Writer Showcase: Jim Bottomley
Why do you write?
I may forget the name of a person I’ve met, but I’ll never forget their story. As an only child, I created make-believe characters and filmed neighbourhood friends to make movies. At first, I thought that if I could write a good enough novel, there’d be a movie in it, so left traditional work to write. Ended up forging a career as a professional speaker, telling stories for audiences to change lives. A favourite pastime, writing songs that tell stories. For me, it’s not why do I write; it’s what I am. I love telling stories.
What are your preferred genres?
I also love originality, so genre benders and blenders are my favourites. Unfortunately for me, that’s made my novel Hypnotizing Lions a tough sell, because it’s almost impossible to pin down. A psychological thriller and murder mystery, yes, combined with a love story, for sure, but also involving a prison escape, speculative fiction, horror, fantasy and sci-fi. Overall, genres are less important to me than experiencing stories that surprise.
What started you writing?
For me, toys were only story props. It’s always how I rolled. But many writers speculate that childhood trauma fires story-telling as a way to heal. There’s truth to that. As a young child, my mom abandoned me, so that made make-believe an escape, almost a necessity.
What was the first piece of writing that you were really proud of?
The super-8 movie I made as ten-year-old, THE MAD MURDERER.
Given my answer to the last question, maybe childhood trauma does serve as inspiration. The power of story-telling to illuminate.
When did you realise that writing was going to be an integral part of your life?
I saved some of the posters for the super-8 movies I made, knowing this started me off on the road to live a life to tell stories. Since then, I made many life decisions based on their story value. Work at a psychiatric hospital. Backpack around the world. Make a living as a futurist. Move to places of wild beauty. Again, I wonder if there’s any choice in this.
Why did you choose this particular piece to post on showcase?
DROPS OF WATER, a song/poem written in one creative gush, taking about twenty minutes, one of those magical things that comes to artists rarely, almost out-of-body in nature. It poured out of me onto paper, then I called Mike Day, my song-writing partner in Well Spaced Trees, and the whole song flowed out of us fully formed. Sung in 4/4 time, it tackles big life questions.
What is one thing that is unusual in terms of your individual style?
I hope to surprise you.
In a plausible way.
And make you think.
Because everything changes.
What are your long term goals as a writer?
Write. Launch my novel this year, the first in a series. Finish the current screenplay. Write songs and shorts. Entertain and enlighten.
Drops of Water
Do we need another purchase?
Will a makeover set us free?
Will a bigger house make us happy?
Please quit texting and look at meYou say we’re all drops of water
In the boiling bucket of lifeOur lives a bubble bursting forth to have a shot at sight
We flip into this world, tumble into space
And the emotion of our journey
Returns to the human raceWe’re all bubbles in the sky
Sparkling in the sun
What we’ll learn about this dance
It’s not about us. We return to oneWhen you drink the water
Thank the people who dug the well
When you feed your children
Thank the farmer in the dellWhen we wish upon a star
When we gaze around the room
When we wish for better presents
Think of the cow that jumped the moonWhen you cash your cheque
Think of the beggar in the ditch
Think of Einstein with his itch
Think of Ulysses with a twist
Think of Marx with his tomb
Think of Lennon with his tune
Think of Churchill with his cigar
Think of others…. You’ll go farIt’s not what you say, but what you do, that screams
You say we’re all drops of water
In the boiling bucket of lifeOur lives a bubble bursting forth to have a shot at sight
We flip into this world, tumble into space
And the emotion of our journey
Returns to the human raceWe’re all bubbles in the sky
Sparkling in the sun
What we’ll learn about this dance
It’s not about us. We return to oneWhen you kiss your loved one
Thank the universe for life
When you chew your steak
Think of the cow that gave her lifeWhen the bell chimes three
I know now… losing everything sets you free
When the lights go out
Let’s raise our glass and shout
Thank God there’s loot under our tree