Write books, teach writing online for Writer's Digest, and coach writers privately on their novels.
What's the best thing about being a writer?
Don't have to wear a tie or have business cards. Can write in the nude. All the groupie chicks. (I lied about the last one. I wish!)
How does one find their inner voice?
Drink lots of Jack Daniels. Only mix with water and/or ice and never pop unless you want to be considered a kid or a punk. Seriously, just write as if you're relating a story to your best friend who knows the same things you do. You'll use that "shorthand" voice you do in such a case and therefore end up with writing that trusts the reader's intelligence. Get rid of your thesaurus—there is no such thing as a synonym anyway. There's just the perfect word. The perfect word doesn't come in groups.
What's key to being a great writer?
Be willing to go deep inside you to that place everyone tries to hide from others and be willing to expose it, warts and all. Tell the truth.
YOU had an interesting life, tell us what YOU learned while serving time in jail? While being a homeless man?
In prison, I learned to always find something you can use as a weapon when entering a room. An ashtray, a beer bottle, a fountain pen. Always try to keep your back to a wall. Don't believe or trust anyone.
While homeless, the biggest lesson I learned was to try not to go hungry. It's not always easy to accomplish that, especially when you don't have access to food. The Salvation Army has the best meals on holidays, except for the one in Baltimore. It's okay but I'd hesitate to give it four stars. New Orleans has the best food in shelters. Shelter food there is better than the best restaurants in Indiana. California is maybe the worst. They don't believe in meat in California – they're all ruminants and eat lots of grass dishes. At least, I think it's grass. (And not the good kind that you use in brownies.)
If YOU were Secretary of the Interior, what would YOU change in how we manage our prisons? What would be the top 3 things YOU would be remembered for after YOUR term?
Interviewer's Note: Due to Les' long answer to this question, we will published his answers on a separate post.
Tell us more about the story of YOUR favorite quote: Never let anyone rent space in your head.
My son Mike and I saw an episode of "Candid Camera" where the setup was a shop in a mall where a sign was placed by the register that read: "No change given back today." As various people came up with their purchases, there are a variety of reactions. Some argued, some got mad, some withdrew their purchases. One guy came up, handed over a bill and was due 99 cents in change. The clerk pointed to the sign and told him, "Sorry, we're not giving change back today." He smiled, shrugged, and walked out with his purchase. The interviewer caught up with him and asked why he didn't react differently. "Because," he answered, "I never let anyone rent space in my head." Mike and I thought it was a perfect life philosophy. This is a guy in charge of himself!
What's YOUR favorite book?
The Stranger by Albert Camus. A close second would be anything by James Lee Burke (today's Faulkner), Harry Crews, Lee Child, Christopher Moore, Elmore Leonard (his Killshot would be my second-favorite book), early David Sedaris, Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais... oh, you just wanted one... my bad!
Who are YOUR personal heroes?
Thomas Jefferson, my wife Mary, Paul Newman, and the person who invented tennis shoes.
What are YOU hungry for?
I assume you mean food? My top three are Oysters Rockefeller, crawfish etoufe and crawfish bisque. None of which are available in Indiana, alas! At least not done well.
Addition: I'm hungry for a lot less government in my life. I'm all grown up and can make my own decisions without a Big Brother looking out for me. On my dime.
What's the best job in the world?
I have the best job in the world. Nothing can possibly be better than being a writer. There's all those groupies, you know...
About Les Edgerton
I'm an incredibly rich, handsome man with a beautiful wife and three children. I live in paradise (Fort Wayne, Indiana). All of my nine books are huge bestsellers and everybody wants me on their TV show and to give interviews for the NY Times. I'm 66, but I look about 30. I can bench press 6,000 pounds and am probably the best lover ever. I'm also a fiction writer, as perhaps you can tell by the above. The key to good fiction is to include about 2% of the truth and people will then believe the rest. The 2% that's true above is the stuff about my wife and kids.
The boring part of my bio is that I did time in Pendleton, got out, went to college and got my B.A. from Indiana University and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. Among other things, I was a burglar, armed robber, worked as a male escort for wealthy older ladies, sold and did drugs, was an award-winning hairstylist, drove in high-speed car chases with the police (and got away), have been shot at and fired back several times, been beaten by the police but without anyone there to film it (I have to say I probably deserved it—I was kind of a smart ass), acted in an Indy movie (really bad one...), acted in commercials, coached youth baseball, hung around with rock stars (they actually do have groupies... serious ones with virtually no physical blemishes...), taught in various colleges and universities, and have nine books in print. I'm finishing up my memoir right now (tentative title: Adrenaline Junkie) which is a 350-page bio, basically, so if anyone reading this is interested, rush out and buy 10-15 copies when it comes out (Christmas is right around the corner and it'll make a perfect gift).
I coach writers on writing their novels and if interested you can check me out at: http://www.lesedgerton.com.
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