ve also had articles, op ed pieces, humor, short stories, and poems published, mostly regional, but some national and international. I was a contributing editor for an optical engineering monthly newspaper. My short stories have been published on the websites Rose & Thorn and In Posse Review (Web del Sol).
 
Is there any aspect to your profession that gets you in touch with your readers directly?
 
I was instrumental in getting the local branch of the Bellingham Public Library involved in offering spotlights on a mix of well-known and lesser-known local authors. So, I’ve had a chance to interact with readers. Also, from my Volvo website, www.stepbystepvolvo.com, I have offered advice to other do-it-yourselfers.
 
What type of work is the most rewarding or satisfying for you? What kind of work do you admire?
 
Writing. Writing to inform, writing to inspire, writing to educate, writing to dispel ignorance, and writing to quash racism. Writing to bring a reader to that surreal feeling where he/she is transported by words into an altered state of consciousness, not quite unlike an out-of-body experience brought on by extraordinary music.
 
I have a saying: “Writers are a dime a dozen, and poets are a dime a gross.” By that, I mean that so much poetry is uniformly bland, so remarkably homogeneous as to be unremarkable. Great poetry, on the other hand, grabs you by the lapel and slams you to the floor with a judo throw. You lie on this metaphorical floor where the breath has been slammed out of you by these skillfully set words. The poem says, “Look! This is the human condition. Recognize us. Aspire to goodness and beauty!” So, once in a great while, a poem will sneak past my critical, jaundiced view and that judo throw will knock my socks off. For example: Charles Bukowski’s simple statement, “The days run away like wild horses over the hills.” Then there is Pablo Neruda’s poem, “I remember you as you were.” Wow!
 

What can you recommend for writers who are just getting started and are trying to make a name for themselves?
 
Join a writing class and have your work exposed to objective criticism by disinterested readers. Don’t rely on friends or family to critique your work. Start locally for publication. After years of work, you will see your work mature. Write for the love of words, not for fame or the love of money.

How did you get started as a writer?
 
I joined a creative writing class at the local technical college. It was a class full of blue-collar wannabe writers; nary an English major in sight.
 
Which is your favorite book/work published? Is there a favorite?
 
My favorite novel is Daniel Martin by John Fowles. He also wrote The French Lieutenant’s Woman. In my opinion, he should have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. But, I guess he was too white and upper middle class for the selection committee.
 
Have you ever had a mentor, or someone who sparked your passion for writing?
 
Yes, my mentor is Margot Rowe, the instructor of my blue-collar writing class.
 
Why self-publish rather than go with a traditional publisher?
 
Normally, the road to publication for a book will be one of the longest, most arduous, and winding roads a writer will ever travel in his or her lifetime. That’s because the competition is so stiff out there among traditional publishers that new voices, even though good, will often be passed over for the sure bet  - the celebrity author. The industry has congealed medium-sized and large publishers into the mega-publisher, whose decision-makers eye the bottom line more than they eye and appreciate the written line. The result: a lot of celebrity banality coming out of New York.

Richard Marek, one-time publisher for Putnam’s, said at smallpress.org: “I . . . became depressed as I watched with growing dismay as mainstream publishing moved further and further from care and nourishment for individual books and writers toward the ‘blockbuster only’ philosophy that predominates now.”

So, what to do? Simple. Self-publish your book.
 
What are the most common mistakes for self-publishers?

One, believing your work is as good as Hemingway’s when no objective person has read it. Two, not having several professional editors and proofreaders go over your manuscript. I am not in favor of self-publishing unremarkable books, books that lack clarity and purpose, and those that are full of grammatical errors. You’re competing against professionals. Be one.
 
What is the biggest job for a self-publisher?

Marketing, marketing, marketing!

Thank you Frederick! We wish you great success with your current and future projects!