Dad Gives His Permission

Last month, the following was published on a blog called "Time to Write."

April 23, 2006

In the current issue of Writers Digest, there's a feature in which several successful writers talk about who inspired them. Actor and writer Ron McLarty (The Memory of Running) cites the late Roger Bowen, also an actor and writer. He says the first time Bowen met him, he gave him a copy of his self-published novel. McLarty says he was surprised at Bowen's confidence, considering he'd not been published commercially.

"I'm a novelist," Bowen said. "I don't need the publishing world to accept that fact for me to accept it...You tell your stories honestly, you work every day to improve your craft. You don't need to be knighted into a special writers' club by a publisher."