Interview with Author Guy Chambers

Tell me a bit about yourself

My name is Guy Chambers and I’m a self-published poet born in Edmonton Alberta Canada and I’m living out in North Cooking Lake Alberta Canada. I’m married have five kids and nine grandkids. I retired three years ago from my job of thirty-three years. Also, I was a part-time firefighter for twenty-three years. I have been writing poetry for over 40 years and have written many, many poems at that time. It’s awesome sitting down and creating new poems. I’m with a few different writers' groups in the Alberta area. I take pleasure in doing readings and going out to meeting the public but with covid, it’s mostly virtual. It’s great talking with all different types of writers from different countries. I am always looking for new markets to promote myself and my poems and new markets to get my poems published. I got two published books and I have poems published across Canada, U.S.A., New Zealand, and Australia as well have been published online publications that reach a worldwide audience. Also been on radio broadcasts across Canada. I host a poetry session for the Writer’s Foundation of Strathcona County every third Wednesday of the month. I like to help out other writers, special new writers to get the information about poetry also how to get their poems out to the public. One of my books is called “The Theater” is a story written in poetry and I have also written it as a play and hoping for a theater group to take it on and put it on stage.

What genre do you write in?

I write in a different genre to get my vision and imagery to the public. Mostly I write free verses or concrete. I write poems; I call them micro poems. Poems that are two, three, or four lines long. My shortest poem is three words and my longest is twenty-two hundred words. I got away from rhyming poems for a while, but I’m slowly getting back to using rhyming in my poems. Some poems are dark, others heartfelt, and some humorous.

How long have been writing?

Writing for about 40 years. I like poetry even when I was younger, but I didn’t like it because every line has to rhyme with the last line. To me, I couldn’t get out what I wanted to say. But when I got to high school in an English class, I find out there are different ways of writing poetry. That’s when I started to get into writing poetry. It kind of freed me.

Do you have any published books or articles? Tell me a bit about these and what publishing route you took.

I have two self-published books out called “The Theater” and “Flying Kites in the Moonlight”. They are also available on eBooks. “The Theater” is a story told in poetry about a person who was born homeless living on the streets all his life and when he gets older, he realizes there’s a better life out there so he wants to get out of this cycle he is in and makes a better life for him. He’s going to have many struggles and downfalls because he doesn’t have the knowledge or the help. My other book called “Flying Kites in the Moonlight” is a collection of many poems by mine. Some published and some new ones. Got a section of poems I call Micro Poems, poems that are two, three, and four lines long. I have artwork done by my wife, kids, and grandkids in this book. Been published in many Canadian literary magazines and in many anthologies, also published in the U.S.A, Australia, and New Zealand. I’m in many books that my publisher, Dream Write Publishing, has put out. As well been published in the local newspapers many times. Been published on a good deal of online publishing that is worldwide. I have been on radio broadcasts programs locally and in Canada. On one radio station, my poems were translated into a different language. I have open mic videos of my poems on YouTube, also with other groups reading my poems on YouTube. With covid, I have gone more to social media and virtual to promote my work.

Did you use editor? If so who?

I edit my own poems. For my books, I use Linda Pedley of Dream Write Publishing. That’s my book publisher.

Did you use a book formatter and cover designer?

For book formatter I use Dream Write Publishing also cover designer. Both books cover my wife Susan Chambers did the artwork.

Did you self-publish or traditionally published? How did this go for you?

I’m self-published. It was a good decision because I have control over how and where my books go. I got to market my books myself. It’s a challenge, but I enjoy it.

How do you market your work and promote your brand? (include links)

I market my books by Farmer’s Markets, book stores, readings, virtual readings, and social media. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram just search “Guy Chambers Author”. Also on YouTube search “Guy Chambers Poetry”.

What social media and writing platforms would you recommend?

I recommend Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Do you use an agent?

I don’t use an agent.

Do you use paid advertising? If so what?

No paid to advertise.

Do you have a blog or website?

I don’t have a blog right now but I’m looking into it. I have a website https://www.albertaautorscooperative.ca/Authors/Chambers/Guy.

What inspires you must to write?

A lot of times I just put words together and see what I can create from them. Or a picture, or artwork. Sometimes what’s happening in the world. Even going to readings.

What do you do to help with writers block?

I put down what I’m working on. Sit down, relax, or do something else to get my mind away from writing. Like the old saying “there’s time you got to sit down and listen to the birds”. If I can go to reading to listen to other writers or read other poet's work. Even just talk to other writers. Then next morning wake up and see if I get back to what I was working on or a new idea. A few years back, I just didn’t like what I was writing and couldn’t come up with new ideas. I found a writing group, Writer’s Foundation of Strathcona County, out of Sherwood Park Alberta, and just listening and talking to other writers helps me get going again. Now I’m getting a lot of ideas that keep coming up, which is good for a writer. Always recommend writers to join a writing group.

How you plan your writing and start?

When an idea comes to me. I write it down and then start building on the idea. Sometimes it comes fast, other times I got to work around with the idea. I mostly like playing with words. There’s the time when I split the poem up and have two different poems to work on. I always I write down anything that comes to your mind so you don’t forget also who knows where it can lead to or might not go anywhere.

Is writing your full time Job? If not what else do you do?

It’s not full-time. I’m retired and I write as a hobby, but it feels like a full-time job. Since I retired, I got more time to create new and different poems all the time. Also, have more time to promote myself and my poems also find new markets. I like talking to people.

What are you working on at this moment?

I got a few different poems I’m working on. I always come up with new ideas. Also, I like to write another long poem. I have some about thousand words and one at twenty-two hundred words and of course my book “The Theater” is a story told in poetry. I got to see what idea I can come with.

What is your target audience?

My target audience is teens to adults.

How long does it take you to write a book?

I can get a book ready in a year. With covid it hard to get a new book out. I have enough poems for three more books but holding back to see what’s going to happen. So for now, I’m sending out poems to be published in other places.

When did you discover you enjoy writing?

When I was in an English class in high school in eleventh grade, the teacher taught me different ways of writing poetry. When I found out these different ways of writing poetry, I then started to read other poets' writing, gone to readings and got into a writing group. Once I started to try these different types of poetry writing and then I started to enjoy writing. Soon I developed a voice that I was comfortable with. It took few years to get there. I still keep an old binder with some of my old writing, in which from time to time keep looking back to see how I evolved to where I’m now. Looking back sometimes I think, what was I thinking. Still today I’m finding different styles of writing poetry and trying them. I would like some time for some of my poetry to be put to music.

What is your writing schedule look like?

I mostly do my writing in the morning. Got up in the morning and get a cup of coffee, then sit down and start writing. I find it’s when my mind is clear and creative before life gets in the way. Some days I can write most of the day, then there're times nothing at all.

What does your family think about you writing?

They enjoy my writing because it is different from others. They are happy to see the success I’m having on the world stage, also all publications I have on social media, in other books and magazines. Of course, the videos that have been made. They like the books I got published and hoping for me to come out with more.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I like to be with family and friends. Traveling, listening to music, relaxing at the lake, and watching the world go by. Sometimes go fishing.

Where do you get information and ideas for writing?

Anywhere from listening to the radio listening, reading the newspaper, and to what is happening around me. Usually, a word here and there that stands out to me and puts them together and then creates a poem from them. Sometime in the middle of the night out of the blue, I come up with ideas and I get out of bed to write them down or I’ll just forget them in the morning. There are times when a magazine is looking for a theme for their upcoming edition and it gets me thinking about what I can come up with. Most of the time, anything that can get the creative part of my mind going.

What does think makes a good story?

When it comes from the heart also from one’s experience. Lots of imagery and meaning. Also, something that is new and different point of view. The wow factor.