Bruce Atchison is a legally-blind Canadian freelance writer with articles published in a variety of magazines. He has also authored
three paperbacks. "When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living with Bunnies" is a memoir
of the surprising facts he discovered about house rabbits."Deliverance
from Jericho: Six Years in a Blind School" is his recollection of being sent five hundred miles from home for months at
a stretch. "How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity"
shows how God led Atchison out of a legalistic house church. Contact him at
batchison@mcsnet.ca or via Facebook or Twitter. He also posts regularly on his www.bruceatchison.blogspot.com
and www.bruceatchison.wordpress.com
blogs. Atchison lives in a tiny Alberta hamlet with his house rabbit, Deborah.
When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
I've always loved telling stories. During junior high school, the
local newspaper was looking for student articles. I wrote a few and one was
published. For about 20 years, I set writing aside. Then I began writing for
fan magazines of electronic music and the newsletter at work. An employment
counselor convinced me to go professional when I was placed on permanent
disability. After writing freelance articles, I decided to write three memoirs.
Now I want to work on short fiction stories with the goal of developing good
characters.
Where did the inspiration for How I Was Razed: A Journey
from Cultism to Christianity come from?
I've always loved puns. Since "razed" and
"raised" sound the same, and since they both applied to my
experiences with Christianity, I thought the pun was appropriate for the title.
What made you choose to write a novel?
Though my books are memoirs, they all are more than a
hundred-thousand words long. I had no word count goal, just the desire to tell
my experiences with house rabbits, at a blind school, and with a cultic house
church.
What is the main message or theme that you hope readers of this
book come away from it with?
It's a warning to pastors about the dangers new disciples face
from cults. It also is my way of encouraging ex-cult members to tell their
stories. Nobody likes to admit that they fell for lies, yet telling others
about what happened is therapeutic.
Who is your favorite author?
Without doubt, C. S. Lewis is my favourite. I'd love to write
fantasy stories like his.
Do you have a writing routine? A special pen, a certain type
of music, time limits?
I'm very fond of my old MS DOS computer and WordPerfect 5.1 for
DOS. Both have served me well since 1993 and I know those programs well. As for
my weekday routine, I answer e-mails in the morning and promote my books.
Afternoons are for writing blogs, stories, and query letters. I'm not a
"morning person" so I need several cups of weapons-grade coffee to
get my brain out of first gear.
Do you enjoy edits/rewrites, or not?
I don't enjoy edits and rewrites but computers have made both so
much easier. One reason I took so long to get back into writing was the tedium
of having my nose almost touching the page as I squinted and printed my prose
on paper. Now it's so much easier. Better yet, I have a screen-reading program
that speaks the text aloud. I still touch-type but I listen to what I've
written. It's handy for catching mistakes, with the exception of homonyms.
Please tell us a little bit about your journey to publication:
I self-published all three of my books because I knew that the
topics weren't mainstreem. When a Man Loves a Rabbit sold a few hundred copies
but Deliverance from Jericho and How I Was Razed didn't do so well.
Self-publishing also helped me learn to market my books and to understand the
dynamics of readership interest.
What is the hardest part of being a writer?
For me, it's marketing. I'd love to write all day but I need to
get the word out about what I've written. Being a sales person has never worked
out for me in the past. Perhaps I'll catch on to it soon.
Are there any common themes that you feel are particularly
important to write about?
Being a born-again Christian, all I write is filtered through my
beliefs. I want even my fiction writing to be truthful and to present the human
condition as it is.
When you're not writing, what are your other hobbies/passions?
I'm an amateur radio operator with the call sign VE6XTC. Shortwave
and AM listening at night are also favourite pastimes of mine. I also enjoy
social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. Walking through
forests is also an activity I enjoy but I don't get that much of a chance these
days to do that.
Are you working on any new projects?
I'm writing short stories and publishing them on Readwave. It's a
site where people can upload 600 to 800-word stories for free. People read and
even comment on them. It's good practice for when I shop them around to
magazine editors and enter them into contests.
Quick Fire round:
Coke or Pepsi? Yes.
Chocolate or Vanilla? Neither.
Rainy winter days or blazing hot summer days? Neither.
Hard Copy or e-book? E-book. My PC reads them out loud and I can
preserve what little vision I have left.
Favorite book? The Bible
Last book you read? The Olsteenification of America by Hank
Hanegraaff.
What's a quote that inspires you? I can't think of one at the
moment.
What's your favorite comfort food? chocolate Easter bunnies.
