Chris Wallace is a creative source.
As an actor, he was a regular on the hit daytime drama, All My Children, created the role of The Half-Percenter in Joe Papp’s production, Mondongo, appeared in countless television programs, including The Incredible Hulk, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour and had a starring role in the holiday horror classic film, New Year’s Evil.
He earned the Silver Award at the New York International Film and Television Festival for In the Balance, a film that advocated sustainability and common sense in wildlife management. It was also singled out by the Department of the Interior as one of the best films of its kind. Chris wrote, narrated and wrote the musical score for that film.
He performed on several children’s television programs in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Jacksonville, singing his original children’s songs. In Hollywood, he performed them for all denominations of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. He created a musical, A Special Thing to Be, at the Los Angeles Children’s Museum that featured his kids’ songs and the museum’s children’s chorus.
He wrote the songs for two children’s theatre productions in Hollywood, Hooray, Here Comes the Circus and Sleeping Beauty; wrote and performed the songs on Strong Kids, Safe Kids, a video produced by Henry Winkler for Paramount that dealt with the protection of children from sexual molestation and exploitation. He created his first musical revue, Greatest Hits, in Hollywood, which played several venues, including Carlos ‘n’ Charlie’s on Sunset Strip and The Backlot in West Hollywood.
Upon relocating to Australia, he produced A Helping Hand at the Victorian Arts Centre, a benefit for Quadriplegic Hand Foundation; wrote book, music and lyrics for Nothing to Wear, a musical based on “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” also produced at the Victorian Arts Centre. He created a one-man show, A Thing of Shreds & Patches, for the Melbourne Fringe Festival; created another one-man show, The Mark Twain You Don’t Know, which toured Australia, then Pacific Palisades, California, and played in New York City on the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain’s death. He created several cabaret shows for The Butterfly Club in Melbourne, most notable of which was Les Femmes which featured an all female cast. He wrote, produced and performed in Huckleberry: A Musical Adventure which premiered in Melbourne.
Which brings us to The Dreaming Team. This is his second book. The first, Hollywood Mosaic is written under the pen name, Pete Joseph.
You can visit his website at www.olentangymusic.com.
Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Chris. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?
The Dreaming Team is the second book I’ve written. The first was Hollywood Mosaic.
Q: When you were published for the first time, which route did you go – mainstream, small press, vanity published or self-published and why or how did you choose this route?
The truth is that when I wrote Hollywood Mosaic, I didn’t even look for a publisher. I self-published and uploaded it to Amazon just to see something I’d written out there in the world.
Q: How long did it take you to get published once you signed the contract?
With The Dreaming Team, I did try to find some publishing interest without success. I felt the story was so important that it would find its audience, so I self-published once again. To answer the question, I didn’t sign any contract.
Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
Since I did the publishing myself, I didn’t have that moment of euphoria that I expect you’d have at a time like that. And although I can’t recall exactly how I celebrated, if I was true to form, I just looked at it on Amazon with a satisfied smile on my face.
Q: Since you’ve been published, how have you grown as a writer and now a published author?
Writing is something I’ve employed as a craft through most of my creative career. It’s part of my DNA. I think that every time I write anything new, no matter what the subject matter, growth is part of the process.
Q: What has surprised or amazed you about the publishing industry as a whole?
The publishing industry, per se, isn’t on my radar. I suppose it goes without saying that because I’ve written books, I’m part of it in a larger sense. But Random House and Harper and whoever else and I aren’t in active communication, let’s put it that way. So, nothing has surprised or amazed me.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?
Definitely the most rewarding thing is hearing how people react to the story and what their take is on certain scenes or characters or social situations. I put a couple of things in the book that I knew would provoke a reaction. It’s great to hear how people took them. So, reaction and response rate high up there with me.
Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
I don’t claim to be any kind of teacher or advisor on writing, but I do know that if there’s something you feel you need to do in Life, whether it’s write or sing or act or sculpt or repair clocks or whittle wood, you don’t ask anyone; you just plunge ahead, putting one foot in front of the other until you arrive someplace.
Beyond the Books 