It’s Meet the Author Monday! Each week we meet a new author and get to know a little about them, their writing process, publishing experience, and tips for other writers. Today we’re talking to Douglas Vigliotti, author of Tom Collins: A ‘Slightly Crooked’ Novel.
About Douglas Vigliotti:
DOUGLAS VIGLIOTTI is a writer and storyteller who believes less is more and intention is everything. He has authored multiple nonfiction books, (most notably) The Gap, way too many articles, and one ebook, Pumpernickel & Peanut Butter: Why Weird Works, which is free at DouglasVigliotti.com. Tom Collins is his first work of fiction. You can listen to the novel on Slightly Crooked: Good Stories, Told Well, a first-of-its-kind podcast that features the audiobooks of his novels. He lives in New Haven, CT.
About Tom Collins:
What if that person from the bar—you know, the one you just slept with—turns out to be your boss’s spouse?
When soul-searching Christian meets Liv, stars align and her green eyes burn a hole straight through him. Their playful attraction quickly escalates into something much more. But Liv has a little more to her story—one that will turn his life upside down and entangle him in a predicament for the ages. She’s married to his new boss.
With a dash of dark humor, the story ensues and things begin to heat up. A ball-busting buddy tries to save Christian from himself, but a work event places everyone together on a weekend trip to Golden Beach, FL. As tension builds, his work nemesis, knack for late-night partying, and (most importantly) Liv don’t make things any easier. Christian begins to question everything he thought he knew. It’s not until he stumbles upon a mysterious aging rock star that he starts to see things a bit differently. And sometimes, the way you look at something can change everything.
Tom Collins is more than an edgy, sexy story of lust, attraction, and infidelity. It’s about how our lives come to be and what shapes us along the way.
Author Interview with Douglas Vigliotti:
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- Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Writing is pretty much the only thing in my life that when I’m doing it the entire world stops. Not even reading does that for me. As much as I enjoy it, I constantly drift off when I read. But when I’m writing, I’m totally transfixed on the page. Hours turn to minutes. I love it for that quality, but it’s still very exhausting—ha. It’s a trade-off, I guess.
- What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Not writing enough, and too much feedback. Not all feedback is good, and most isn’t helpful at all, actually. Sure, there are some “rules” in writing and storytelling. But art is so subjective. The thing is that readers take their entire worldview (experiences, life, etc) into your work when they consume it. And, usually what people say about something is more of an indication on who they are then it is on you—the writer or your work. No art is universal. We all have preferences. If you’re truly engaged with your work, then improvement on technique (for both writing and storytelling) will come naturally. You’ll seek out what you need when you need it. So just write more, and ignore most feedback.
- Does a big ego help or hurt writers?
As a writer you’re literally saying to the world, “Hey, I have something important to say so I created this thing. Come look at it.” And in that way, every writer has a large ego, but so does anyone who’s ever created anything for public consumption. So yeah. “Ego” needs to be accepted, and most times leveraged to step out and deliver. But we’ve all seen the ugly side of ego. Skill (or success) without humility is the one of the most tragic things to witness.
- What does literary success look like to you?
Just being able to write the stories that I want to write—with the aesthetic that I want to tell them with—and make a living doing it. Nothing more, nothing less.
- What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
It’s funny you ask this question. My next novel that I have coming out in 2022 features a female protagonist. I wanted to challenge myself to tell an entire story from the female perspective. It was difficult, but a lot of fun. I know, we’re skipping ahead but it seemed appropriate. Go read Tom Collins, and we can talk more about that next year—haha.
To learn more about Douglas Vigliotti, here’s where you can connect with him:
Website: DouglasVigliotti.com
Instagram: @douglasvigliotti
Facebook: @slightlycrooked
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