Curse of the Maestro and Other Stories features a collection of stories centered the Stonehaven Symphony Orchestra and its bizarre and enthralling history. What was the inspiration for the original and fascinating stories in this book?

I suppose you could think of Curse of the Maestro and Other Stories as one musician’s love letter to the American symphony orchestra.   But after decades performing as a violinist and concertmaster for a number of groups around the country in real life myself, let’s just say there were also axes to grind.  Certainly, any time you get 50 passionate young artists together on a stage, sparks are bound to fly. 

What were some of your inspirations as a writer?

A lot of times, I’m inspired by basically nothing.  Things that don’t really even exist – because I like the idea of writing in a way I’ve never read before.  That said, for Curse of the Maestro, the various formats and voices we all see every day in mundane letters, texts, even legal documents, they’ve got some pretty funny possibilities too.

What story in this collection did you have the most fun writing?

The first, Curse of the Maestro, kind of cracks me up.  Even Gingerbread Man was such a unique challenge… it certainly is for the reader.  Really, all of the characters, the different speaking voices, amused me because it felt like I was progressively encountering people I did not know.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

Hah!  You know, I’m supposed to be a musician. I gotta get back to practicing!

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