John I Leggett
Bewildering Stories biography
Being new to BwS, I feel like I’ve been welcomed into the swarm. Writer to writer, I’ll keep it simple. I admire those who make a living at the craft. It’s a tough business and, fortunately, I’m not in that boat. I’m able to write for the sheer joy of telling a story, one I make up. I mean, how great is that?
I wrote, cast, and directed my first play in third grade. That was in 1954. I’ll let you do the math. So, anyway, I’m older now and I don’t cast or direct plays. I now stick to writing fiction and, hopefully, my writing has improved since then.
I’ve been lucky along the way. I’ve had short stories serialized in Maine newspapers, published in print magazines, and selected for three anthologies, with a fourth, featuring Maine authors, scheduled for publication in December, 2018.
If you’re one of the millions of insecure writers, you can relate to the reward of an occasional confirmation of your worth. Receiving recognition from Maine’s “Joy of the Pen” competition in 2016 for fiction, and 2017 for non-fiction let me breathe a little easier and gave me the motivation to keep writing.
The non-fiction piece, James E. Strates and Pagan Jones, led to an interview with Gary James on his famousinterviews.com website. It’s something I wouldn’t have experienced if I wasn’t writing and putting it out there.
I’ve written two novels. Diamonds in the Rough deals with stolen diamonds and several memorable characters who vie for a sailboat, not knowing the dangers involved, and The Five-Cent Gang, a coming of age story of five, thirteen-year olds who inadvertently steal from the mob. Both are available on Amazon and any store I can get them into.
As a writer, one of my many faults is not reading enough, (yeah, who woulda thunk it: a writer who doesn’t read). So I’ve started a habit of scouring the Internet for an hour or so every day and search sites like BwS and read fiction by authors I’ve never read. I need to keep up with what’s out there.
I grew up in Watervliet, New York, survived the 60s, built geodesic domes in Colorado in the 70s, and have spent the last 40 years in Maine with my beautiful wife Kathleen, who keeps me in line and is my most “tactful” critic. Our two daughters live nearby which allows for frequent visits with our grandsons.
“Penciled In” is my first go with Bewildering Stories. It’s something a bit different for me, but I hope people will ponder what it holds for all of us. I hope you’ll take a moment to “pencil it in” and meet Henry. Then get back to whatever it was you were writing about!
Copyright © 2018 by John I Leggett
