Question:  Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Answer:  I knew it was a story--a distinctly American story--that needed to be told. Thankfully, I found a great publisher who felt the same. My book "GenTech: An American Story of Technology, Change and Who We Really Are" is a work I've been researching, speaking on and writing about since the early 1990s...nearly two decades! I've been studying generations, at least, that long. The idea for GenTech particularly came to me almost a decade ago when I was working on my doctorate and studying cultural change. In that work, I posited a theory that certain technologies (I call them "mega techs") have the ability to rearrange and reimagine cultural languages. In other words, they change how we communicate, socialize, learn, worship, transact and labor. A few years ago I started to consider how technology (like music)--particularly the tech that we "come of age" to between the ages of 10 and 25--give our generation its unique personality. We are part of the Radio or Television generations (not Boomers). Or the Space and Gamer generations (not Gen Xers). We are the Personal Computer/Cell Phone and Net generations (no Millennials). It was a better, more dynamic way of viewing American generations.

Question:  How do you get inspired to write?

Answer:  I wake up every morning inspired. I always have. My best thoughts and insights bubble in my sleep, sometimes even waking me up. It's why I do most of my writing in the mornings. By noon, I knock off and move to other things. I get inspired in my travels. Last week I was in DC and saw the U.S. Capitol. The architecture and history in DC inspired several thoughts for me this week (most of which I post to my Facebook friends). People also inspire me. I love biographies. I watch a lot of documentaries, history and human-interest television. I also read a lot in the same genre. I watch reality television for ideas. For me, everything is wrapped in a story or a metaphor or a visual. It's my job, as a writer, to find those stories, metaphors and visuals...then bring them to LIFE.

Question:  What are you currently working on?

Answer:  With my new book GenTech: An American Story of Technology, Change and Who We Really Are set for release in print on May 26, most of my writing is focused on blogging to draw attention to that book, and on writing content for workshops I am giving across the county on GenTech now. However, I'm always working on something. In 2020, I decided to test my poetry and songwriting skills. I'm working on an autobiography of my strange and crazy life. When I have time I working on a commentary for the book of Revelation (I'm a closet theologian) and testing a new book idea with a few of my closest friend.

Question:  What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Answer:  Nobody lands the lunker trophy fish on their first cast (even though that's entirely possible!). You learn to fish by fishing. It takes time, patience, persistence and a desire to learn the lake and the fish you are fishing.  It's the same thing about writing. No one lands the big book deal on their first proposal. I wrote my first nationally-published book when I was 25 (and it was a modest best-seller in its field), but I had already written three self-published books by that time and several published articles. I landed the lunker early in my career largely by luck and studying the market (no one had written on that topic). A lot of writers ask me how do you get a contract? I say "self-publish" and blog until someone notices you've got something worth reading. If no one is following your blog (it happens), start a new one on a different topic. I post daily on Facebook SOMETHING that's inspirational, helpful, memorable or enjoyable (and it's not political!). I have two main pages, MANNA! Educational Services International (https://www.facebook.com/mannasolutions4U/) and GenTech (https://www.facebook.com/authorrickchromey/ that I feed with new material. (We also have a Twitter page, @MyGenTech2020, and Instagram @MyGenTech, and being active on platforms where writers hang out is important) Writers are always writing. You can't help it. If you didn't, you'd burst. If you aspire to write, you must first perspire to write. It's that simple.

Question:  What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Answer:  The opportunity to see the world. If you can write AND communicate (speak), you'll experience the world on someone else's dime. I've personally paid for very few trips in my life but have seen every state, several nations in Africa, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Italy and Moldova (to name a few)...all paid by another person or organization. The more you travel, the more you have to write about too. It's a win-win.

Question:  How do you deal with writer’s block?

Answer:  I read. I experience (get outside). I look for inspiration in current events, biographies or history. More than anything, I just write SOMETHING. Most of the stuff I pen is throwaway, but in panning the dirt that's when the flakes of gold rise.

Question:  How do you manage self-care when sitting and writing for hours?

Answer:  I set a timer. If I am in a flow, and that timer goes off I know it is time to stand and walk. So I pick up my phone, choose my recording app and begin to talk away my thoughts as I walk, so I don't miss them. Then I go back and transcribe. I also drink a lot of water, as it keeps my brain functioning well. Another thing I love to do is walk in the grass in bare feet. It grounds me and keeps me moving forward. I am not a big exercise person, but I enjoy walking and meditation. Those things also assist me in managing that self-care piece.

Question:  What's next for GenTech?

Answer:  We are taking it on the road. Our plan is to do many book blog tours, and in-person bookstore events later in the year when the book comes out when is makes sense to move forward that way, and continuing to build out the speaking platform for the content. There is great demand for it, as we scramble to work well together with different ways of viewing life through technology, as well as educating younger people in the classroom about the importance of looking at who we are through the lens of technology and our coming of age years. Helping people move forward - helping our children move forward in a way that makes sense for a generation, not just basing it on the day we are born. There is also a workflow element to how we create teams in the workplace that I am teaching on, based on GenTech. The eBook is out now, and we have a bestseller party coming up on March 26th from 7-8pm EST, where it will be free on Amazon for one hour.