Hello, I’m Willie Handler.

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I’m not using a pseudonym (yes, people have asked it it’s a real name). I live in a classic bedroom community with streets and streets of identical homes just outside of Toronto, Canada. Just picture the fictional town of Agrestic, California from the TV show Weeds.

I’ve reinvented myself on several occasions through my work career. I’ve been a hospital administrator, a government policy wonk, an insurance expert and consultant.

Then I decided I wanted to write humour. 

Why humour? Humour is in my DNA. It’s part of who I am. When I was young, I actually wanted to be a comedy writer. But not being a risk taker, I went to grad school instead. I’m not one of those people who was an author at 11 and has always wanted to be a writer. I was reading at 4 but never thought about writing until recently.

My first novel, THE ROAD AHEAD, was partly about my previous career. I spent 30 years in government and had this story I wanted to tell. The second novel is LOVED MARS, HATED THE FOOD, a humour/sci-fi story. As for science fiction, I had a strong interest at a young age. I used to read authors like Robert Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Then I got away from reading fiction while I was working. I’ve sort of come back to it now but in a funny way. My third novel is DEEP INTO THE WEEDS,  a black comedy. If you are a Fargo or Breaking Bad fan, you will enjoy this story.

I get asked about my writing process a lot.

I am a totally undisciplined writer. I can be writing away furiously one day followed by a day of organizing my paper clips by size and color. I don’t do story plans or outlines. I’m strictly an organic writer. I only really know what will be in the chapter I’m currently working on. The rest of the plot is either fuzzy or undecided. I’m referred to as a pantser.

Why did I decide to go the independent publishing route?

I went indie with my first novel because I couldn’t find an agent interested in it. I know what writer hasn’t had that experience? Because the book was a satire of Canadian politics, I was limited to contacting Canadian literary agents, an extremely small group. None had any interest in the genre, me the story. Who knows? You never get read feedback.

What’s my plan to get my next novel published? 

Plan A is to contact every literary agent in the English speaking world. If that doesn’t work? Plan B is to pull a Rupert Pupkin (King of Comedy, 1982) by kidnapping a publishing executive and holding him or her ransom until my book is published. I probably should come up with a Plan C.