Stephen March
passes lessons learned to student writers
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE--He’s published six books and released two CDs over 26
years.
One hit away
from stardom, one month shy of retirement
Wonder what
the future holds.
It sounds
like the making of a country song. Yet, it well suits Stephen March, a recently
retired professor in the ECSU Department of Language Literature and
Communication. March, a novelist, short story and song writer whose work is set
in the South, spent nearly three decades teaching students creative writing.
When he wasn’t teaching, advising students or serving on university committees,
he crafted songs and wrote books. The process sometimes took years—after all
it’s not easy developing storylines and book characters.
“When you
tell a story, a novel has to work artistically. There is craft and technique to
consider. I was working through the challenges of storytelling that would
eventually help me guide students through similar challenges,” March
said.
“Being
creative keeps you alive and in the moment. Professors can become stagnant when
they don’t challenge themselves.”
There were
several challenges along the way. First, consider the changes in the publishing
industry. Those changes are related to consumers’ reading and buying
habits—hardback, paperback and now ebooks. Publishers, March said, are looking
for manuscripts that have a certain appeal with customers---elements that make
them most likely to sell. Some subject matters are well received and routinely
distributed by a select number of publishing houses and editors. In addition to
those challenges, there are no guarantees that your second or your 20th
manuscript will be accepted and distributed by the publisher or editor who
accepted your first successful book.
Two of
March’s seven books were recently published as was his latest CD, “Twister.” The
fact that they were published near his retirement date is simply coincidental.
“Hatteras
Moon” March’s crime novel is set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a
nostalgic location for books and movies.
“I’ve been
working on these projects for a long time. I had to work on them weekends,
summer breaks and over the years. Teaching and raising my two sons were
priorities,” March said.
“I am a story
writer so I was able to apply my skills to both books and lyrics. The music on
my CD was primarily country—my producer calls it alternative country-- blues and
a bit of gospel. The musicians are good and we really enjoyed working on this
project.”
Lullaby is a
song March wrote from the perspective of a child who loses his mother during a
fire two decades ago at a poultry processing plant in Hamlet, N.C. It is a song
that reflects the tender relationship the between mother and son. It also
reflects the impact a parent’s wise words have on their
children.
“Storylines
are important in music formats such as blues and country. That’s the reason so
many listeners connect with those music formats.”
March is an
award winning writer. His book, “Love to the Spirits” won the Independent
Publisher Award; “Catbird” was chosen as a BookSense Notable by the American
Booksellers Association and “Armadillo” won the Texas Review Press Prize in the
Novella. “Tell Him You Saw Me” is a recently released book he hopes readers will
favor as much as the past publication.
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Photo
available upon request.
Kesha
Williams
Director
of Media Relations| University Relations and Marketing
Elizabeth
City State University
1704
Weeksville Rd. | Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone:
252.335.3686 | Fax: 252.335.3769
Email: kdwilliams@mail.ecsu.edu | www.ecsu.edu
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