Dale T. Phillips

Stephen King was my college writing teacher, and I’ve got a number of short story collections published. I’ve also published a horror thriller, over 30 short stories, poetry, and a non-fiction career book, How to Improve Your Interviewing Skills.

I’ve appeared on stage, television, and in an independent feature film, Throg. I competed on two nationally televised quiz shows, Jeopardy and Think Twice, losing on both in a spectacular fashion. I co-wrote and acted in The Nine, a short political satire film. I’ve traveled to all 50 states, Mexico, Canada, and through Europe.

Visit me at www.daletphillips.com

 http://daletphillips.com/Book_page.html

 Do you belong to a critique group?

Yes, it’s part of my obsession for quality. I’m with five talented writers, and we exchange editing on our writing. Everyone looks at a piece differently, so there’s value in the multiple perspectives. For example, writing from the viewpoint of another gender is difficult, so with both men and women in the group, we get great feedback. When your writing passes the quality test of other professional writers, you can feel good about what you’ve created, and know that the reader is getting well-crafted work.


What is one strong memory that has stuck with you since childhood…and why?

I was in my early teens, walking down a lonely country road at night, in the winter. There came a soft crunching in the snowy bushes beside the road, as if an animal was stalking me. Struck with sheer terror, I walked faster- and the noise kept up with me. No cellphones then, I had to deal with whatever was making that horrible crunching sound. I gulped and stopped to face my fear. The noise continued, and I was then curious. I determined to move toward the sound, and eventually discovered that it wasn’t an animal at all, but sound of the ice crackling in the frozen river, carrying a further distance because of the cold. So a good lesson learned about dealing with fears, because much of the time they aren’t real.

What is your greatest fear?

Of dying before I get more stories told. There are a lot of planned books, including several series, and I keep a list of over 200 story titles I want to write.

What do you want readers to know about you that’s not in your bio?

My writing has strong moral themes, and is more than just entertainment, although that has to be present as well. Even though I write in many different genres, the tales have a purpose. In an early interview, I said that I write to help people deal with death, pain, and monsters.


What is one of your favorite quotes?

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity — Horace Mann   *****I love this quote!!!

Dale and I met through a small press publishing house. He’s written tons of books, both fiction and non-fiction. Here are a few of his covers, but please go to his website and buy link to check out all of his titles.

BIG Texas Thank you, Dale, for taking part in Five on Friday!