1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
My father’s love for the English language and the power of words. He used to repeat phrases from famous poems or speeches, caressing each word. Maybe that’s why I majored in Journalism at Rutgers and ended up as an advertising copywriter and author for many years. I still get excited when I come up with a way of expressing an idea I’ve been searching for. In my advertising life, I ended up creating the emotional “Kodak Moment” campaign. From Kodak Moment to Good Dick, Bad Dick is quite a leap, I guess, but it’s for a good cause.
2) What inspired you to write your book?
Ten years ago, an art director and I worked on a comic book about the life of a cartoon penis. It was funny but mostly just a bunch of clever puns, and I stopped working on it. A year ago, as I listened to so many reports of famous men assaulting women, I suddenly thought about the book and turning it into a bigger, more important idea. I wanted to use the cartoon character to teach some bad “dicks” what they’re doing wrong to women by using the character’s own life’s story as a reformed bad dick. It could still be very funny, but do some good in the world.
3. What theme or message do you hope readers will take away?
If you see yourself on these pages, get over yourself. If you can’t do right because it’s right, you’ll pay a price for mistreating women.
4.What drew you into this particular genre?
I grew up in a time when it was common to treat women like objects and possessions. I know the mentality. And then I thought about this idea I had which was an unusual way for guys to allow the message to sink in. It’s not as if they would be hearing the message for the first time, but using humor might be a new way to get through to them.
5) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Facebook ads were tremendously successful at getting likes. Amazon refused to let me advertise the book. They admitted it was helping the feminist cause, but they
couldn’t get past the title and visuals which violated their content guidelines. Really a bad decision. I’m just starting to try blogging sites like yours.
6) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Love what you’re writing and the writing experience itself. When you’re not writing, read, so you’ll know how high the bar is and how much you need to improve.
7) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I’m working on an unusual self-help book that explains how we cause a lot of our injuries and our pain ourselves by the way we move incorrectly, and how to easily prevent it.
Author Anthony Avina's Blog 