I talked to Mark Dean at the Ohioana Book Festival.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’m still not sure that I realized that. I am a former military guy. I am used to cadences and marches. I started by writing songs. After writing about 40 songs, I realized that this probably could be a book. I came up with one sentence at a time, and off I went.

How long did it take for you to write the book?

Approximately 8 months. The editing process took about another 4 months.

What is your writing schedule when you are writing?

I have a day job. I work for a boot company. I travel a lot.  When I am on the plane, I have hours of concentrated writing. I either write on planes or early in the morning before my family gets out of bed.

What is your interesting/unique writing quirk if you have one?

I need total silence. If there is any noise, I’m very squirrely, off I go. I’m like a puppy, I follow the noise whatever it is.

Why did you write this book? What makes it special?

I live on the farm. One day, I was taking care of the horses biproduct and I realized that everything we do unless you have suffered a traumatic injury has to do with your hands. You write with your hands, you cook with your hands, you hold a dying elderly person with your hands. I feel most of our emotional connections are done through our hands. The short stories don’t have a theme except for the hands.

Where can a person buy your book?

Locally in southeast Ohio, in this area Barnes and Noble and Amazon.