Introducing
Rainbow...
Carol: What can you tell us about yourself?
Rainbow: Hi! How ya Diddlin’ Peeps?
By your leave, may I ask you a question? Do you
really want to wade through my life’s resume attempting
to impress you with what could laughingly be called
my credentials for writing my books? Would they
really mean anything to you? Personally from those
I have read my reaction has mostly been, "Yeh!
Nice, so what?" Now I don’t mean that in a spiteful
way, but really ain’t resumes more suited to a
job application rather than a poor enticement
as to why you should read this, or that publication,
also attempting to prove what a wonderful person
I am? If you really, really, want to know, please
write to me via my website and I will do my best
to provide you with the information you seek at
an extremely reasonable fee, it will be negotiable
based on... oh come on I can’t give away all my
trade secrets! :-)
Having said that the facts are at the time of
cobbling together my first to me, I have reached
some 7 and 50 years, or 20-37, as I fondly refer
to my physical age. I can still boogie an 18 year
old off the dance floor, but only for about 10
minutes, then I have to sit down and take a rest!
What’s that song, I ain’t as good as I once was?...
oh, you probably know it anyhoo, suffice to say
a particular "Rock and Roll Dream" in America
went down the tubes and I found myself back in
England, totally alone for the first time in my
life and living in a car!
I never did seem to fit in with my contemporaries,
or with most around me, never understanding why
my thoughts, feelings and actions seemed so different
from those around me and from the 1960’s many
have known me by the name Rainbow, possibly due
to my love of colorful clothes. Some call me Rick
and many others seem to call me something unmentionable,
but you can call me Sir! At physical age 20-15,
mind you when I reach puberty, this world will
be in big trouble, I set off on a great adventure
across the pond and unknowingly set foot on a
journey that still continues today.
It was a journey of self discovery, although
I didn’t realise it at the time allowing me to
experience many different cultures and philosophies
from Native American Shamanism, having lived with
a Navajo Medicine Man for 3 months, to living
with Romany Gypsies, to living the life of a traveler
in a van back in England and through living in
a witch’s covenstead for a year or so.
Currently I’m still traveling, however now I’m
being paid to do so in realising (Brit Spelling!)
a childhood dream of driving a Big Rig all over
the 48 contiguous States. Actually unfortunately,
like many things the reality never quite matches
the fantasy! But it does get me out and about!
I have always been able to write "Instant Verse"
on any subject and while living in that car, I
turned for comfort to my "scratching pad," my
quill being driven across the page by "My Muse".
I have never been able to explain it, nor would
I wish to and I started to write what I was feeling,
what I was seeing and also on the many machinations
of what I fondly call: The "Upright Biped Species
That Infect This Planet."
After an experience at a writers group, as detailed
in one of my websites: "Welcome To My World of the
First Part," I decided to call my verses "Expressions
and Observations" When the book was accepted for
publication, I had some other things in mind and
as you will see it’s called, Rainbow’s
Expressions and Observations, or, Only Visiting
This Planet In Search of a Brain, or, I Know The
Answer’s 42, but, What’s The Piggin’ Question.
My new book: Battle-Scarred Heart-A
Brit’s Witty Look At Lost Love,
details in story and verse, absolutely true tales
of some of my spectacular failures in attempting
to find my soulmate, the yin to my yang, my other
half, or whatever word you might ascribe to that
certain personage!
O.K. That’s the infomercial over with. Contained
within the pages, are the experiences, expressions
and observations, of an Alien! Now don't scoff,
you see at least having been transplanted into
the U.S.A. the wonderful Immigration Trolls have
given me my Official Alien Number, thank you Uncle
Sam!
Carol: What is the name of your current
book?
Rainbow: Actually there are now 2 books
as shown in my bio.
Carol: Who is your publisher?
Rainbow: Publish America published Rainbow’s
Expressions and Observations.
Carol: How do you feel about your publisher?
Rainbow: After many years of rejection,
I was overjoyed when PA accepted my book. It's
510 pages and they did a fantastic job on the
cover, however in pricing the book at $34.95 it
does rather make it make it more difficult to
get on the Times Best Sellers List!
Carol: What is your publishing journey?
Rainbow: Err can I get back to you on
that?
Carol: Do you have an agent?
Rainbow: No I don’t.
Carol: Did you self-publish? If so explain
your experience.
Rainbow: If you mean self publish via
Publish America, as I mentioned they did a great
job on the book and cover and not a great job
in pricing, if only they realised an old motto
from a supermarket tycoon in England, Jack Cohen
of Tesco, "Pile it high, sell it cheap" they’d
probably sell more books in the 7 years they lock
you into the contract and we’d get some decent
royalties. My first 3 royalty checks didn’t reach
double digits, but it doesn’t cost you a dime
to publish with them!
Carol: Who is your self-publisher and
why?
Rainbow: Publish America; they were
the first to accept it after many years of rejections
in England and in the States.
Carol: What are your views on the writers
of today?
Rainbow: Not having met any it’s difficult
to form an opinion.
Carol: Who is your favorite author?
Rainbow: Apart from me? In no particular
order Helen Wisocki of Innocence Betrayed
by Clergy and Zada Connaway of Mother’s
Journals.
Carol: How do you feel about writing?
Rainbow: I write when My Muse strikes
as I fondly call it, you can see some further
examples of when she strikes at FlyTo/Rainbow689.
Carol: Is writing a hobby or a full-time
goal?
Rainbow: I would like it to be a full-time
goal and it’s not really a hobby per se.
Carol: What is your genre of writing?
Explain.
Rainbow: Memoirs culled from the countless
times My Muse has struck, usually when something
has tickled my remaining brain cells, be it good,
or bad.
Carol: What are your other published
books?
Rainbow: Battle-Scarred
Heart - A Brit's Witty Look At Lost Love,
published by Outskirts Press.
Carol: Who aspire you to write?
Rainbow: The machinations of the upright
bipedal species that infect this planet, my experiences
with and of them and my observations with and
of them.
Carol: What is the message in your book?
Rainbow: That’s for the reader to discern.
Carol: Would you self-publish?
Rainbow: I have, twice.
Carol: What are your views on traditional
publishers?
Rainbow: Again, never having met any
although from what I’ve read and seen, unless
you are famous, or infamous they seem rather a
closed shop to unknown writers.
Carol: Do you write short stories?
Rainbow: Occasionally, but only in the
context of my experiences and observations, or
sometimes, very rarely I have as it were dismissed
My Muse and just wrote in, for want of a better
word - prose, usually when I am totally out of
my pram with something, or someone ready to rip
the head and arms of my teddie bears!
Carol: Do you write poems?
Rainbow: Not according to the writers
group I went to in Sheffield England. Details
at Rainbow689.FortuneCity.com
Carol: Have your stories ever been published
in an anthology?
Rainbow: No.
Carol: What success has the publication
of your book done for you?
Rainbow: Quite frankly not a lot in
a material sense, but I am proud to say I am a
Published Author.
Carol: Have you done a book signing?
Rainbow: No.
Carol: Would you do a book signing?
Rainbow: Yes I would.
Carol: What are your tools for marketing?
Rainbow: Mostly the Internet with various
sites and author sites in which I upload video
promotions and music and other stuff.
Carol: What is your next book about?
Rainbow: I’m working on 2 at the moment.
More culled memoirs from my arrival in the States
in 2001 including the machinations of trying to
find a job and my adventures with the Immigration
Trolls who finally gave me my Official Alien Number.
The second "new" one is culled from my Adventures
In Mother Trucking, from the Truck School I went
to and the first year of Mother Trucker around
the 48 States.
Carol: What voice do you write in?
Rainbow: Although Rainbow writes of
his journey of broken relationships in Battle-Scarred
Heart - A Brit's Witty Look At Lost Love,
he does it with his unique sense of humor, leaving
the reader smiling quite readily. His British
accent is apparent while reading and it can almost
be heard from the pages. He writes as if he's
sitting with you telling his tales of woe. With
frivolity and mirth, the transferred Brit inserts
his witticisms throughout his verse and stories.
Battle-Scarred Heart
is a fun jaunt through Rainbow’s world of coming
to the States from England and crossing the countryside
searching for love and enjoying the astonishing
sights he encounters. There were many broken hearts
along the way - unfortunately all belonging to
the lovable author.
The section titled Heart/Soul Death Break is
a heart-wrenching story of lost love. That he
lost his "true" love to a less-than-upstanding
ex-priest truly breaks one’s heart. But again,
Rainbow keeps the read upbeat and interesting,
encouraging the reader to continue through his
anguish. Even in pain, the story has bits of silly
humor, which seems to be a trademark.
In The Soul Mate or Was She story - another heartbreaker,
but an honest and again very entertaining read
of a tragic saga of Rainbow’s life. He has an
ability to see through the pain and add his witty
repartee to move his sojourns along to keep the
reader from tears and smiling instead.
Carol: What advice would you give to
other writers?
Rainbow: Keep writing!
Carol: Do you have a website? If so,
please showcase it to our readers?
Rainbow: Well you asked for it!? : )
Carol: What is your email address?
Rainbow: tonkatoy68@sprintpcs.com
Carol: If you had three wishes, what
would they be and why?
Rainbow: To be able to be a full time
writer and to retire with my lady wherever she
may presently wander on a yacht somewhere warm! |