In 1972 Dennis Fowler was out of work, and, with a pregnant wife and a fierce need for money, began to write. With wife Peggy at his side, he launched a writing career that has lasted more than forty years, utilizing several pseudonyms and jumping through the genres. His earliest works paid him between $500 and $750, and though it might not sound like much today, it kept the family fed. He wrote a Gothic for Berkeley and romances for Jove. Suffering from writer’s block he jumped genres and wrote articles for Computer Shopper and other magazines–some paying a dollar a word, and it, as Dennis puts it, “feathered our nest nicely.”
The shifting markets focused more on technology and webpages and, now retired, says, “I still write. If I’m not writing I’m not breathing. But I have no illusions of making a living at it. I’m living off our IRAs. My most recent effort is Earth’s Song, self-published through Lulu, 90,000 words, available at The Green Toad in downtown Oneonta, as well as online from the printer, Lulu, as well as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc. A sequel is planned.”
Dennis also suggests, having seen the changes in the writing marketplace, “If you want to be a writer today, don’t quit your day job.”
Dennis Fowler will be one of three local authors on our Author Panel on November 16th. Earth’s Song is his debut young adult novel. The panel will include time to ask authors questions, and opportunities to buy their books and have them signed.