Athol Dickson

Athol Dickson Revealed

About Athol Dickson

What is your birthdate?:

12/29
Previous occupations:

Newspaper boy, taco bender, men's clothing salesman, carpenter, bartender, and architect.
Favorite job:

Novelist.
High school and/or college:

Texas A&M University
Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:

Enya
Favorite movie:

Master and Commander
Favorite television show:

Seinfeld

Revealing Questions

Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?: A. Learning to love while I wait for heaven.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?: A. Do to others what you would want them to do to you.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?: A. Happiness is knowing that God loves me.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?: A. That I might become irrelevant.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?: A. Right here where I am. I moved to southern California a few years ago after a lifetime in Texas, and while I'll always be a Texan, I do love the natural beauty and the climate here.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?: A. Saint Peter. He wanted to do the right thing very badly. He often wasn't certain what the right thing was, and he sometimes lost his way, but when did, he admitted it and returned to the proper path. Because of that, he finished very well, or so they say.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?: A. My wife is my hero.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?: A. If I knew the answer to that question, I wouldn't overuse them.
Q. What do you regret most?: A. Time lost in worry and self pity.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?: A. The ability to love unconditionally.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?: A. A long marriage to a woman I do not deserve.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?: A. Self pity. No, wait. Worry. No, wait. Selfishness. No, wait. Indecision. Yes, that's it. No, wait . . .
Q. What’s your best quality?: A. Loyalty, I suppose.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?: A. I think I'd better stay focused on being me until I finally get it right.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?: A. Honestly, I have no idea. I've been trying for a long time to learn not to think about what other people think of me, and I guess it's finally starting to work.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?: A. The first one who comes to mind is Jack Aubrey, in Patrick O'Brian's nautical series, but ask again tomorrow and it will be someone else.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?: A. Professor Moriarty comes to mind.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?: A. You mean other than Jesus, right? So next I suppose I'd go with Abraham Lincoln. I have a little statue of him on my desk. As for what I'd say . . . I think I'd ask him how he coped with the war years. Come to think of it, I'd like to meet Winston Churchill and ask him the same thing. Both men faced periods when they were almost completely alone in their decisions, and the choices they were forced to make were horrifying, yet somehow they persevered. I'd love to know where they found that strength of character.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?: A. Oh, I have so many. :-) One thing thing that disturb's me in print is when people add apostrophe's to word's that end in 'S' but aren't possessive.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?: A. Is reading too obvious? After that, boating. Then driving in the country.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?: A. I love boats, because of the freedom they represent, and because of their beauty and their grace in motion. In another life, I would have loved to build them one at a time, and sell them to people who would travel far and have great adventures in them.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?: A. Love. Integrity. Loyalty.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?: A. Ritz crackers. I know that's pathetic, but seriously.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?: A. I'm not much of a song person. Most of the music I enjoy is instrumental. Jazz. New Age. Classical. I do enjoy Sarah MacLaughlin's work, such as "In the Arms of An Angel." And I like almost everything Enya has done. "Orinoco Flow" is one of my favorites by her. I still listen to 60's and 70's rock and roll sometimes. James Taylor. Cat Stevens. Crosby Stills Nash & Young. My friends laugh at me because I'm hopelessly out of date when it comes to popular music. But most of the new stuff I hear sounds derivative and repetitive. I very rarely hear anyone who's honestly doing something different.

On Books and Writing

Q. Who are your favorite authors?: A. In no particular order a few of them are: Thornton Wilder, Elmore Leonard, E. L. Doctorow, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ross Thomas, Toni Morrison, C.S. Lewis, Patrick O'Brian, Flannery O'Connor, John Irving, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ross MacDonald, Daphne Du Maurier, etcetera, etcetera.
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?: A. The first two are easy:

1. The Bible, which is the source of all the wisdom ever written.
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is the finest novel ever written.

After that, it become more difficult to narrow the field, but at this moment, these three come to mind. All of them deserve to remain in print forever:

3. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

4. Wise Blood

5. The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?: A. The Bible
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?: A. Write for the joy of writing, not for publication.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?: A. The often say my stories are beautifully written, and unlike anything they've read before.