Gary McDowell

I've interviewed Gary McDowell for the Barn Owl Review Contributor Interview Series. Go see how brilliant he is.

Contributor Interviews - Barn Owl Review

Hey Everyone! You may have gotten word via Mary's blog about the next big thing at the Barn Owl Review blog, but in case you haven't heard, I'm going to be interviewing contributors. This is in the (very) early planning stages, but I'm going to try to get it up and running ASAP. I'd like to feature some folks who haven't published a full-length book yet, but won't exclude anyone who wants to participate.

So...if you've got work in BOR #1 and want to be interviewed, please send me an email at: st (at) barnowlreview (dot) com. If you've already emailed me at another address, or if you commented on my last post, I will be getting in touch with you soon.

I'm really looking forward to getting this up and running, and to picking your brains!

P.S. We're on Verse Daily again. Congrats Matthew!

Justin's Questions

I asked Justin to interview me. Here's how it went:

1. Who was the first person to recognize your aptitude for writing, how did they let you know they thought you were gifted in this arena, and how did their recognition influence you to be a writer?

I had a lot of encouragement from my family and elementary school teachers, but I guess the one who first took me seriously was Mrs. Walley, my 3rd grade teacher. She got a poem of mine published in a teachers’ magazine along with an article about teaching creative writing to small people. She also taught me about revising and editing and I became obsessed with copy-editing marks. (I think this is why I decided to teach…grading papers = lots of marks!)

I’m not sure how this influenced me to be a writer. The way I remember it, I always wanted to write, but I always had other dreams/goals, too. I know it wasn’t until college that I ever even questioned the possibility of getting published. When I was younger/more confident/more naïve, I just knew someday, someone would want to read what I had to say. Maybe I owe that confidence, in part, to Mrs. Walley.

2. Finish this sentence: One celebrity I would love to meet and spend a week with is___Carlos Mencia___. Here's Why.

First of all, he’s hilarious and it would just be fun to hang out with him and giggle all day. But more importantly, the guy is freakin’ smart, and I’ve yet to hear something come out of his mouth that I disagree with. I would love to just pick his brain for a few days.

(My original answer was Collin Farrell, but the reason behind that answer isn’t going on my blog.)

3. How often do you think about the greatest day of your life and does that reflection help or hurt you when you look ahead? Note: Do not explain what happened to make that day the best in your life.

I don’t know that I have a ‘greatest day,’ so I guess my actual answer is never. But I do have a most memorable day, and I replay that one quite frequently, especially in the spring time when the weather is sunny but cool, and when I hear from the people that were with me that day, and when I hear certain songs on the radio. It was a coming of age kind of day for me, and one that forced me to think about who I was and what I wanted. I think when I look back on it with a sense of nostalgia, it’s probably more harmful to me than anything because I have a tendency to wallow in what-ifs and wasn’t-it-great-back-then? But if I look at it in a more objective manner, I think I can gain a lot of perspective from the experience and it gives me something to aspire to.

4. Describe your perfect house.

My perfect house would be surrounded by trees but still get lots of light—especially in the morning. It would have a wrap-around porch and a garden (that someone else tends), and it would be way back from the road and isolated from the neighbors. Inside, I would have an enormous kitchen; big enough to cook for my friends/family and have enough room for a big table (I hate formal dining rooms). The rest of the house could be pretty small as long as I had a spacious kitchen and an office/library. The office would have a bay window with a nice, cushy seat where I could sit and read. There would be built-in shelves on three walls and a desk that magically never gets cluttered. Oh, and the house would be self-cleaning. Especially the bathrooms.

5. What super power do you covet most? Explain why.

This is a hard question. I have to pick 2. First, I want the ability to move from one place to another just by thinking. For you Charmed fans out there, you know I’m talking about orbing. The thing is, I hate driving, I’m not a fan of flying, and I’m always forgetting something at home. So, if I could orb, none of those things would be a problem.

Second, I would love to be able to read people’s minds. I’m constantly obsessing over what people think of me, and if I knew, I think I could get over it and move on. If I knew that the guy I was crushing on wasn’t interested, then I’d never get my hopes up. If I knew what my professors were thinking, I’d always have a witty answer. If someone didn’t like me, I wouldn’t waste my time being nice. Plus, I’d probably realize that people aren’t thinking about me nearly as often as I think they are thinking about me, and that would be a relief.


So, if you want me to interview you, here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment which reads: "interview me."
2. I will respond by e-mailing you with five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the questions and answers.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview other bloggers in the same post.
5. When someone responds with "interview me" you will ask them five questions.