Stone
Soup and Crickets: An interview with Ohio Author Dale W. Geisel
Ohio
author Dale W. Geisel is stepping onto the literary stage with his debut
collection, Stone Soup and Crickets. A new voice with a
gift for weaving everyday detail into layered storytelling, Geisel invites
readers to pause, listen, and discover meaning in unexpected places.
His
work balances simplicity with resonance, echoing folk wisdom while exploring
the rhythms of contemporary life. With Stone
Soup and Crickets, Geisel offers stories that linger—quiet yet
insistent, rooted in experience yet reaching toward something universal.
In
this interview, we’ll talk about the inspirations behind his first book, the
journey of becoming an author, and how he hopes his stories will connect with
readers.
Welcome,
Dale!
GM:
Congratulations on your new book! What inspired you to take the leap from
aspiring writer to published author, and how has that transition felt?
DG:
I don’t remember. It just evolved over time. I always admired Isaac Asimov and
wrote a few short stories that still remain in folders because sci-fi is not my
favorite writing genre. I wrote a few articles for base newspapers when I was
in the Navy. Then I began submitting articles to newspapers that were based on
my genealogy research. When my articles appeared front page above the fold, I
saw that I could become an author.
I
lost my daytime job for six months and used that time to write my first (too
long) novel but the experience allowed me to polish my writing skills and I
began submitting stories to short story contests where I was perennial
runner-up. Finally, I collected my stories, cleaned them up, and submitted for
publication.
There
is nothing to compare to seeing your work in a book form and then to have
people wanting to get autographed copies.
GM:
As a new voice in Ohio’s literary landscape, what do you hope readers discover
about you through your work?
DG:
I hope that they see me as someone who can write in different formats. My book
of short stories, Stone Soup and Crickets, seems to be doing well, and I
am on the way to getting my memoir of my Navy years published. I have also
completed the first draft of my novel set in the Civil War. Following that, I
have the material collected for a guide on how Senior Citizens can ride the
entire length of the Ohio to Erie bike trail. So, it is my desire to be seen as
a versatile and talented writer.
GM:
Can you share the story behind your new book- what sparked it, and what do you
hope readers carry away after turning the last page?
DG:
I have always disliked the requirement that a short story should be
metaphorical. I have read many metaphorical stories that are pure metaphor with
very thin story lines. I lean toward a good story that may or may not be a
metaphor. In my book there are several stories that are metaphorical, but they
are stories that carry the metaphor forward and not the other way around.
Because my book is all short stories, there are 18 different last pages and
each last page should illicit a different response. I love to read my own
stories and have them bring me to tears. One response I had from a reader gave
me great joy because a reader was so upset with Hokey Pokey that she
couldn’t finish the story. I was attempting to portray an offensive, obnoxious,
obsessive man who wanted women to notice his “equipment.” The reader found him
to be over the top offensive and I congratulated myself for writing him so
well. Unfortunately, she did not read to the end where the protagonist found
redemption of sorts. However, I was a tiny bit upset that she did not catch the
humor in the character and the story.
GM:
Were there any unexpected challenges or joys in bringing this book to life that
shaped you as a writer?
DG:
I think I was surprised that I could write something that would elicit emotions
from ME! I wrote it. I know how it ends. But, I can laugh and I can cry at my
own writing. So the lesson is to bring out the emotion in myself; then I will
feel successful.
GM:
Which authors or books have most influenced your style and how do they echo
through your own writing?
DG:
I always like the stories that have surprise endings. In Stone Soup and
Crickets the Crickets part refers to the fact that some people will
eat crickets and love them. Other people will find them offensive. Much like
the story mentioned above, a particular story will be both offensive and
entertaining, depending on the reader. There are a few crickets in the
book, but I won’t try to judge your taste.
GM:
Do you have a favorite book you return to again and again and what makes it
timeless to you?
DG:
I always liked The Count of Monte Cristo. I don’t re-read it, but I will
occasionally meditate on its multiple messages; revenge, betrayal, justice. I
always like happy endings, but sometimes the appropriate ending is not happy.
My short story Diasperein is certainly not happy, but the ending is sort
of related to Monte Cristo in that the antagonist gets what she deserves.
GM:
What are you currently working on and how does it build on or break away from
your debut?
DG:
I am currently working on getting my memoir (Twenty Years With No Mast)
published. The challenges are different because the goals are different. In my
memoir I feel that my goal is to provide a message of “up from destitution,”
and I must present myself as a model of that message. The message is carried
forward in the same spirit as Twenty Years Before the Mast by Charles
Erskine except the life and cultures depicted are set in the 20th
century instead of the 19th.
GM:
How do you balance discipline and inspiration in your writing routine?
DG:
I never give it a thought. When I am writing I am focused without motivation. I
hate distraction when I am pouring words onto paper/keyboard. I sometimes have
to force myself to get on the computer, but once I get there, I have no trouble
keeping going. However, inspiration is tough. The best thing I can do is
challenge myself to write a certain subject or word, etc. The story Hokey
Pokey was such a challenge. The story Happy Birthday P U was a
challenge to write a story with dialog only – no interludes of author
describing the settings.
GM:
How does your philosophy on life shape the stories you tell and what truths do
you hope to illuminate for readers?
DG:
I really don’t cogitate on the meaning of life when I am writing. However, I
won’t write something that is counter to my belief system. The story One talks
about how we are all one, even in a horrific genocide. Replete talks
about caring for those we love without looking for reciprocity. Just God asks
us to think outside ourselves, to care for others above ourselves.
GM:
If you could distill your outlook on writing and living into one guiding
principle, what would it be?
DG:
Live what you write and write what you live.
GM:
What’s for lunch?
DG:
Fried baloney. DID YOU KNOW; in the 1960’s the Navy did a survey of what the
sailors thought of various meals. The favorite food: fried baloney. The least
favorite food: fried baloney. Go figure.
Connect
with Dale…
Buy the Book: Stone Soup and Crickets
Follow on Amazon: AmazonAuthor Page
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