Today, we’re proud to welcome H. M. Howington to Author’s Digest! Harold’s self-published novel The Redhead was the da Vinci Eye winner at the 2018 Eric Hoffer Book Awards.
Congratulations on your Eric Hoffer Award, Harold! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi, my name is Harold Martin Howington, but everyone calls me Marty. I was born on March 24, 1944, in Abbs Valley, Virginia. My family moved to Ohio, and we stayed there for several years. My first wife was killed in an auto accident in 1969. I served in the US Army from October, 1966 until October 1968. From March 1967 to March 1968, I served in Vietnam, where I was decorated for valor (which I won’t go into now).
Through the years, I worked as a musician, playing guitar and piano in a road band. I’ve done studio recording and played for other artists in these sessions. I drove a big truck and have been in all fifty states. (Alaska and Hawaii was by Uncle Sam during the Vietnam War; we stopped in Alaska going over and stopped in Hawaii coming home.) I finally wound up in Florida, where I still live with my wife of 34 years.
I’ve also performed in our local theater as a number of different characters, and I did sound and lighting for some plays.
Were there any literary influences that helped you develop your style or choice of genre?
I’ve been writing since grade school. I’d read historic novels, along with fiction, to get a good balance between “true” and “not true.” I read a lot of Writer’s Digest magazines, as well as some authors on writing techniques.
I love the old noir movies, so that kind of influenced me a lot. I also have a screenplay I wrote in a totally different genre (comedy). I’ve written poetry, songs, and a few advertisements.
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We’ll present the second part of our interview with H. M. Howington next week. His award-winning novel The Redhead is available at Amazon and the AuthorHouse Bookstore!
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