How Firefighter/Writer Emerson Does It All Is Mystery
Long before he started fighting fires for a living, Earl Emerson wanted to be a writer. The best-selling Seattle mystery writer figured that a firefighter’s schedule would give him the prolonged periods of time needed to keep up a consistent writing schedule.
He wasn’t wrong. His job as a lieutenant in the Seattle Fire Department requires him to work 24 hours at a time, with the subsequent three days off.
But even that much free time isn’t always his to command. Following is what Emerson’s schedule looked like for the past eight days:
Sunday: Flew in from Minneapolis at the end of a 15-city book publicity tour.
Monday: Writing and then an evening book-signing at the University of Washington bookstore.
“Basically I try to write five hours a day if I can,” Emerson explained. “I’ll write two to three hours in the morning, work out, eat lunch, take a nap and write two or three hours more in the afternoon.”
Tuesday: Writing and then two interviews (one a phoner with The Spokesman-Review).
Wednesday: Writing and then another evening book-signing.
Thursday: Work at the fire department.
“I go to work at 7:30 in the morning and work until 7:30 the following morning. I may or may not take a laptop to work, and I may or may not get an hour or two hours in. I’m really lucky if I can get two hours in. I’m overjoyed if I can get two hours in.”
Friday: Return home, writing.
“I’m usually too tired to work right away, so I work out, have lunch, take a nap and work all afternoon. A really good day of work after working at the fire department might be four hours.”
Saturday: Writing.
Sunday: Work at the fire department.
Because of his busy schedule, Emerson - who will read from his latest book at 7:30 p.m. Monday - depends on his wife to do household chores.
“Ann Rule is always saying is that every writer needs a wife,” Emerson said. “She wishes she had one.”
A festival of books
Some people get turned on by film festivals, others by book readings. And some enjoy both.
Seattle, already the site of one of the country’s highest-rated film fests, is gradually becoming a literary center, too. Elliott Bay and the University of Washington bookstore, among others, hold regular readings by big-name authors.
And Northwest Bookfest, a literary celebration that attracted some 23,000 bibliophiles in 1995, commences its two-day run beginning Saturday at Seattle’s Pier 48. Some 200 authors are scheduled to appear in various panel discussions, readings, workshops and book signings.
Some of the notable authors include Sherman Alexie, Ann Beattie, Ivan Doig, Barry Hannah, Jack Olsen, Earl Emerson, Tom Robbins, Jennifer James and Art Wolfe.
In addition, representatives of publishing houses, booksellers and other organizations will host some 175 exhibition booths featuring a variety of book-oriented displays. There will be activities even for child readers.
Attendance to Northwest Bookfest, which is presented by the Seattle Times, is free - although donations are requested to help fund literary programs. For more information, call (206) 789-9868.
Cementing his reputation
It would be hard to find a poet whose trademark style is more free-form than Spokane’s Randall Brock. That’s why the title of his most recent chapbook is so ironic.
“Concrete” is a collection that seeks to visually reflect each poem’s title, at least in the way each is put on the page. For example, a terse untitled poem that reads “inside i pound nails in a search for yr humor” is formed in the shape of a carpenter’s nail.
Another, which reads “i erase the core of a mistake before yr dream in a casket telling me to die,” is formed in the shape of, what else?, a coffin.
Brock’s collections can typically be found at Auntie’s Bookstore; call 838-0206 for order information. “Concrete,” which was designed by Bud and Nikki Cashon, sells for $5.
A short reward
Taking advantage of the work churned out by the 100 “most prestigious” writing workshops in the United States and Canada, Scribner’s Paperback Fiction will start publishing an annual collection of the “best” stories from those workshops as determined by a guest editor.
Due in February, the inaugural collection will feature a story by Eastern Washington University writing student John Billman. Titled “Kerr’s Fault,” the 16-page story is a variation on the fish-out-of-water theme involving a high school history teacher with a taste for beer who lives and teaches in a town filled with Mormons. The Kerr of the story’s title is a wildman/artist who serves as the protagonist’s alter ego.
The quality of Billman’s story alone makes “Scribner’s Best of the Writing Workshops” worth checking out. When available, the 400-page book will sell for $13.
The reader board
Earl Emerson, author of the Thomas Black mystery novel “The Million-Dollar Tattoo,” will read from the book at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington.
Cowboy poet J.D. Reitz, author of “Heartwords and Headtrips,” will read from his work at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Auntie’s Bookstore.
, DataTimes