Meet Steve Porter, ARIA's President

Overlords fans, today I start Reading Week by bringing you five fantastic authors from my home state of Rhode Island.  All of us are part of the Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA) and I hope that the subsequent interviews showcases the talent that we have in our little state.  Today, I bring to you ARIA's president, Steve Porter.

Mike:  Hi, Steve.  I’m very excited to present the very first Association of Rhode Island Author (ARIA) to my Overlords fan base.  And, you’re the president of the club to boot!  We’re going to do an old fashioned interview, ok?  With that said, here we go!

Mike:  Steve, please introduce yourself to my Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.

Steve:  Thanks, Mike! And with this series, thanks for helping raise the awareness of some of the amazing writers we have out here in our neck of the woods.

So to answer your question, I live in Harmony with my wife Dawn and two teenage kids. Oh, and I do mean that literally -- Harmony is a charming old New England mill village set in the northwest part of Rhode Island. Like most Rhode Islanders, I was born in RI, went to school in RI, live in RI, work in RI and now I write in RI. I've been writing since my college days in the late 80's when I was the editor of the URI literary magazine, The Great Swamp Gazette. Dawn was the editor of Renaissance, the URI yearbook, so I suppose it was inescapable we would get together. Oh, and Dawn is a published author, too, with the release of her children's puzzle book, Searching for Rhode Island, this year. And now, our son is a sophomore at URI except, that unlike me, he actually goes to class.

I knew in college I would complete a novel someday.... I just didn't know that day wouldn't come for 25 years. But once I finished it -- a coming-of-age crime novel called Confessions of the Meek and the Valiant set on the mean streets of South Boston -- it turned my life and work in an extraordinary new direction.

Mike:  What are you working on these days and what’s the current status of that project?

Steve:  I am in the middle of writing my third complete novel, a dark, dystopian tale about an art thief who lives in a futuristic society that utilizes art as currency. With luck, it could be finished by the end of this summer. What many writers find interesting about my work -- or profoundly stupid -- is that I refuse to write in any specific genre. My first book has been described as a crime thriller, while my second novel, an award-winner named Manisses, inspired by the legends of Block Island, is solidly historical fiction. When I looked at all my favorite writers -- Vonnegut, Orwell, Heller, Pynchon, Updike -- I decided that if they didn't have to write in a genre pre-determined by some jaded New York publishing desk-jockey, then I didn't have to either. If I'm going to invest this much time in my craft, I'll write whatever I want to.

Mike:  As I mentioned in the outset, you’re the president of ARIA.  Can you give my fans a little information about the association, the functions it performs, and how you came to be its president?

Steve:  After publishing my first book, twenty-five years of marketing chops kicked-in (including ten in the book industry), and I went in search of an author's trade group I could join. As a publishing newbie, I knew I needed to learn and absorb all the tips, techniques and best practices that I could to make a go of this. In my search, I discovered an inspiring array of local groups that support and promote local musicians, local artists, performing arts and even the culinary arts. And while there were a few nifty writing groups around, there wasn't anything out there that directly supported our local, published authors. In fact, many arts organizations pushed authors away. I found this appalling.

So in a rage of frustration, I emailed about a dozen other authors I found online, and six of us met for the first time around a conference table at the local chamber of commerce office. And to my surprise, not only was everyone excited to be recognized, we discovered we had all lived through the exact same frustrations -- alone. We all instantly felt the potential. The enthusiasm in our new group was inspiring.

And now, less than three years later, ARIA can boast over 80 published authors as members. We work together to promote, market, and raise awareness for the amazing books written here in our state. You'll see groups of us at fairs, expos, festivals, shows, farmer's markets, or just about anywhere they'll let us set up a table and hang a banner.

And I now have a private list of over 200 published authors who happen to live in RI. It turns out that Rhode Island is one of the most fertile breeding grounds for new and emerging writing talent in the country.

People ask me, "Who knew?" Well, um, we did.

Mike:  Any big events on the horizon for ARIA?

Steve:  Yes. In November of last year, in a last-minute, almost impetuous manner, we decided to organize and hold the first-ever Rhode Island Author's Expo at the Courthouse Center for the Arts in Kingston. And not only were we able to place over 40 authors in a room together to sell and talk about their books, but we were also able to attract over 350 excited book buyers that day. It was an enormous success by anyone's measure.  Because of the Expo, I am contacted almost every day by a group looking to connect with ARIA. That event really put us on the map. Planning for the 2014 Rhode Island Author's Expo is now underway, and is guaranteed to be even bigger and better than last year.

Then in January, we launched a new poetry reading, literary arts series in partnership with The Elephant Tea Room in Cranston. With very little promotion so far, we are already attracting as many as 35 poetry-lovers per event and attracting modest media attention.

And we are also now working with several state arts agencies to launch a program declaring 2015 "The Year of the Rhode Island Author" with the goal of sponsoring a year's worth of free events at local bookstores, libraries and museums to promote our authors and our cause.

Amazing. And this is just the big stuff.

Mike:  Does your work as an author suffer due to your presidential duties?

Steve:  Yes. Most definitely. Time is always my enemy. Between work duties, home life and ARIA, there is precious little time to write a grocery list, never mind write a book. But I have a personal goal this year to delegate more of ARIA's responsibilities to our members to free up my time... but shhhh, don't tell anybody.

Though on the bright side, being overworked, tired and in a surly mood does improve one's ability to write depressing dystopian fiction.

Mike:  What makes Steve Porter tick?

Steve:  I find an inner peace and great satisfaction when planning and completing a big project. I am driven to overachieve, and I hate it. I wish I could be one of those people who finds inner peace watching a sunset or listening to the lapping of the waves -- but I just sit there and think about all the other things I could be doing. I prefer keeping my mind and fingers engaged. I find relaxation stressful.

Mike:  Any upcoming projects we should know about?

Steve:  I was contacted by the URI Osher Lifelong Learning Program (OLLI) and asked to instruct a class in independent self-publishing. I'll be doing that this summer and fall. I am looking forward to it.

After writing my books and founding ARIA, I am continually asked for advice by others so last year, my wife and I established Stillwater River Publications as an imprint not only for our books, but for anyone who wants someone to guide them through this increasingly complex publishing process.

Mike:  OK, time for some quick ones, ready?  Favorite movie?

Steve:  The Python films, the Godfather Trilogy, same stuff as everybody else, I suppose. I don't watch a lot of movies. However, I'll admit an addiction to one Hollywood musical -- 1776. Not only have we worn-out the DVD, but we have traveled to see the stage play dozens of times, from New York to Boston. They employ a clever story telling technique. Every time I see it, they convince me that there is no way our country will ever be founded.

Mike: Favorite food or dish to make?

Steve: Rhode Island style calamari -- lightly battered, then deep fried and gently tossed in a bit of garlic and extra virgin olive oil with sliced hot peppers. Perfection. I can make a decent version, but it's much better at Camille's on Providence's Federal Hill.

Mike:  Favorite place you have ever visited?

Steve:  Dawn and I share a love for unusual, off-the-beaten path places.  So it's a three-way tie for a private claim on the Nenana River in Alaska's Denali National Park where we once panned for gold, Bioluminescent Bay in Puerto Rico where we canoed at midnight through a mangrove forest to watch the fish glow, and the first turn grandstand at the Indianapolis 500, where we spent part of our honeymoon.

Mike:  Favorite music band?

Steve:  R.E.M. I consider myself an aficionado of 80's alternative rock, led by R.E.M. Squeeze, Throwing Muses, Smithereens, and The Pixies. And of course, The Beatles, who inspired all of it.

Mike:  Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of yours!

Steve:  Orwell's 1984. I read it when I was twelve and have been haunted by it ever since. I want to write that book someday and haunt other people.

Mike:  Steve, thanks for being such a good sport!  Is there anything you would like to leave my fans with?

Steve:  Buy books, and buy local. Visit ARIA's website (www.RIAuthors.org) and just click on the links down the left side of the page. I guarantee you'll have several "wow" moments as you surf through our authors, then, pick out a book and buy it. And if you can't decide, buy mine.

Mike:  Steve, its been great having you with us today.  Please help spread the word about Steve, his works, ARIA, and most importantly his novels!  You can find everything about him and his projects in the links below:

Email: steve@spimac.com
Personal Website: www.stevenporter.com
Marketing Website: www.spimac.com
Blog: http://alongthevillagegreen.wordpress.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenporter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.r.porter.9
Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevenrporter

The Association of Rhode Island Authors http://www.RIAuthors.org
Stillwater River Publications: http://www.StillwaterPress.com

"Manisses"-- http://www.amazon.com/Manisses-Steven-R-Porter/dp/1478354801

"Confessions of the Meek and the Valiant" --
          http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Meek-Valiant-Steven-Porter/dp/1463542003/

"The Kanc: A Short Story --
            http://www.amazon.com/Kanc-Steven-Porter-ebook/dp/B0070A8K1Y/