Interview of David Ronwinski

Interview with David Ronwinski,

Author of The Open Pillow

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself? My name is David Rowinski. I grew up in New Jersey-went to school with Dea Lenihan, the illustrator of The Open Pillow. Then I escaped for college at UMass where I studied English, Communications and Arabic.

After school I worked construction, as a security guard, and eventually spent a year in Egypt teaching English before working at a youth hostel in Athens and survived on borrowed money in Budapest the year the Communist regime fell. I also spent time in Zurich working as a PCA. I am married to the Kenyan/Tanzanian musician Sali Oyugi and split time between East Africa and Amherst, Ma where I am painting houses to pay bills.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?  Yes, it was Unfortunately-Planet of the Dog Men, which was my take on Planet of the Apes.

Were you inspired by someone or something?  I am inspired by my wife whose talent and dedication continue to amaze me.

What do you like about writing a story?  I enjoy the feeling when things suddenly fall into place and a story makes sense beyond what I had initially envisioned.

Can you tell us about your book?  The Open Pillow has its roots in my putting a friend’s son to bed. He asked for a story about an open pillow. My first thought was a torn pillow with feathers everywhere but it occurred to me that open could mean growing. Improperly placed in a flower bed, the pillow encounters rejection from various animals but continues to grow as it seeks it place in the world. The book introduces the concept of exponential thought and the notion of growth with aspects of animal behavior.

What genre best fits for the book? Though it is a children’s bedtime story the notion of persistence in pursuit of goals should never be outgrown.

Are you working on something new at the moment? Yes, The Book of Complements which morphed beyond a children’s book into something somewhat unclassifiable that I am tentatively calling graphic poetry or illustrated myth. There is a book trailer on Youtube.com under ‘BOC Trailer 080813’  I have a number of other ideas including a story arch called The Wending Tree and a novel about a shaman that is have been struggling with for years.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? I shall give the most useful advice given from my wife, “Finish something.”

Where can people go to read your work? The Open Pillow can be ordered on Amazon, B&N, Smashword, etc but can also be requested at any brick and mortar store which I prefer in an effort to support local bookstores.

Do you have anything to add? Probably but I was renovating an apartment until 11:30 PM and it is now midnight so nothing is coming to mind apart from thank you.

Review of Pillow: http://bit.ly/1kOzhPp