Teacher and writer James Van Pelt lives in Grand Junction on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies. There, he teaches high school and college English and is raising a family. Somehow he also finds time to write some of the most popular science fiction and fantasy being published today.
Van Pelt the Writer
Although his work is definitely in the realm of the speculative, Van Pelt's stories often intermingle elements of science, fantasy, horror and mystery. His work has appeared in well-known magazines such as Analog, Asimov's, Talebones, Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales and Amazing Stories. Jim's 2009 release The Radio Magician and Other Stories follows two previous short story collections Strangers and Beggars, and Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories. His only novel (so far) is Summer of the Apocalypse, published in 2006.
Van Pelt has been teaching for twenty-eight years and has been writing at least that long.
"I started teaching in 1981," recounts Van Pelt. "I didn't get really serious about my writing until a couple of years later. That said, I'd always considered myself a writer. When I was ten I remember going into the science fiction section of the library to see where my books would be shelved. They'd be right between Jack Vance and A.E. Van Vogt."
Van Pelt continues. "I actually submitted poetry to magazines when I was in elementary school, which probably shouldn't count. When I got serious in 1983 or so, I started submitting stories to the magazines. My first sale was in 1990. You can see the whole list of sales at my blog. I think what kept me going is that I never truly thought I would succeed. Writing was fun, and marketing was fun, and I didn't think too much about the rejections. I knew I was going to get them. When I sold my first story in 1990, I was much more surprised than my wife. She had a lot of confidence in me."
Strangers and Beggars, and Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories are usually found in the Young Adult sections at the library. Summer of the Apocalypse contains darker and more adult themes, and Van Pelt doesn't necessarily consider himself a writer for younger readers.
"Neither Summer of the Apocalypse or any of the short stories were written with young adults in mind. The stories were all sold to the adult magazines. That said, I do return to young protagonists fairly often, so I think I'll keep writing works that YA readers might like. The novel series I'm working on now, the Low High books, are definitely YA."
Van Pelt the Teacher
Anyone who has tried it, knows that teaching is demanding. Van Pelt has found a way to balance teaching and writing. Can one profession inform the other?
"There's a lot of crossover between the teaching and the writing as far as craft goes. I'm constantly thinking how to teach writing skills while I'm also working on improving my own skills. Sometimes something I discover while I'm writing goes straight into the classroom, but also while trying to teach something I'll figure out a problem I've been struggling with in my own work."
Balancing Responsibilities
At some point in the day, a writer has to write.
"I've learned to write in the small spaces in my day. I can get a half hour in before school most days, and another hour before I go to bed. If I can finish 200 words, I count it as a good writing day. The secret for me is to never miss a day. I started my current streak on Sept. 20, 1999, and I haven't missed a day since, including the one where I had kidney stones removed."
As evidenced by the recent publication of The Radio Magician and Other Stories and the hint of a whole new series of novels in the works, for James Van Pelt, this is clearly a method that works.
AIC101
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