Welcome to this year’s fun spotlight introduction of Blog Battlers!
Every month we’re shining the light on a participant.
First up is Doug Jacquier!
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Blog/Website: | https://sixcrookedhighwaysblog.wordpress.com/ |
| How long have you been a writer? | Since primary school. |
| 3 random facts about you! | 1. When I was 16 I was a cadet reporter for the Northern Territory News in Darwin, Australia and was on the teletype machine when the news came through that the Prime Minister, Harold Holt, had drowned and when I told the editor, Jim Bowditch, he ran to the print room and uttered those legendary words, ‘Stop the presses’. 2. I am an occasional stand-up comedian. 3. I share a birthday with Gerald Ford, Ingmar Bergman, Harry Dean Stanton and Woody Guthrie. |
| What genre(s) do you write? | Poetry and short stories. My aim is to surprise, challenge and amuse. |
| What is your favorite BB story/entry you’ve written? What is the URL? | “Intercept” https://sixcrookedhighwaysblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/08/intercept/ |
| Have you published any books? Self/Indie published? Traditional? Hybrid? | No but my poems and stories have been included in anthologies. |
| Do you plan to publish? If so, self/indie, traditional or both/hybrid? | No. |
| Who or what inspired you to start a blog and share your writing? | I wanted an audience beyond my friends and family. |
| Any advice you could share with your fellow BBers? | Keep writing. Somewhere out there is an audience for your work. |
| If you could write from anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? | Here, from my home in Australia. It’s probably the safest and most generous prosperous country in the world and Australians are unique in their irreverence and in the breadth of their lifestyles. |
| In your own reading, who has been your favorite protagonist? Why? What makes them stand out? | Oriel Lamb in Tim Winton’s great Australian novel, Cloud Street, because she chooses solitude within a sprawling household. But I’ve always had a soft spot for Yossarian in Catch-22 and Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterrhouse 5. |
| Where are you strongest as a writer and feel like you could offer help and advice to fellow BBers? | Taking a prompt or an idea somewhere different than the mainstream. |
| Where are you weakest as a writer and would like to get more feedback and help with? | Description of physical environments. |
| Share any social media links you have where you’d like to connect with fellow BBers and readers. | https://sixcrookedhighwaysblog.wordpress.com dougj147@gmail.com |
| How did you discover BB? (If you’d care to share!) | Can’t recall now. |
Thanks so much for sharing, Doug!
Keep reading all the Stories for January and sharing feedback with the writers!
And keep your eyes peeled for the next Prompt Word coming Friday, February 5th!
Q&A Time
Please take a moment to ask Doug some questions in the comments section.
BlogBattle 
Great insights! I always love to know more about the writers I admire. What topics do you cover in your comedy, Doug? 🙂
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Ugh I’ve not managed to write ANYTHING yet… I like this idea though 🙂
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Make sure you fill out the questionnaire, Simon! You have been with us since the beginning. ❤ Maybe February will be your writing month for BB. 🙂
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I hope it will be – I’ll make sure I fill it in soon 🙂
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Doug, how long were you a reporter, and what story was your favorite?
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Only a couple of months, Cathleen. It was a summer school break job and as you can imagine my assignments were pretty routine. ‘Sergeant Plod said ‘Drivers should be more careful’. Oddly, enough, one of my roles was to help the grumpy old fart that was the proofreader and it’s a skill that’s never left me (much to some people’s annoyance). 🙂 The Editor, Jim Bowditch, was a Northern Territory legend. He could type faster with two fingers than most typists, chain-smoked 4 packets of Rothmans every day, drank like a fish and was always immaculately turned out. He was very kind and encouraging to me and when I said I wanted to quit school and stay on at the paper he strongly counselled me that that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard and wouldn’t have a bar of it.
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Stand up comedian…now that explains much ha ha. Is there a reason you said no to the publishing question? I was under the impression that was a goal you were considering at some point!
If not then why?
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I realise now I misread the question as ‘do you intend to self-publish?’ I have no current plans to go down that road but I’m certainly interested in finding a publisher for my stories and perhaps even a novel one day. When I feel confident that I have enough good strong stories, I’ll make some approaches.
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Ahh! That explains the flat out no. Fair play though Doug. When the time is right things will seem clearer. I have my own preambles on the publishing lark too.
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Doug, have you ever come near death by any venomous or outright savage beasts in the wilds of Australia? Have you ever made up any stories about such a thing? 🙂
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Steve Irwin has a lot to answer for. Well, he would have if he hadn’t been killed by a stingray. 😉 I’ve seen many snakes but never been attacked by one (or a spider for that matter). Our mutual preference is to go our own way but unfortunately I’ve had to despatch a handful that have indicated a desire to take up residence in our home when I lived in the remote Kimberley region of Westen Australia. I’m not sure if that counts as a near-death experience. 😉 The reality is that, despite us having 5 of the 10 most venomous snakes in the world, only 1 or 2 people a year die from snake bite. As for sharks, crocodiles etc. I work on the principle that if you want to share their environment you have to expect one or two to get a bit upset with you. Now that you mention it, I’ve only ever included one snake and no other wild threatening beasties in my stories.
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That’s so interesting to hear. You always hear about all the deadly creatures of AU when you’re not from there, and wonder how peoplel have survived! haha Now, I’m curious to see what you can do with a beasty or two in an upcoming tale! 🙂
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I wrote a single story set in Australia because I couldn’t get the image of a surfing platypus out of my head. I was surprised to learn that even platypuses have stingers.
Hey, I’m used to California. The only venomous snake we have gives a warning before it strikes, and it would much rather slither away. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had to kill a fair few with shovels, though.
I’m glad Australia isn’t as dangerous as it sounds to those of us far away. : )
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Hi Doug, how much time do you spend blogging? Do you have a set routine? Yes, I know that’s two questions, but one was from Dauphy!
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Dear Hobbo and Dauphy. My writing time varies a lot but I usually check out my blog feeds daily. Early morning is usually my writing time and sometimes after dinner. Now that I’m retired, I don’t really have a set routine but most days involve writing, gardening, cooking, talking to my wife and taking an interest in the kids and grandkids.
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Thanks for the response Doug. The reason I ask is that I started this blog as a means to keep occupied during the pandemic and it seems to be taking up more and more of my time. Not that I’m complaining. I enjoy doing it but, like you, even though I am retired there are lots of other things competing for my time.🙂
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Hi, Doug!
Australia is pretty cool, I’ll give you that (from the limited experience that I have).
Off to a great start, BBPrompt!
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Australia is indeed pretty cool, Goldie, except when it’s hot. Summer days over 40C are not uncommon where we live. I know everyone thinks their country is the best place to live but I think my claim is at least evidence-based. 🙂
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Could you recreate a story from the oldest story tellers in the world_ from the ‘Dreamtime’?
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Even if I could, I wouldn’t, Janet. For starters, I would have no idea what I was talking about, not being Indigenous, and that would be disrespectful. It would be seen by my Indigenous friends as yet another attempt to take everything they own and they would no longer be my friends. I’ve touched on my experiences living in an Indigenous community in ‘Rubbish Fisherman’ but from a white Australian perpesective.
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Good answer.
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Hi, all. I’m open to any questions you have and I might even answer some of them honestly, albeit with a dose of humour. 🙂
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Yes! Please take some time to ask more questions! We definitely want to make these spotlights a place to get to know each other better. ❤
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