Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
A1. My name is Rusty Austin, I got the nickname when I was a kid because of the shock of red hair. I grew up in Colorado, where the lifestyle is to spend as much time in the outdoors as possible. All the weekend hiking and backpacking and rock climbing led me to a love of nature and animals. I graduated from UCLA in 1988 and went on to spend 30 years as a reality TV producer in Hollywood, where I worked on shows like Survivor, Big Brother, Nanny 911 and Hell’s Kitchen. In reality TV we take many hours of footage and hone it down and down and down until we get to the smallest kernel we can find that still tells the story the way we want it to be told. That experience has come in quite handy in my writing career. I retired in 2018 and now I write children’s animal poetry books and the occasional non-fiction book for adults.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “Dave and Me”?
A2. My lifelong friend Dave died unexpectedly at age 60 and I wanted to pen a memoir to honor him. I had to make sure it was as accurate as possible to my memories of our times together. The biggest challenge was trying not to feel too much grief while writing so the joy of life could come out over the pain of death…what resulted was a lot of short stories recalling specific events, both humorous and serious.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A3. Charles Bukowski is one of my favorite writers, I try to pay homage to him in every one of my short stories. One of my favorite books, believe it or not, is Ulysses by James Joyce. I like it because it successfully breaks almost every writing rule known to man. It took me 10 years to get through it, I would read and reread several pages then put it down for a month or two.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
A4. My favorite spot to visit is Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where they have one of the largest natural hot springs pools in the world. My whole family learned to swim there, and I’ve passed it on to my nieces and nephews, and I plan to do so soon to my grandchildren.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘Dave and Me’?
A5. My lifelong best friend Dave passed away unexpectedly at age 60 and I wanted to write something for both myself and our extended family to remember him. I had a drawer full of short stories that I had written over the years, many of which had him in them, so it seemed like a good place to start.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘Dave and Me’?
A6. In a way I’ve been working on it for 30 years because many of the stories I wrote while the events were still fresh in my mind. It took me about 2 months to go through the archives (many of which existed only in print and had to be transcribed) and cull out the best of it, then another two months to fill in the gaps and select the photos (again many of which only existed as hard copies and had to be scanned).
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
A7. Amazon.com, the series on Amazon is called Goofy Things by Rusty, also on Barnes&Noble.com and IngramSpark.com. They are also available on my website, rustyaustin.com
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Dave and Me’?
A8. I wanted the simplest title I could dream up that still described accurately the vibe I was looking for. The title came quickly, but, I went through many iterations of the cover before I landed on the abstract pattern and green color that I think really speaks to what I was trying to say.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself.
A9. I write when I feel like it and stop when I no longer do. Then the next time I sit down I do a fair piece of editing to make sure I’m not repeating myself or even worse boring myself! I figure if it bothers me it bothers my readers.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
A10. There’s a few, Stephen King said writing is applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair, which kind of contradicts the way I write now that I’m retired but is still true, Winston Churchill said the work of the world is done by people that don’t feel very well, which also rings true. Bukowski said the days run away like wild horses over the hills. I have that on my license plate frame…
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