 Arthur Gee was born in Moldova and raised in a house where Russian literature and the early Soviet dissident movement shared the dinner table. He settled in Brooklyn in the 1980s and spent nearly forty years writing code instead of stories . . . until the quiet isolation of Covid reignited an old creative itch. Now the author of two published poetry collections (with a third on the way) and a novel accepted for publication, Arthur is back at the page in earnest. In this conversation he talks candidly about the lessons of rejection and resilience, and what it means to keep going when the work still feels unfinished. His answers are honest, practical, and full of hard-won perspective, especially for anyone who has ever wondered whether it’s too late, or whether the years away from the page were somehow wasted.  If you could go back to your early writing days, what one piece of advice would you give your beginner self? I published my first short story in a “little” magazine when I was in my twenties. But a few snail-mail rejections from Asimov’s magazine and I gave up. Life interfered is an easy excuse. Getting better requires practice. I missed nearly forty years of it. What rituals or tools help you stay productive without burning out? I work on a shorter piece: a short story, a poem, a Medium article, even a joke. How do you tackle writer's block when you're stuck mid-plot or with a flat character? Plotting is not a particular strength of mine, and so I’ve gravitated to historical retellings, where history has graciously provided a skeleton (or two) for the plot. That same historical framing also helps to put meat on the bones of my characters. What's your secret to creating characters that feel alive and unforgettable? Do you start with backstory, flaws, or something else? Complex, certainly, though it’s hard to avoid archetypes entirely. Both of my books are multi-POV so it gives me ample range to explore. The key characters, good or evil, are typically someone who’d I’d be interested in having a conversation with. Revision can often feel endless. How do you know when your book is done? The cliché is it’ll never be perfect. I read (or better yet have it be read) out loud. When it sounds good even after a few weeks away from it. It’s ready.
From querying agents to hitting bestseller lists, what was your biggest publishing hurdle, and how did you overcome it? Bestseller lists are still in the future, unless one counts momentary blips from Amazon free offers coupled with BookBub promotions. I’ve attended several seminars on querying, but ultimately, my query results improved when I stopped following templates and started writing queries that felt more authentically mine. How do you balance writing with the business side—marketing, social media, or day jobs—and still protect your creative energy? I have somewhat of an advantage knowing social media marketing pretty well from my previous life. I’ve not yet pulled out all the stops there – there are no BookTok videos of me out there. Stay tuned. What's one book (or author) that transformed your writing? Dan Simmons, when I realize that one can write, literate, erudite, bestselling fiction on the themes I’m interested in. After years in the industry, what keeps you excited about writing? Being read. I recently published a short story on Amazon, as an experiment. Most reviews asked for it to be turned into a book. Maybe I will. Every writer faces self-doubt. What’s a moment in your career when you questioned your work the most, and how did you overcome? I’ve discovered that I really, really like playing with words. So even though I’m not expecting a random house call from Simon or Shuster, I’ll keep doing it.  Learn secrets and proven paths to finding an agent with the book GET A LITERARY AGENT. The guide explains query letter writing, submission dos and don'ts, how to craft engaging opening pages, synopsis FAQs, nonfiction proposal tips, literary agent pet peeves, and much more. How do you reconcile the tension between writing what you love and writing what the market demands? Have you ever regretted following (or ignoring) trends? An agent recently told me they loved reading my latest WIP, but that they probably couldn’t sell it. I’ve no desire for it to become a posthumous classic, nor to be a tortured genius, but I’ve even less desire to write anything that’s not uniquely my own. YouTube videos out there assure me that the path to success on Amazon is “low content books.” Get thee behind me. What’s the hardest storytelling lesson you’ve learned—perhaps a technique or perspective you initially resisted—and how did embracing it elevate your fiction? Proper filtering for POV is perhaps the hardest. I’ve never struggled with natural dialog, but letting dialog breathe, without too many he said/she saids, without crutches like shrugged and nodded, was a hard habit to break. When crafting a novel, how do you decide which themes or messages to weave in without making the story feel preachy or heavy-handed? I had to be particularly careful with A King’s Lot, which is after all a story of the rise of the Biblical Israelite monarchy. Among my toughest scenes were scenes dealing with the prophet Samuel's struggle with syncretism – for exactly this reason. I’d like to believe I’ve succeeded, but ultimately readers will decide. Was there ever a time when you had a project fail—a book that flopped, or a rejected manuscript? Did that setback teach you something unexpected about yourself, your craft, or your career? Rejections plenty. But I’m pretty resilient. Looking back on your career, what are you most proud of? For my writing career, without question the moment Sonnet Station was accepted for publication. Finishing A King’s Lot, all 93,00 words of it, a close second. Success can be as daunting as failure. After a major win (like a dream contract, a bestseller, or an award), how did you handle the pressure? I’ve published two poetry books and have another one and a novel accepted for publication. Hollywood hasn’t called yet, but I suppose I’ll have to deal with it when it comes. What advice would you give new writers chasing their first big break? Everyone wants to have written, the cliché goes, and AI has made that possibility real unfortunately. The problem with AI is not how well it writes now, or will in the future. The problem is that everyone has the same AI. Be sure to develop a voice that's uniquely your own -- and not AI. Looking back, what’s one choice you made early in your career—about your writing, publishing, or mindset—that you credit for your longevity as an author? Perseverance, and a thick skin. If you could leave one word of advice for future writers, what would it be? Read.  Born in Moldova and fluent in multiple languages, Arthur Gee grew up in a house where the great Russian novel was as likely a dinner conversation topic as the fledgling Soviet dissident movement. His fascination with "pulp"—Asimov, the Strugatskys—was frowned upon, but excused. After all, the boy could quote Pushkin chapter and verse. After settling in Brooklyn in the early 80s, he dabbled in occasional short stories but spent the bulk of his career writing code, until the dark days of Covid reignited his creative itch. Now working on his second novel, with two published poetry collections and a third one on the way, the happily married father of three and grandfather of six splits his time between New Jersey and Texas.  This post was compiled by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and Executive Aide for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  Pitch Agents at a Writers Conference in 2026:
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