A talented American author- Dan Buri
Today I have the honour and the pleasure to present you a new friend and very talented author, Mr Dan Buri. We both share the same love for literature and law, as he is also an attorney, like me. I recently read his book “Pieces like Pottery” and I really enjoyed it. By the way, in his question of what I would like to see him write next, I would love him to expand his third short story into a novel. I would like to see him writing the novel about his childhood friends. What would you like him to write next? Feel free to leave here your comments or to communicate directly with him.
When did you realize that you want to write? When did you actually start writing?
First off, thank you for hosting me on your site, Evi. You have a wonderful blog! This is a great place for us all to indulge in our shared love of reading and writing, isn’t it? Thank you for your excellent content. I am grateful to be here and hopefully I have the opportunity to get to know your audience better.
I can remember writing as far back as middle school. It’s something I have always enjoyed doing. One of the first poems I ever wrote was about my older brother and his basketball playing abilities. I still remember the opening lines and I wrote them as a kid nearly 30-years ago:
I’m Joe the King of Basketball,
I’m the king of the basketball court.
All my shots are always on target,
None of them are ever short.
I didn’t say it was any good! I don’t remember any more than that. To be honest, I’m not sure how I even remember those lines. The point, I guess, is that writing has been something I have always enjoyed doing myself and admired in other people. Story telling is a beautiful gift. I love learning to hone the craft.
What was the first thing you have written? (unpublished)
One of the first things was probably that poem I mention. I also remember writing a story when I was in middle school. It was set in the 1700s and was a story about a group of young friends that were lost in the woods while battles we’re going on around them during the early year of Britain’s founding of America. It was about their friendships and how they survived. Thinking back on it, I’m not sure why a 13-year-old was writing about such a difficult topic.
Which are the difficulties an author usually has to face?
I think most authors have a very difficult time marketing their book and getting the word out. It’s very difficult in the current environment for indie authors. It is why we need great blogs like yours and thoughtful readers like your readers.
I think self-publishing and indie publishing was looked down upon in the past, but we have seen significant changes in the last 3-to-5 years. Ebooks have done wonders for changing the accessibility of indie authors, both from a publishing standpoint as well as from a readership standpoint. It has become much easier to see your work published than, say, 20 years ago. This has naturally had an effect on what gets published. The big six publishers are large corporations and as much as they aim to focus on creativity and great works, it’s difficult for them because they have thousands of people that work for them and rely on them. So the big six are constantly focused on what will be a commercial success. The irony is that they don’t know what will be a commercial success just like you and I don’t know. What do Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, Gone With the Wind, and Twilight have in common? They were all initially rejected by publishers. The big publishers just don’t know what’s going to sell. Indie authors have a little bit of freedom from this market pressure. We all want our books to do well commercially of course, but we are also able to take creative chances that a big six publisher might be unwilling to take.
I think the quality of indie/self-published books has improved immensely too. There is such a high bar for indie authors and we quickly lose the reader’s trust if there are errors or incongruities in our stories. The editing process is so important in avoiding these errors. I don’t have any evidence to back this up, it’s only anecdotal, but it seems like the best self-published ebooks are of a higher quality now than 5-10 years ago. This has helped close the perception gap between indie authors and traditionally published others.
Name a couple of authors that have influenced your way of writing.
I feel like this is the question that readers and writers always ask in a judgmental way. It’s as if your readers are going to judge me by the authors I enjoy. “Oh no, I don’t agree with that at all. John Grisham? This guy clearly isn’t serious about his writing.” (I’m smiling if that’s not showing through your computer screen.)
I am constantly inspired by writers, but I made a decision a long time ago not to try to duplicate any other author’s style. I wanted to find my own voice and have worked diligently at that. I have a lot of authors that I love, though. A few, in no particular order: Gertrude Warner, Shell Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, C.S. Lewis, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Grisham, Malcolm Gladwell, John Buri, Cormac McCarthy, Bill Bryson and Mark Twain. I could probably list another hundred who’s writing I enjoy with wonderment.
Name three books that made a huge impression.
1. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis.
I have read it a half dozen times or so, but the first time I read it was with my mother. I think I fell in love with storytelling hearing my mother read this book to me. It’s a beautiful fable. I can recall lying up at night before bed as she made the world of C.S. Lewis a reality for me.
2. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevski
A quote: “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” This is actually in one of the stories from Pieces Like Pottery.
3. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
I have a term that I like to use about books—sticky. I use this term for books that stick with me well after I’ve completed them and put them down. The characters and themes in the books just keep turning over in my mind. They may not be on a list of “You Have To Read This,” but they’ve just stuck with me. This is one of those books.
What are your hobbies?
Enjoying the outdoors. Taking in a sporting event. Spending time with my family. Praying. Meditating. Playing basketball. Playing guitar. Photography.
What makes you choose a book to read?
Most of what I buy is via recommendations. I keep a list on my phone of all the books that have been recommended to me from people I trust. I’m lucky enough to live blocks from the world’s largest used bookstore—Powell’s City of Books. I just pull out my phone every time I go there and grab a couple selections off of my recommended list. I think more than anything else, the number one factor for selecting a book is if it came highly recommended from a trusted source.
Do you have your own website?
Coming soon in 2016.
What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
Over the years I have been lucky enough to be offered abundant feedback and to hear excellent commentary from a few creative people that I admire greatly. There are three comments/ideas that have stuck with me throughout all my writing endeavors. (Each of these is summarized in my own words.)
When asked about the fears and doubts that she had with her writing, Elizabeth Gilbert (best selling author of Eat, Pray, Love) said she finally had an epiphany that her “writing muse” was telling her that this isn’t her story. If she doesn’t tell it, she said, then the muse would move on to someone else who will. Ms. Gilbert discussed how freeing this was for her. She was no longer declaring to the reader: “Listen to me. I have something to say.” It was almost as if she had no other choice but to write. This opened her up to write every day without fear of the result.
Ira Glass is an American public radio personality and the host and producer of the radio and television show This American Life. He has a great quote for young creatives. In short, he encourages that your work is not going to be good when you’re first starting out. You may have an excitement for your craft and a killer taste for what’s good, but your execution is poor. The only way to improve your work, the only way to close the gap so that your work is as good as your ambitions, is to do a lot of work. Write. Every day. Every week put yourself on a deadline to write something new. It’s going to take awhile, but that’s normal. Good writing doesn’t come the first time you sit down.
Louis C.K. is one of the most thoughtful and innovative comics alive right now. I once heard him speak about his HBO show, Lucky Louie, which was cancelled after one season in 2006. He was asked if he was disappointed and if he looked back at it as a failure. His answer was unequivocally: “No.” For him it was just another experience that taught him how to hone his craft, which was invaluable.
So those would be my three pieces of (long-winded) advice for young writers. One, don’t worry about whether you have anything important to say. If you are inspired, say it. Two, write constantly. You won’t become a good writer unless you’re writing all the time. Three, take every writing experience and use it to hone your craft. Something is not a failure simply because the public doesn’t receive it the way you would like.
Are you considering to write another book? Which is your new project?
I am constantly writing and tinkering with ideas, so I have a few ideas in the projects. I have not yet started any of the projects, though. I would love feedback from you and your readers, though, if you have insight into what you would most like to see. There are four ideas I’ve been considering:
Expanding Expect Dragons into a full length novel. (Expect Dragons is the Third Sorrowful Mystery from Pieces Like Pottery.)
Writing the second instalment of the short story series—The Joyful Mysteries.
I have a very unique group of childhood friends and we are still friends to this day. We are a band of misfits and often heard we wouldn’t amount to anything if we didn’t straighten up. 20-some years later, we are married with kids. We are lawyers, actuaries, Air Force pilots, and artists, and I don’t think we’ve changed one bit at all. I am considering writing a memoir-type account with one chapter dedicated to each friend and the main character they posses that propelled them into the man they are today and the success they’ve seen.
I love children’s books that are aimed at young readers (e.g. 8-13 year olds). I have an idea for a novel around three siblings whose parents pass away and they get lost in the system, so they’re on their own. They end up hiding out at the zoo and run into a number of adventures in the process. It would likely turn into a series.
What would you like to see next?
Do you like traveling? In which places have you been? Name one place that you would love to travel to.
I love traveling. I find it captivating. I have travelled all over the U.S. Out of the States I have travelled fairly extensively: Mexico, Canada, England, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Greece, China, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand.
I love Greece. My wife and I went there for our honeymoon and I would love to go back. I have wonderfully fond memories of Australia and New Zealand. I want to go back and spend more time there.
Thank you, Evi! I have appreciated this opportunity to spend some time with you and your readers. I loved it! You have a wonderful site. I really do hope some of your readers will check out my book. I need the support of thoughtful and intelligent readers like yours. The life of an indie author is not easy and I appreciate all the support I can get. And if your readers have questions or comments, please contact me. I would love to hear from you. You can reach me via email at danburi777 @gmail. com or on twitter @DanBuri777. Thanks!
Author Bio
Dan Buri's first collection of short fiction, Pieces Like Pottery, is an exploration of heartbreak and redemption that announces the arrival of a new American author. His writing is uniquely heartfelt and explores the depths of the human struggle and the human search for meaning in life.
Mr. Buri's non-fiction works have been distributed online and in print, including publications in Pundit Press, Tree, Summit Avenue Review, American Discovery, and TC Huddle. The defunct and very well regarded Buris On The Couch, was a He-Says/She-Says blog musing on the ups and downs of marriage with his wife.
Mr. Buri is an active attorney in the Pacific Northwest and has been recognized by Intellectual Asset Magazine as one of the World's Top 300 Intellectual Property Strategists every year since 2010. He lives in Oregon with his wife and two-year-old daughter.
Pieces Like Pottery
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