Ask the Author: Malcolm Ivey
Answered Questions (11)
Malcolm Ivey
I know a woman named Sheena who has children that are roughly the same ages as Evan and Maddy. I was able to spend a lot of time with them on the phone in 2015. They are two amazing kids whose inspiration transcends any story I could tell. They inspire me in real life.
Malcolm Ivey
I spent nine months on Sticks & Stones, about half the time of my other novels.
Malcolm Ivey
I had an uncle with Alzheimer's, but that was a long time ago.
Malcolm Ivey
I write in linear form most of the time. The one exception is On the Shoulders of Giants, due to the alternating plot lines.
Malcolm Ivey
I thought the idea of a prisoner being released into a technological society after three decades of incarceration would be interesting to explore. The rest of the story evolved organically from there.
Malcolm Ivey
A love story. Sticks and Stones.
Malcolm Ivey
Hey Kelly, thanks for the question. I began my first novel, Consider the Dragonfly, in February of 2011, but I've always had a thing for the written word. I recently heard a writing award referred to as a prize for "American letters." I love that. I spent a lot of my 20s and 30s in a prison cell, starving for human contact. I felt like if I could just write the perfect letter, I could establish a connection, maybe even find love. That didn't happen. But a serendipitous consequence was that all along, in desperation, I was honing my craft. Today I'm still writing those letters, but I now write them to the universe in the form of novels.
Malcolm Ivey
Life inspires me. Love, violence, kindness, betrayal, music, children, hope, pain, longing, the human condition.
Malcolm Ivey
Keep writing. Don't give up. No one can tell your stories better than you can because the sum total of your experiences and influences are as singular and unique as your fingerprints. One year, five years, ten years, the time is going to go by anyway, might as well get a finished manuscript out of the deal.
Malcolm Ivey
The loneliness, the uncertainty, the insecurity, pouring your soul onto the page only to have it casually ignored.... :) Nah, the small rewards: finding the perfect word, discovering some killer scene or twist, inventing quirky and original characters... The big rewards: finishing, polishing, presenting... In my first novel, Consider the Dragonfly, I wrote that few feelings rival the exhilaration of being released from prison after serving multiple years. Finishing a manuscript definitely makes the short list.
Malcolm Ivey
Some author, I forget who, once observed that writer's block is when "your imaginary friends won't talk to you." I love that. I'm a big believer in momentum. In sports, in writing and in life. When I get stuck I try to power through with faith that if I keep moving forward, the winds will eventually change, my soul will grow warm and the story will flow through me. Corny as that may sound, I've found it to be true.
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