Volume 78, Issue 26 Web Edition SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
April 5, 2013
Visiting author Tommy Hays talks about life, family, and writing
By Kyle Jackola
Staff_Writei^_
More often than not, readings by guest
authors are hit-or-miss events at Brevard
College, but Thursday night’s Grace Creech
Lecture featuring local author Tommy Hays
was well attended by students, faculty, and
community members. Hays held an informal
public question and answer session earlier that
afternoon to talk to students and faculty about
inspiration for his books, his family, and life
as a writer in Western North Carolina. Before
the reading, several students and faculty had
the opportunity to have dinner with Hays and
listen as he delved more into his personal life
and what he enjoys doing for fun at home in
Asheville. At 7:30 p.m. in MG 125, Hays read
selections from three of his books, one of
which is set to be released this September.
Hays is a soft-spoken, gentle looking man
who grew up in Greenville, SC and attended
Furman University for his undergraduate
degree. He said his decision to be a writer
was both easy and difficult at the same
time. “Both my parents were writers when
I was younger,” said Hays. “My mother
wrote for a newspaper and my father wrote
for magazines. This meant I was sort of
immersed in the writing culture from the
beginning. When I went off to Furman, I
chose to major in English because I knew my
parents would be supportive of my decision.
However, after a while, I also found them to
be two of my biggest critics.”
From growing up in a house of writers.
Hays said that his experiences from his
youth became a natural starting place when
he began writing novels. Hays mentioned
that he drew from events in his life, but
always tries to start fresh with a place and
people in that place. “In The Pleasure Was
Mine (St. Martin Press, 2005) the story grew
out of my family dealing with my father’s
Alzheimer’s,” he said. “I wrote 200 pages
of memoir about it before I ever wrote the
novel. I documented a lot of our discussions
because I thought ‘I’m losing my daddy and
I want to remember our last times.’ I worked
hard to write that all up, and after a year they
moved my father to a nursing home, which
became really depressing because he lived
in Greenville and I lived in Asheville. It was
really hard on me going back and forth and I
didn’t think I could sustain that much longer.
But then I had people read it, and one was my
agent who told me to set it aside and write
an informed story about Alzheimer’s but not
let it be about me and my family.” Hays set
aside the initial memoir and took a few years
to write The Pleasure Was Mine and used his
experience with his father and other family
members to help shape the characters and
events in his novel.
When asked about his particular writing
process. Hays gave the same advice that so
many writers have before him. “It’s important
to pick a time of day you can work, and stick
to that time every day. I like to write in the
mornings between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.,” he
said. “I find it extremely important to write
every day, because otherwise I lose track of
where I stopped and I lose some emotional
momentum. Even if I check in with my
characters for half an hour, like if it’s a bad
day, I still find that helpful. I also allow
myself breaks: 1 drink tea, get up and look
out the window, sorta spy on the neighbors
and see what’s going on, and then I get back
to work. I always sit back down at my desk
and keep writing. So that’s the main thing,
just going through that ritual every day.”
Hays newest novel. What I Came to Tell
You, is set to be released this September
with Egmont USA publishing. The novel
is classified as young-adult literature, but
Hays said he had no intention of writing for
a particular audience and that the story just
lent itself more naturally to a younger crowd.
When asked what it was about, he replied
“Ha, I’m not entirely sure myself, but you’ll
have to wait until September to find out.”
For information on Tommy Hays, to view
samples of his works, or to contact him, visit
WWW. tommyhay s .com
LU

O
LU
APRIL ^
5-18 I
LU
CO
SAVE THE DATE . FOR HOUSING
Housing Selection Process by Classifications
In the Dining Hall Lobby from 11-2 & 5-7
MUST BE PRE-REGISTERED FOR CLASSES
Monday,April IS
Super Seniors
Tuesday, April 16
Rising Seniors
Wednesday. April 17
Rising Juniors
(Held at the Porter Center During Lunch)
Thursday, April 18
Rising Sophomores
m
D
>
m