Books(in140) & Other Things

This week’s 140 interview is with Spokane, Washington-based humorist and writer Terry Bain. He likes writing books, making t-shirts and eating bacon. Aah, the simple pleasures in life.

He’s also the writer of two books, You are a Dog and We are the Cat. that look at life, love and more through the eyes of our four-legged companions. Terry took some time to virtually sit down with me and chat about these projects what he’s working on now and more.

If you want to connect with Terry, make sure you read his blog or follow him on Twitter @TerryBain.

Ready for this? I’ll DM you a Q and you DM me a response until we run out of things to talk about! Q:Tell me about your most recent project.

Well, the project I’m working on right now is a bio of an inventor/ orthopedic sugeon from Spokane (where I live).

That’s certainly unique! What attracted you to that?

I know the family, and he’s an interesting guy. It’s quite a departure for me, but I need to challenge myself or dry up and disappear.

Let’s shift gears a bit. Tell me about your previous projects, YOU ARE THE DOG and it’s follow-up, WE ARE THE CAT.

Good. It’s a bit hard to know where to begin. The dog book was first, and sort of surprised me. But it was a great deal of fun to write.

Why did the dog book surprise you?

I had no experience in it. I was trying to sell a novel, which wasn’t going well, so writing short humor pieces cheered me up (mostly).

You Are a Dog was first a short humor piece that was so much fun, I started to wonder if I could make it into a book.

That makes me happy! Were the reasons for pursuing the cat book similar?

Well, when I started touring with the dog book, someone asked the question: “will you be writing a cat book?” “No,” I said, definitively.

I started taking “cat book notes” that very evening.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the title for the cat book came first. I just knew that if the dog book was “you,” the cat would have to be “we.”

That’s far different than your current project. What challenges have you faced with this new biography, compared to writing humor?

Biographies are about people, apparently. Also, actual people rather than those I make up.

Also, I find that I have to be far more disciplined about it, which is something I’m unaccustomed to being.

Finally, it can be hard not trying to be “funny” all the time. (Though I’m probably funnier when I’m not trying… alas.)

I know the feeling! What’s your working/writing schedule like?

Intolerably erratic, though less so lately. My youngest started preschool this winter, so I get 3 hrs most mornings, then a bit more aft.

Morning time is for composing. Flat out scribbling. Later it goes into machine form.

You’re pretty active using social media. What are the benefits and drawbacks of this as a writer?

The benefits: easy access to people. People are good. They buy books. They read. They tell me what I’m doing that they like, or don’t like.

Drawbacks: easy access to people. Messaging and twittering &c. takes time, which gets sliced up in micropieces and its easy to lose a day.

I sometimes use twitter to sharpen “funny” skills. Sometimes this works, sometimes it just turns me so far inward that it’s hard to escape.

Would you do another humorous book? We still have birds, fish and many more you could use!

I’m hoping to do a lot of funny. Maybe sea monkeys next. (More likely dogs again.) Or maybe even humans. Those animals is funny.

Please do sea monkeys!! If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

Well, I have a degree in computer science, and I just cloned a Joomla extension for a friend, so maybe I’d do that. Cloning, I mean.

Sounds like a plan to me! I think I’m our of questions. Is there anything else you want to add?

Just one more thing the dog would like to add: “Beware the vacuum. The vacuum is evil.” That is all.

Oh, and if anybody is interested, they can follow my dogs and cat: @youareadog and @wearethecat . Blessing.

You are a Dog and We are the Cat are available at Amazon.