12 Questions With Brian O’Mara-Croft; Author of Lost in Hive

It’s an honor and privilege to present today’s Q&A session.

Please give a warm welcome to the talented and always funny Brian O’Mara-Croft, author of Lost in Hive: Confessions of a Reluctant Drone.

In this interview, Brian discusses his life as an author and a family man and the impact both have on his life.

Q: Tell us a little about your background.

A: For the longest time, I believed my formative years were “normal”. I thought public nudity, foot fetishism, punching myself in the face for attention, having my mother blow-dry and curl my hair every morning and indulging a two-pack-a-day smoking habit were just “kids will be kids” behaviors—what you’d expect of any fourteen-year-old.

When friends registered shock at my stories (like when they found out my mother bankrolled this smoking addiction for years), I realized my entire history to that moment had been an exercise in becoming as accomplished an idiot as humanly possible. I was okay with this. Everyone likes to know they’ve arrived.

I’ve always been happiest when making others laugh. If any joke fails to inspire gales of laughter, I presume my “audience” is grumpy—that’s always preferable to critical self-examination. When my wife was in the hospital being evaluated for a heart transplant, she was stingy with her chuckles. I guess life-threatening illnesses make people especially grumpy. Still, as one chapter of Lost in the Hive demonstrates, even in the darkest hours one can find ways to lighten up. With so many things in the world to bring us down, I want to be one of the people who shoves a ray of light through the clouds, if only for a while.

Q: Describe Lost in the Hive and how the title came about.

A: Lost in the Hive is a celebration of the insane yet glorious moments that punctuate everyday life. While I use my own experiences to shape the chapters, readers will see themselves and their own questionable decisions in many of the stories. Lost in the Hive is full of what most of us think but may be hesitant to say aloud. It’s all good, naughty fun. A hive works well as a metaphor for the life I’ve been living, because as one person in a household of seven strong personalities, in a world that is increasingly crazy, it’s no stretch to picture oneself as an inconsequential drone.

Q: Who inspired you to write Lost in the Hive?

A: Every strange and wonderful person who has crossed my path inspired me. I would never have written the stories were it not for people who laughed when I shared these experiences with friends and family. And, of course, without my wife telling me she would read the book even if she wasn’t married to me, I don’t know I’d have found the confidence to see it through. I am so, so glad I did. I hope readers will agree.

Q: Lost in the Hive is a collection of humorous essays. When did you begin your very first essay?

A: Well, the coy answer would be to say I started these stories when I started living them, because the chapters capture moments from my childhood through to present day. I wrote the first story in the collection, “Shoo Fly Try,” two summers ago. It remains one of my favorites. My wife despises the insect world; by contrast, it loves her. The existence of Patty and houseflies in the same space makes for very compelling humor.

Q: You write what many men will only think. What’s the secret to speaking your mind without getting in trouble with the wife?

A: Who says I’m not in trouble with my wife? Patty has shuddered, twitched, choked, snarled, sighed and gasped as she’s read drafts of my stories. Who can blame her? Two of the chapters are titled, “My Wife Told Me Not to Write About Sex” and “I Thought I Told You Not to Write About Sex.” But, as she cringed, she also laughed. At the end of the day, she knows my best voice is an unfettered one. I adore her for this.

Lost in the Hive is not just a story for men. Any woman who has ever known a father, brother, husband, son or male friend will find my voice familiar, if outrageous. To date, any time I’ve shared a chapter at a book club or other event, women were laughing just as hard as the guys. If I didn’t reach all tribes of people, I would feel I’d missed the mark.

Q: Give us three reasons we need to pre-order Lost in the Hive today.

A: Because I have an extensive directory of where everyone reading this lives. Okay, that’s not a real answer. Here are three reasons:

1. There just aren’t enough books out there that devote entire chapters to the finer points of both masturbation and gardening. Some may consider this dearth a good thing. Apparently, I do not.
2. My publisher is a growing, independent publisher that is really great to independent bookstores. That’s a gentle way of saying that without a huge publicity budget behind my book, the chances of my ever being called “the heir apparent to David Sedaris” (I came up with that one myself) depend a great deal on grassroots, word-of-mouth enthusiasm from readers such as fans of this blog.
3. You’ll laugh. You DO want to laugh, don’t you?

Q: When you received word that your very first book, Lost in the Hive, was being published, describe this experience.

A: I think I peed a little.

Q: How has your wife and five kids influenced your writing?

A: They didn’t just influence it; they lived it. They are all over the pages, and they’ve been great sports about it. They bring humor to my life. In the book, I pass this along.

Q: Lost in the Hive will be published in just over a month! How has it changed your life thus far?

A: Well, we just installed the gold-plated and diamond-encrusted hot tub…and I get dressed more often than I did in the past. Oh, and we’ve made a clean break from most of our friends. I’m lying. In truth, my world is pretty much the same. I’ve enjoyed meeting more people in the publishing world, which has been wonderful, and I feel very loved by all the people who hope the book will be a big success, but I’m still the same guy. Our phone number’s still in the book. I still put my spandex pants on one leg at a time.

Q: Your book will be published soon, a second book of humorous essays is in the works and you’re also co-authoring with your wife Patty. What’s next?

A: That’s not enough? Between promoting this book, writing two others, being a husband and father and trying to pay the bills with a day job, I have plenty on my plate. Any more and I wouldn’t have time for drinking and television.

Q: What advice could you give authors looking to catch a break and take their work to the next level?

A: Xanax…lots and lots of Xanax. If you want to be a successful author (says the writer whose book hasn’t even hit the shelves yet), I believe you must write in a compelling way, have a unique voice, take responsibility for spreading the word about your work, and do just about anything to make it succeed. Oh, and grow a thick skin. You’re going to need it.

Q: You’ll be a very busy man with your book publishing soon. Can you provide the schedule for your book tour?

A: Sure. Oh, wait. Book tour? I’m going on a book tour? We’re launching the book with a fun party in my hometown (Old Towne Books & Tea, Oswego, IL) on June 18, and I’m doing a signing on June 19 at the Glen Ellyn BookFest. I’m sure there will be other events; I just don’t know what, when or where they’ll be just yet. I keep people posted on my activities on my Facebook fan page, on Twitter and on my humor blog. I hope to meet lots of you; thanks for thinking about my book.

About the Author

Brian O’Mara-Croft is author of soon to be published Lost in the Hive: Confessions of a Reluctant Drone. Lost in the Hive is a collection of true stories which focus on the “self-deprecating and laughably unfiltered view into the daily mishaps of a man who wants to rule his suburban family, but is little more than a drone in the hive” as Brian says it best.

Brian is maintaining a busy schedule, writing his second book of humorous essays and co-authoring with his wife Patty about the struggles with heart failure.

I wanted to give a special thanks to Brian for taking the time to share his experiences with us today. To learn more about Brian O’Mara-Croft, be sure to become a fan of his Facebook Fan Page, follow his Lost in the Hive Blog and pre-order Lost in the Hive, which will be published June 1st.