We recently connected with Gene Miller and have shared our conversation below.
Gene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
As a child, I grew up in a sleepy river community of Delanco on the South Jersey side of the Delaware River just 15 miles north of Philadelphia, I loved playing on and around the river with my friends The river and its surroundings was a neighborhood playground. It was our wayward “Water of Life.” Our tiny 3-bedroom rancher with no garage was located originally within a distant river view. As a baby boomer in the 50’s, the Delaware River was dredged to become deeper so that larger ships could head up north from Philadelphia to deliver and receive goods from Trenton. Once the spoils were dredged, they were dumped along the tree lined banks behind our home. I never had a river view as a child. The view from our back door was always the athletic field behind my house, the tree line, and the trapped pencil thin remaining water called “The Swamp” where we caught tadpoles, frogs, turtles, and launched our test rafts for the river flotations. Beyond the dredge spoils which we referred to as “The Dunes”- a monstrous 40-acre Sahara Desert look alike was where the river appeared. We played in those unrestricted areas swimming, fishing, floating rafts, firing bow and arrows and at times shooting river rats with .22 caliber rifles.
Until I moved away at 14 into the farm fields and forests of the Pinelands almost an hour away, the river was an everyday play partner. While adjusting into a new high school life in our new rural community, meeting new friends and playing sports, the river slowly faded. It almost became forgotten. Then in the Spring of 1973-junior year a baseball teammate strolled into History class with two albums under his arm-like he always did. As he settled into his desk next to me, he handed me the two rock albums. “Take these. Take them home and play them on your turntable. Both will change your life.”
When I got home after baseball practice, I urgently popped onto my turntable Greetings from Asbury Park-Bruce Springsteen’s initial offering to the rock world. I couldn’t remove it! That album rocked my world and Spirit in the Night captured my soul. The story telling of Crazy Janie and the Mission Man with Wild Billy down at Greasey Lake transformed me back to my hometown and the river. Greasey Lake wasn’t a river, but it was enough body of water to take me back home. A few years later Springsteen released “The River” and it was then I knew that someday I would have to share my stories of adventure and hilarious shenanigans as an adolescent growing up along the river.
50 years later, after a 44-year career in public education, having taught 7th grade Language Arts for four years in a junior high, having taught 9th and 11th grade English with History at Overbrook Senior Regional High School and coached all 19-years there, I had forgotten about my stories. Not even becoming an assistant high school principal in Hammonton, nor being the Hammonton Middle School principal for 16-years did the thoughts of story writing return to me. I was too busy with life and raising our three children. I went to Stockton University’s School of Education to complete my career as an adjunct instructor, yet writing a book about my stories of “Coming of Age” never entered my mind.
Then it happened! My son, Greg, and his wife, Jenny, gifted me Storyworth for Christmas 20221. A 52-week computer generated autobiographic set of questions about my life. Questions like, “What was your father like growing up? What was it like to get a driver’s license? What was your first car and where did you drive the first time? What was it like to receive a draft card?” Each week a question kept coming, yet life changes quickly at times. My mother became ill, was placed in hospice and I stopped replying to the weekly questions of Storyworth. By December a hardback book would be bound as a gift to your family members, but by September I had only answered six questions. My son reminded me that he and his wife were looking forward to the book at Christmas, in fact the entire family expected a copy. By the end of September, I had nothing. I began to deeply consider my options about writing about my life. The questions kept arriving and I kept avoiding the answers. Then lightening in a bottle struck! I had two grandsons on the verge of middle school! I would write some stories for my grandsons to read about my adventures in Storyworth and the misguided attempts to grow up along the river, The Dunes and The Swamp! I would go back to the story styles found in Springsteen’s Greetings from Asbury Park and The River.
This sounds blasphemous as a writer drawing upon–I know-Rock & Roll. The Boss left an eternal impression upon me in his lyrics and music. I read as a middle schooler Mark Twain and enjoyed his adventures along the Mississippi; I was hooked on adventure. As a high school teen, I was able to decipher some of my teenage angst through Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. I even witnessed evil in Steinback’s The Pearl; however, I still retreat to Springsteen’s Greetings and the characters surrounding Greasey Lake as the ignitor to my writings. As a college English/History major I studied Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinback, yet once again for my writing inspiration it took me down to Springsteen’s river.
Eventually, I supplied enough stories to fill the book with over 300 pages, and my family was impressed by my stories. I was still teaching at Stockton University and a colleague there and two former colleagues inquired about the stories. I reluctantly shared them, and their positive responses indicated I had written publishable stories that would teach life lessons to middle level readers while attempting to grow up. It apparently was a “time capsule” read for adults too! Adult readers would be transported back to 1965 to 1970 and their middle school experiences. After 18 rejections, 1 resubmit, and 9 ghosted responses I decided to self-publish with a reliable publisher, Palmetto Publishing. I could not wait forever to get this book off of the ground. The original colleagues interested in my stories became my Beta readers. They each had to select five of the thirty stories from Storyworth to publish. Their selections were cross referenced, and 12 stories were decided upon from my Beta readers. I added three more that I enjoyed that they did not select.
In May of 2024, I decided to fire up a test flare for publishing the book and marketing it. WARNING: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have Cooties! was going to be published, but was it good enough to sell on Amazon Books, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble? Would others outside of friends and family desire to read it? Self-doubt had finally crept in. I turned to Reedsy Discover, an online book publishing/marketing company. I requested my first review. This would decide if the book would be further marketed or just remain available to immediate friends and family. When the Reedsy Discover review arrived four days before my book came out, an unsettled feeling came over this first-time author. “Am I good enough? Is my writing good enough not to embarrass me? Will my stories appear boring and foolish? Will anyone buy it?”
A reviewer by the name of Vincent G. penned one line with, “The book is a blend of Tom Sawyer’s mischief, Stand by Me’s nostalgia, and The Sandlot’s exuberance.” He gave it a Must Read and the Trophy Award–the highest recognition a book reviewed on Reedsy could achieve. It was bound for market! A couple of months later while attempting for improved marketing, I sent it out for reviews again to two major national reviewers. In September the first review returned from a major mid-West review company. They hated it! They liked nothing; my title, my cover, my stories, my attached classroom lessons, and my illustrations-NOTHING! My heart dropped, my stomach ached. Was I delusional? October came and that loving feeling was returned by Kirkus Reviews in NYC. “A remembrance that’s full of delightful, nostalgic turns. Get It!” I was redeemed! Now a 5-star book on B&W, a 4.7 star on Amazon and Goodreads, I am now a published author!
Gene, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I became a writer by accident. The Christmas gift of Storyworth, an autobiographical computer-generated question a week for 52 weeks led me into writing my first book, WARNING: Short Stories for Middle School Boys Only, Because Girls Have Cooties! I thank my son and daughter-in-law for that push into the direction of writing, something I always desired to do, but had or made no time. Life gets busy you know. I am most proud of the reviews the book is receiving on Amazon Books, Goodreads, Listopia, and B&N. Professional reviews have embraced it as well. What sets my book apart in its unique qualities is the fact that it is written from an 11-year old’s point of view while growing up into middle school from 1965 to 1970. A time before the internet, cell phones, XBox and laptops. It’s designed to be a middle level read, yet adults are truly enjoying being transported back in time to their childhood. So far most of my book sales and reviews have mostly come from adults.
If a reader selects this book either for a middle level reader or themselves, I guarantee adventure and after Chapter 2 “A chuckle a chapter.” There is great humor in all of the stories after Chapter 2. The book won a prestigious national first place award for humor! The adventures are hilarious. Each story is a standalone. They aren’t too long. It holds the attention of middle school readers because each chapter reads fast. It was designed especially for middle school boys (my grandsons), yet female protagonists exist in three of the stories. One of my grandsons doesn’t like to read. You have to hook that kind of nonreader first. Despite the title there are female characters throughout the stories. Do not think it’s only a boy read. Each story teaches a life lesson about growing up without being preachy. That is a couple of reviewers’ revised quotes.
Personally, I believe what draws the readers in beyond the hilariousness of each story is that in 15 stories there are 14 different themes. Bullying in school is a common problem today and is a theme in two short stories. Other variety of themes include work ethics with summer jobs, danger and being careful, scouting, camping, baseball, playing in a school band, life threatening adventures, fashion from the 70’s and in general life lessons about growing into a young man. That means discovering girls! The themes just go on and on and are changing with every short story. It touches everyone because of the changing themes, and everyone must go through adolescence. I believe that with each person having to pass through adolescence, the stories of “WARNING…” resonate with preteens and adults. It’s the secret sauce so to speak. As an adult, I ended up pretty well-rounded established through all of the variety of themes.
Finally, a special addition to the stories is Chapter Lessons for each story in the back of the book. Parents should explore that section first. I read where Scholastic Books would entertain a manuscript without a literary agent when I could not land one. That was in November of 20222. I spent the next three months designing student centered lessons to go with each story. I included the introduction of New Vocabulary, Critical Thinking questions, Cross Curricular Research Ideas, and Writing Prompts. I also followed those with a Literary Terms section and different types of story conflicts. All of the lessons place the student reader in the center of the story and have the readers make comparisons to growing up in their world. Two examples would be included in a story chapter such as fashion and music of today.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Sure. Being a no name first time author and approaching publishing, you have to grow thicker skin and become resourceful and very creative. I queried over many months. I was a cardiac patient for the first time during Covid in 2020. In April, I was told in the hospital that I had 2 blockages. They immediately sent me in an ambulance to a heart hospital for a by-pass. When they did the camera exploration into the heart, they discovered five blockages-three in my window maker (LAD)! I received five stents. Shortly after cardiac rehab I returned to teaching at the University. In 2022 is when I began writing the short stories. I felt an urgency to complete them for my middle school grandsons before something really bad occurred.
As I was finishing up the stories in 2023, another cardiac incident happened in May. I was sent straight to the heart hospital AGAIN and they thought I may have had a stent blockage. As it turned out I had developed 3 more new blockages-two in the widow maker (LAD). I could no longer wait to publish coming out of the hospital. It was now “All Hands-on Deck”, let’s get published! I was referred to a trusted publisher, Palmetto Publishing, and became an indie author, My book officially came out on June 27, 2024. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!
I had no idea as an ignorant and naive new author that once your book’s manuscript gets written, edited, then published, if you want to sell it, YOU have to market it. I now have spent the last year trying to get the book out there for readers and I’m hoping that my readers’ review comments that this book would be a great streaming series gets selected. I have presented in two schools during Read Across America Month and it went outstanding. The irony of it all is that in its first year, book sales have been steady. It’s been so steady that Palmetto Publishing has provided me with an incredible new cover for Year 2. I designed my own due to costs at the start, but it’s now been promoted to a professional graphic artist design. I love Palmetto Publishing’s new cover. It truly captures the adventures in adolescence!
The new cover with reduced pricing lands by September 15, 2025. So, you can’t sit back and think, “Wow! I wrote and published my book, now everyone is going to read my story.” Not true. Marketing is the next piece that has to follow as an indie. If you study querying as a new author, it could land you a literary agent with one of the Big 5. I believe I did not query well enough.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I have been a natural storyteller since I was a child. I also have been an educator at all levels for forty-four years. My goal is to write a collection of short stories that entertains and makes people laugh. The stories are light but true. As the educator in me I would like the middle level/YA readers to be entertained as well as learn something about life along the way. Adolescence means change, and we all must pass through it. I desire to let the young readers learn from my mistakes; reflect on similar bad decisions they have made and move forward making better informed decisions. Going through those pre-teen years is hard. Everyone must go through those developmental years. You are leaving childhood where you entered as a toddler. In childhood, everyone is supporting the small elementary child. Everyone with a high school teen is worried about the acquisition of a driver’s license, the car insurance, speeding tickets, accidents, sex, their GPA and what college are you getting into, or what occupation out of high school will you desire to enter. In high school when I was a kid, we were worried about the Vietnam War and the draft. If you didn’t go to college, you had a good possibility of being drafted. If you chose college, our draft status was deferred. The draft was a great incentive to get good grades and to get accepted into a college back in the 60’s and early 70’s. Today’s adolescents don’t have that kind of pressure, but boy do they face other modern kinds.
Being in the middle grade means you are in the middle of your personal growth process. But parents many times focus on the elementary or the high school years and leave the middle ones to coast. Coming of age is a process. It just doesn’t occur once, it’s ongoing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.genemiller56.com
- Instagram: genejohnmiller56
- Facebook: [email protected]
- Linkedin: [email protected]
Image Credits
Alexa Carini (Lex Marie Photo)