AUTHOR'S BIO
The first writing Ralph did was in grade school. He wrote a comic strip called ‘McDroodle and the Devil’. Once a week he’d show it to whoever was interested.
“It was about a nerdy family man who is constantly tempted by the devil and then gets into various adventures. My brother did the art work and I handled the story line. Other than that I always had story ideas in my head but I didn’t start to write novels until 1981.”
Ralph was married to Toni Timm in 1973. Toni passed away in January 2016. Ralph has two grown children, Angie and Randy and four grandchildren.
Taking night classes, Ralph received his Computer Science Degree from Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL, in 1985.
Ralph joined his first writers’ support group in the early nineties, and has been in one ever since. He now belongs to the South Side Scribes in Palos Heights.
Since Ralph was a kid he performed magic and some ventriloquism. In July 1991 he got the opportunity to train with a local clown agent, Clowns, Characters and More.
“By late October I did my first birthday party. In December I played Santa Claus for the first time. I couldn’t believe I was having fun and getting paid for it. Now I had a weekend job working for a talent agent while I was a computer programmer during the week.”
After 9/11 there was an economic slowdown in data processing and soon Ralph was working part-time jobs, not related to computers, just to get by. A couple of years later, with that industry getting even worse, he went into my own entertainment business, Always Clownin’. He also writes comedy bits for a couple of clubs and teaches balloon art, magic and humor at a local community college.
Ralph has had various short stories published in magazines since 2002. In August 2007, ‘Pandora Spoxx’ was featured by Wild Cat Books in their monthly ‘Startling Stories’ Anthology. In June 2008, ‘Atalanta Alters the Tide of Alida’ was published in the ‘Heroes of Ancient Greece’ anthology by Night to Dawn Books. In March 2009 his first novel, Tandem Tryst was published, then in December 2012 his second novel, Witch's Moon was also published by Wings in December 2012. After Ralph’s short story Lucinda’s Secret was published in Night to Dawn magazine’s October 2013 issue, Midnight Mist, the sequel to Tandem Tryst, was published in July 2014. In July 2017 Lost Legacy, the sequel to Witch’s Moon, Ralph’s fourth novel, was published, all by Wings Press.
Ralph can be contacted at [email protected].
Friday, May 22, 2009 Interview with Ralph E. Horner by Linda Suzane
1. Reading your expanded biography, my question is how did you come to make the change from computer science to magic and humor? I'm sure there is a story there. Tell us more about magic and balloon animals. Does it support you?
Well, I’ve been entertaining since I was a kid, I just didn’t get paid for it. I performed magic shows for relatives and classmates. I also tried ventriloquism with my Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith dummies.
In May 1991 a relative, who was in a theater group, told me he was training to be a clown through a local agent. I’ve always been interested in clowns so I visited the agent and soon I was in training myself. By late October I did my first birthday party. By December I played Santa Claus for the first time at the local mall. I couldn’t believe that I was having fun doing what I love and getting paid for it. So now I had a weekend job working for talent agents while I was a computer programmer during the week.
After 9/11 there was an economic downturn in data processing and soon I was working part-time jobs, not related to computers, just to get by. A couple of years later, with my industry getting even worse, I decided to go into my own entertainment business, increasing the magic, doing ventriloquism and I now make over one hundred balloon creations. I also write comedy bits for a couple of clubs and teach balloons, magic and humor at a local community college.
The entertainment business only supports me in the summer, with company picnics, ball games and other outside activities, but the rest of the time I need a part-time job.
2. How did you become a writer? Is it a life long passion or a recent interest?
The first writing I did was in grade school. I wrote a comic strip called ‘McDroodle and the Devil’. Once a week I’d show it to who ever was interested. It was about a nerdy family man who is constantly tempted by the devil and then gets into various adventures. My brother handled the art work and I handled the story line. Other than that I always had story ideas in my head but I didn’t start to write short stories and novels until 1981. I joined my first writers’ support group in the early nineties, and have been in one ever since.
3. Is Tandem Tryst your first novel? Or first one sold?
Tandem Tryst is my fourth novel and first one sold. Before it I only had short stories published.
4. Tandem Tryst is a paranormal (time travel) romance. It is set in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Why originally Massachusetts 1893 as your first choice? Did you know about the Columbian Exposition before or was it a lucky coincidence?
I chose 1893 Massachusetts because this was originally a sequel of a time-travel novel about witches that took place around Salem. Since I didn’t want to wait for that novel to be published before anyone could read Tandem Tryst, I made it a separate story. About the time I decided to do that, my mother mentioned my story was the same year as the World Columbian Exposition, so I changed the location to Chicago, where I live. Because of all the history of ‘White City’ I was now forced to do extensive research that took more of my time than the actual writing of the story. But this gave me the opportunity to make people feel as if they’d actually gone back in time to the fair, which I I think makes it more memorable.
5. Which do you like better, writing short stories or novels? Which do you find easier?
Well, short stories are easier, but I like them both. It depends on the story and how deep you feel like going into a plot and characters.
6. Do you consider yourself a romance author? Or are you a fantasy author, whose story happens to have romantic elements?
I’m a fantasy author. Most of my stories do have romance elements, but not as strongly as Tandem Tryst.
7. Why aren't you on the Internet? And will you be?
I never had the need to be, but I’m planning on it soon.
8. What are you working on now?
I’m working on the synopsis/outline for the Tandem Tryst sequel called Midnight Mist. I'm sorry to say I haven't even started the sequel. I had a detailed synopsis of Midnight Mist and six chapters written coming off the original sad ending of Tandem Tryst where Melody dies, but since it's been changed I'll have to start from scratch.
I do like the happier ending better, but it set the sequel back six months.
9. Anything else you want to tell people.
As a paranormal time-travel writer my motto is “The only way you can travel back in time is through the imagination of your mind.”
The first writing Ralph did was in grade school. He wrote a comic strip called ‘McDroodle and the Devil’. Once a week he’d show it to whoever was interested.
“It was about a nerdy family man who is constantly tempted by the devil and then gets into various adventures. My brother did the art work and I handled the story line. Other than that I always had story ideas in my head but I didn’t start to write novels until 1981.”
Ralph was married to Toni Timm in 1973. Toni passed away in January 2016. Ralph has two grown children, Angie and Randy and four grandchildren.
Taking night classes, Ralph received his Computer Science Degree from Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL, in 1985.
Ralph joined his first writers’ support group in the early nineties, and has been in one ever since. He now belongs to the South Side Scribes in Palos Heights.
Since Ralph was a kid he performed magic and some ventriloquism. In July 1991 he got the opportunity to train with a local clown agent, Clowns, Characters and More.
“By late October I did my first birthday party. In December I played Santa Claus for the first time. I couldn’t believe I was having fun and getting paid for it. Now I had a weekend job working for a talent agent while I was a computer programmer during the week.”
After 9/11 there was an economic slowdown in data processing and soon Ralph was working part-time jobs, not related to computers, just to get by. A couple of years later, with that industry getting even worse, he went into my own entertainment business, Always Clownin’. He also writes comedy bits for a couple of clubs and teaches balloon art, magic and humor at a local community college.
Ralph has had various short stories published in magazines since 2002. In August 2007, ‘Pandora Spoxx’ was featured by Wild Cat Books in their monthly ‘Startling Stories’ Anthology. In June 2008, ‘Atalanta Alters the Tide of Alida’ was published in the ‘Heroes of Ancient Greece’ anthology by Night to Dawn Books. In March 2009 his first novel, Tandem Tryst was published, then in December 2012 his second novel, Witch's Moon was also published by Wings in December 2012. After Ralph’s short story Lucinda’s Secret was published in Night to Dawn magazine’s October 2013 issue, Midnight Mist, the sequel to Tandem Tryst, was published in July 2014. In July 2017 Lost Legacy, the sequel to Witch’s Moon, Ralph’s fourth novel, was published, all by Wings Press.
Ralph can be contacted at [email protected].
Friday, May 22, 2009 Interview with Ralph E. Horner by Linda Suzane
1. Reading your expanded biography, my question is how did you come to make the change from computer science to magic and humor? I'm sure there is a story there. Tell us more about magic and balloon animals. Does it support you?
Well, I’ve been entertaining since I was a kid, I just didn’t get paid for it. I performed magic shows for relatives and classmates. I also tried ventriloquism with my Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith dummies.
In May 1991 a relative, who was in a theater group, told me he was training to be a clown through a local agent. I’ve always been interested in clowns so I visited the agent and soon I was in training myself. By late October I did my first birthday party. By December I played Santa Claus for the first time at the local mall. I couldn’t believe that I was having fun doing what I love and getting paid for it. So now I had a weekend job working for talent agents while I was a computer programmer during the week.
After 9/11 there was an economic downturn in data processing and soon I was working part-time jobs, not related to computers, just to get by. A couple of years later, with my industry getting even worse, I decided to go into my own entertainment business, increasing the magic, doing ventriloquism and I now make over one hundred balloon creations. I also write comedy bits for a couple of clubs and teach balloons, magic and humor at a local community college.
The entertainment business only supports me in the summer, with company picnics, ball games and other outside activities, but the rest of the time I need a part-time job.
2. How did you become a writer? Is it a life long passion or a recent interest?
The first writing I did was in grade school. I wrote a comic strip called ‘McDroodle and the Devil’. Once a week I’d show it to who ever was interested. It was about a nerdy family man who is constantly tempted by the devil and then gets into various adventures. My brother handled the art work and I handled the story line. Other than that I always had story ideas in my head but I didn’t start to write short stories and novels until 1981. I joined my first writers’ support group in the early nineties, and have been in one ever since.
3. Is Tandem Tryst your first novel? Or first one sold?
Tandem Tryst is my fourth novel and first one sold. Before it I only had short stories published.
4. Tandem Tryst is a paranormal (time travel) romance. It is set in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Why originally Massachusetts 1893 as your first choice? Did you know about the Columbian Exposition before or was it a lucky coincidence?
I chose 1893 Massachusetts because this was originally a sequel of a time-travel novel about witches that took place around Salem. Since I didn’t want to wait for that novel to be published before anyone could read Tandem Tryst, I made it a separate story. About the time I decided to do that, my mother mentioned my story was the same year as the World Columbian Exposition, so I changed the location to Chicago, where I live. Because of all the history of ‘White City’ I was now forced to do extensive research that took more of my time than the actual writing of the story. But this gave me the opportunity to make people feel as if they’d actually gone back in time to the fair, which I I think makes it more memorable.
5. Which do you like better, writing short stories or novels? Which do you find easier?
Well, short stories are easier, but I like them both. It depends on the story and how deep you feel like going into a plot and characters.
6. Do you consider yourself a romance author? Or are you a fantasy author, whose story happens to have romantic elements?
I’m a fantasy author. Most of my stories do have romance elements, but not as strongly as Tandem Tryst.
7. Why aren't you on the Internet? And will you be?
I never had the need to be, but I’m planning on it soon.
8. What are you working on now?
I’m working on the synopsis/outline for the Tandem Tryst sequel called Midnight Mist. I'm sorry to say I haven't even started the sequel. I had a detailed synopsis of Midnight Mist and six chapters written coming off the original sad ending of Tandem Tryst where Melody dies, but since it's been changed I'll have to start from scratch.
I do like the happier ending better, but it set the sequel back six months.
9. Anything else you want to tell people.
As a paranormal time-travel writer my motto is “The only way you can travel back in time is through the imagination of your mind.”