Talking Books with Clifford Browder Author of NEW YORKERS: A FEISTY PEOPLE WHO WILL UNSETTLE, MADDEN, AMUSE AND ASTONISH YOU #Interview

Clifford Browder is a writer and retired freelance editor living in New York City, which he celebrates in his blog, “No Place for Normal: New York.” His published works include two biographies; three New York City memoirs; a critical study of the French Surrealist poet André Breton; and four historical novels set in nineteenth-century New York. His poetry has appeared both online and in print. He has never owned a car, a television, or a cell phone, barely tolerates his computer, and eats garlic to fend off vampires. (So far, it seems to be working.)

Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

My previous publisher, Black Rose Writing, kept putting off telling me if they would publsh my next book. I couldn’t afford to waste another year or more, waiting for their answer, so I revived a manuscript that I had shelved and self-published it with help from 1106 Design. The result is New Yorkers: A Feisty People Who Will Unsettle, Madden, Amuse and Astonish You. It is composed of posts from my blog, No Place for Normal: New York.

Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

As just noted, I self-published. Didn’t want to waste more time. I’d like to publish one new book a year.

Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

Yes: How long I had to wait — five years — while other books ahead of mine were published. Small presses — in this instance, Gival Press — have long queues. This was The Pleasuring of Men, the first title in my Metropolis series of historical novels set in nineteenth-century New York, and my only gay-themed book. My earlier books, several of them out of print, are another story.

Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling process?

Does it ever! I’ve seen this at book fairs. The cover of my nonfiction title No Place for Normal: New York, with its bright rainbow colors, attracts the eye. Drawn by it, people would approach my table, see NEW YORK in bold black letters against a light background, then read the subtitle and look at the back-cover blurb. Thanks to the cover, it always upstaged my other books.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

It was easy. (I’ve never had writer’s block.) I decided to make it a mix: a personal memoir with bits of history and travel lore thrown in. This has earned me some bad reviews, when reviewers expected one thing and got another, but other reviewers have had no trouble with it. A tip for other writers? To avoid negative reviews, make your subject matter clear and stick to it. (Though I’m glad I didn’t.)

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

My Metropolis series of historical novels has eight titles, all of them completed, and four already published. The fifth, Forbidden Brownstones, will be released in January 2021, though the e-book is available now (December 2020) for preorder. Five down and three to go.

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

How many languages are spoken in the city. (You’d be surprised.) There are lots of weird facts about the city and its residents, stuff that even New Yorkers don’t know.

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

New Yorkers and their city are special, unique. New York is the most exciting city in the world. Everyone should visit it (once the pandemic is overcome).

Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?

Today, visit New York by reading about it. Once the pandemic is past, come visit us. We need you. The city isn’t the same without visitors.

Title: NEW YORKERS: A FEISTY PEOPLE WHO WILL UNSETTLE, MADDEN, AMUSE AND ASTONISH YOU
Author: Clifford Browder
Publisher: Cliff Browder Books
Pages: 345
Genre: Memoir (with bits of history and travel lore thrown in)

A quirky memoir by a longtime resident with bits of history and travel lore thrown in…

A quirky memoir by a longtime resident, with glances at his city’s history and bits of travel lore all rolled into one.

Readers will learn how the Statue of Liberty almost didn’t happen; how the author found the sacred in the city, and learned the Charleston on You Tube; how mobsters shared the corridors of the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel with the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor and an ex-president; and how the author had an affair with a Broadway chorus boy (if the Cardinal Archbishop of New York could do it, so could he).

Plus Mohawks, hustlers, scams and cons, wigmakers and crematory managers, racoons in Central Park, Trump Tower, cholera, and the Beatles. A fun book, but with some serious moments.

New York is the most exciting city in the world. The author wants to share it with everyone.