From Robert Zimmermann comes From Where I Stand, an emotional debut poetry collection. Zimmermann explores strained parental relationships, loss of life, and the despair associated with grief. Alongside these darker themes, he delves into the small areas of life that often go unnoticed but become the hope we are searching for.
Several months ago, I was asked to do a guest post by Robert Zimmermann for his Author’s We Love series. I got the added bonus of a new friend who truly understands my love of poetry, and some very entertaining conversations since. I’m also excited to announce that Robert and I, along with two other Indie Authors will be collaborating on a work to benefit a charity that is close to all of our hearts, but details on that will come soon. As a psychology student, I love picking people’s brains, finding out what makes them tick. So let’s get to the good stuff. Robert was kind enough to consent to my overly-nosy style interview questions. Now for the really good stuff!
Who would your guest list include for your fantasy dinner? Mmm, fantasy zombie dinner….kinky 😉 I’d like to have Nick Hornby, Brandon Boyd, Jim Morrison, Marie Howe, Hemingway, John Cusack, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sylvia Plath. I think that mix of authors, poets, musicians, and actors would make for a VERY interesting dinner party.
What year would you visit in a time machine and why? Tough question. I don’t think about going back or forward in time too often, if at all. Throw me in any year you’d like. Just give me the proper weapons, supplies, and brief on the place/time before I got please.
Who would you love to have a few beers with and just bullshit? Some of my writer/reader friends. All of them if it were possible. I won’t get into specifics since I don’t want to list some and have to leave out others. But there are many, many great authors, bloggers, and book lovers that I’ve gotten to know over the course of this year that I’d enjoy sitting down with in person and have a few drinks. I don’t have any real life interaction with bookish people. It’s limited to the internet. I value that interaction, but sometimes having it face to face would make for a good time.
What is your go to movie or tv show? Laugh, it’s fine….Gilmore Girls. I’ve enjoyed that show for years. It ended back in 2006, but since I own all 7 seasons on DVD I can throw it in any time I want. And I often do put it on during the day for some background noise in the house. I’ve watched them all so much that I can sit down in the middle of any episode and never be lost. It’s almost sickening if you think about it, haha.
When did you start writing? I started writing back in 11th grade. At that time I was writing a lot, sometimes writing multiple poems a day. Eventually it slowed down a bit, then a lot, and more recently it’s been a trickle compared to the torrent of poems in the first year. I’d like to think with the slow down of production, that the quality of my work has vastly improved.
What book exceeded your expectations? Is it ok to list one of yours? In all honestly, The Allegory of Dusk exceeded my expectations. I already knew it would be great, having read a good amount of your fiction. But while reading through it, I was blown away by all of it. Another book I’ve recently read was Treason by S.M. Boyce. The first book of her Grimoire Trilogy has been at the top of my “best books of 2012” list since I read it in the beginning of the year. I was looking forward to reading book 2 (Treason) ever since. I’ll just say that I gave the first book 5 stars and I gave Treason over 58K stars. Boyce has really honed in on her strengths when working in book 2. I can’t wait for book 3, next year.
Toilet paper/ paper towels: what’s the correct way to put them on the dispenser? HAHA!!! The deciding factor of whether or not you can live with someone. You NEED to have the paper go over the top and fall forward. If the paper is facing the wall it makes the task of tearing it off quick way too difficult.
If you’re going on a long road trip, what drinks and snacks are you going to pack? I tend not to take anything. Well, if I’m out on the bike I’ll have a bottle of water with me. Most of the time I don’t drink any of it though. When I forget water, that’s when I start wanting it. I’m strange. If it’s a car ride I try not to have anything with me, especially a drink. Less pit stops, the faster the ride will be.
What made you start writing? It was back in the 11th grade (which I mentioned earlier). I walked into school one day and my girlfriend at the time handed me a poem she wrote for me. After I read it later that day something clicked: “I could write a poem.” So I did. Sadly I don’t have that poem or some other early ones anymore. I think it was the most appropriate time in my life to start as well. Once I opened up the door to poetry, and writing in general, I couldn’t find the off-switch. I didn’t need to hold things inside anymore.
What is your morning ritual? Every morning, between 6 and 7, I wake up/get woken up by my dog. I take him for his walk. Then I feed him, turn on my computer and get to work….meaning get to work checking Twitter, Facebook, and my email for whatever happened the night before. After all that, that’s when I do whatever blog work, reviewing, and/or reading that I have to do. And I do all that until I’m done or get distracted. It could last all day or it could last 10 minutes, haha.
Do you have any writing quirks? I think the only quirk I can think of is that when I write poetry it has to be on paper, then after revising at least a draft or two that’s when I type it up. With prose I tend to type it. My mind works almost as fast as I can type, so prose works great that way. When I do poetry I need to get the more organic feel of pen/pencil on paper and keep it slowed down a bit more. And there’s something about being able to physically erase or cross out things that makes writing it down on paper much more appealing. It also helps to be able to see the mistakes or changes, where as with a computer it’s just gone after deleting.
What do you think of books turned into movies? I could do without most books turned movies….I could do without most movies in general. I feel that a majority of movies lack a depth and connection that books can have. This seems to be exaggerated, in my opinion, when there’s a movie based on a book. More often than not, in translation from page to screen, the focus of a book’s main theme is changed. The love interest seems to become more important than the overall conflict; characters role changes or a character gets deleted; a major scene to the development of one thing or another becomes non-existent. These are just a few ways a movie from a book can disappoint me. There are exceptions and sometimes a movie from book can be great, especially if I don’ think about the book while watching the movie (tough to accomplish).
If you were going to a deserted island, what three items would you take with you? A piece of flint, a hatchet, and a machete. I think those explain themselves.
Name 3 books on your to-be-read list. How the hell can I pick 3? I have, literally, thousands of books to read…I’m not making that up. Fuck! I’ll try, but only for you Amber.
1) Dionne Lister’s Shadows of the Realm
2) Gideon’s Corpse by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
3) ….some other random book off my list.
Best thing about where you live? I rarely have to deal with people!!!!!! And snow
What book could you read over and over? I can’t really read a book over and over. I only say this because I’ve only reread like one book ever and I don’t think I can do that too often with any of them.
Who is your favorite band or musician? I try not to pick favorites. Two bands that are my go-to when someone asks this question are Staind and Incubus. Also the solo album from Incubus’ lead singer, Brandon Boyd, is on that same list. As is Aaron Lewis’ (Staind’s lead singer) solo work.
What book do you think is a necessary read? A book in general is a necessary read for anyone. I can’t say one book is a must over another. Every reader has a different taste and as long as I’m able to get someone to read a book in general I’ll be happy that they are doing so.
About Robert
Robert has been writing poetry since the eleventh grade. His writing started as impulsive rambling, but soon became a passion. A few years later he attended SUNY Potsdam where he received a B.A. in Creative Writing.
His main focus is poetry, but at times you can find him dabbling in short fiction. Robert has also created the blog A Life Among The Pages, where he posts his writing as well as book reviews.
When he’s not reading or writing, Robert enjoys spending time with his dog, Deuc. Deuc ran out of the woods in August 2011 and they have been inseparable ever since.
Where to find Robert:
Blog – http://alifeamongthepages.wordpress.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/miztrebor
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Robert.Zimmermann.Writer
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6435657-rob-zimmermann
Where to buy the book:
Amazon US – http://www.amazon.com/From-Where-I-Stand-ebook/dp/B00A5AVLO4
Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Where-I-Stand-ebook/dp/B00A5AVLO4
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/253778
Robert will be giving away 5 ebook copies (.mobi, .epub, or PDF) of From Where I Stand at the end of the tour. To enter, please leave a thoughtful comment on this post and be sure to leave an email to be contacted with if you’re a winner.
One comment per person per post, feel free to comment on multiple posts for an extra entry for each. Winners will be gathered together from all the blog tour stops and then chosen randomly.
Giveaway ends December 9th at 12:01AM. Winners to be announced soon after they are selected.
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