Fred Powers is a walking repository of West Virginia and Appalachian history. A former school teacher as well as a miner. He has given a voice and a face to the stories of miners and their place in our nation's history. He has given many oral presentations to various audiences, at times, bringing listeners to tears. Now, he is ready to share the story of his life, his forebears and his region on a regional and national scale. Fred's experiences are only a small reflection of the many untold stories of the Coal Miner.
Welcome Fred!
AAG: Your new book release "Powerhouse Meets the Tommy Knockers: A Coal Miner's Story" is targeted for young readers. What is the premise for your book and what age group would enjoy your fictional story?
FP: I believe the age-old premise of Good versus Evil will make another stand underneath the Appalachian Mountains as our protagonist Powerhouse with the help of his Disabled Father and the Tommy Knockers discover a mystical way to battle the All-Powerful Fire-Witch and her Undead Zombie Army for the Kidnapped Children. I personally think grades 3-7 would be the targeted audience for this book.
AAG: Inspiration for your book is from your time working in the coal mines. What experience in the mine was the motivation to write your story?
FP: While discussing the idea for a small entrepreneur grant with Concord university to write a starter book of short stories. The grant director mentioned that the university offered a program in graphic arts and asked if I would be interested in someone to draw and illustrate this type of artform as well. I replied that I would because I had read a lot of comics in the 1960’s while growing up and were quite taken in by them. I used the mining lore of the Tommy Knockers and put a story together with as much realism as I could blend together.
AAG: What is it like working in a coal mine?
FP: Working in the mines you were always being conscious of the fact that you were in a hostile environment and things were subject to happen anytime beyond anyone’s control. I liked working in the mines and tried pushing the constant dangers to the side. We would kid around a lot. I was always tired. My working and going to college took a lot of the fun out of me.
AAG: What are you currently writing?
FP: During the warm months I attend a couple of local writing groups and write whatever their prompts are for a couple of pages. I sometimes expand on them. These groups are just about dried up. In the winter My wife and I nest in our RV in Central Florida and I generally get to write during the week down there. There are no distractions and pulls on my time like at our home here. I plan to write the first installment of a three-part trilogy starting in 1865 and still going strong in Powerhouse and the Tommy Knockers.
AAG: What are you currently reading?
FP: I’m trying to read “A Hanging at Cinder Bottom” by Glenn Taylor. This is set in the red-light district of the mining town where I grew up in, but a couple of generations before me. I’m a slow reader of novels, I reckon.
AAG: Do you have advice for novice writers?
FP: Find your passion, find some way to expand your skills, look for grants and keep at it, persevere and find elderly shining examples!
AAG: Will there be a sequel to "Powerhouse Meets the Tommy Knockers"? If so, when will it be launched?
FP: It realistically looks like for Tommy Knockers to continue that it must be approved by Tamarack because it just is not selling anywhere else. I think the Powerhouse: A Coal Miner’s Stories will sell and support itself. I’m hoping if Tamarack does approve both to put a percentage towards a Scholarship Fund for Miner’s Kids in McDowell County.
FP: I believe the age-old premise of Good versus Evil will make another stand underneath the Appalachian Mountains as our protagonist Powerhouse with the help of his Disabled Father and the Tommy Knockers discover a mystical way to battle the All-Powerful Fire-Witch and her Undead Zombie Army for the Kidnapped Children. I personally think grades 3-7 would be the targeted audience for this book.
AAG: Inspiration for your book is from your time working in the coal mines. What experience in the mine was the motivation to write your story?
FP: While discussing the idea for a small entrepreneur grant with Concord university to write a starter book of short stories. The grant director mentioned that the university offered a program in graphic arts and asked if I would be interested in someone to draw and illustrate this type of artform as well. I replied that I would because I had read a lot of comics in the 1960’s while growing up and were quite taken in by them. I used the mining lore of the Tommy Knockers and put a story together with as much realism as I could blend together.
AAG: What is it like working in a coal mine?
FP: Working in the mines you were always being conscious of the fact that you were in a hostile environment and things were subject to happen anytime beyond anyone’s control. I liked working in the mines and tried pushing the constant dangers to the side. We would kid around a lot. I was always tired. My working and going to college took a lot of the fun out of me.
AAG: What are you currently writing?
FP: During the warm months I attend a couple of local writing groups and write whatever their prompts are for a couple of pages. I sometimes expand on them. These groups are just about dried up. In the winter My wife and I nest in our RV in Central Florida and I generally get to write during the week down there. There are no distractions and pulls on my time like at our home here. I plan to write the first installment of a three-part trilogy starting in 1865 and still going strong in Powerhouse and the Tommy Knockers.
AAG: What are you currently reading?
FP: I’m trying to read “A Hanging at Cinder Bottom” by Glenn Taylor. This is set in the red-light district of the mining town where I grew up in, but a couple of generations before me. I’m a slow reader of novels, I reckon.
AAG: Do you have advice for novice writers?
FP: Find your passion, find some way to expand your skills, look for grants and keep at it, persevere and find elderly shining examples!
AAG: Will there be a sequel to "Powerhouse Meets the Tommy Knockers"? If so, when will it be launched?
FP: It realistically looks like for Tommy Knockers to continue that it must be approved by Tamarack because it just is not selling anywhere else. I think the Powerhouse: A Coal Miner’s Stories will sell and support itself. I’m hoping if Tamarack does approve both to put a percentage towards a Scholarship Fund for Miner’s Kids in McDowell County.
RSS Feed