“Put on your blinders.” It’s really kept me moving forward.

Over the years, whever I was feeling down on my writing-either from self-doubt or external influences-I always remembered her words. You know the kind that people put on horses at the sides of their eyes so they can focus on the road ahead? Like that. Rachel Cohn-co-author of Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, author of the Gingerbread books and most recently the sci-fi novel, Beta-once told me that distractions come from all directions and that as a writer, we need to keep our “blinders” on.īlinders. What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author? What better way to replenish brain cells than by sharing thoughts, sharing stories, of all sorts, with one another?

Recently, I’ve felt that actual, real thinking is a valuable commodity. In my own work, creating those worlds is even more satisfying.īetter than helping us escape, stories also make us think. I love finding a world in a book in which I can submerge myself for a week or two. Why is storytelling so important for all of us?įor me, both writing and reading are an escape from the stresses of reality-living and working in NYC comes with plenty of stresses. With their advice, and a lot more work on my own, I finally felt comfortable submitting a manuscript to a publisher. But when I moved to New York City in 1999, I was lucky enough to meet a group of like-minded people who were kind enough to offer helpful criticism. It took years and years for me to show my writing to anyone after that. I loved the reactions I would get from my friends, and I think that was probably the spark that led me to eventually putting words down on paper. I always tell the tale that my friends and I would gather in my neighborhood after school to share ghost stories, trying to see who could freak everyone out the most. Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer? He's probably working on something new this very minute! A traveling bathing suit sales-dude.ĭan now writes full time. While exploring various artistic options, he held a number of jobs in New York City including: a floral groomer, an audience-wrangler for a popular game show, a computer analyst, a chemotherapy-unit assistant, and a traveling bathing suit sales-dude. (He hopes they weren’t screaming in fear.)ĭan ended his promising acting career to focus on other endeavors. Subsequently, he toured the United States playing ultra-challenging roles such as Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Shoemaker in The Shoemaker and the Elves to packed houses filled with literally thousands of screaming children. Dan currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with two scaredy cats.ĭan graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in theater.

During his pre-teen years, his family moved to Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Dan Poblocki is an American author of mystery and horror novels for young people.

The ghost of graylock by dan poblocki