Chat With Les: Anthony "Tony" Stauffer

This interview is part of a series of interviews collected for the ongoing column "Chat with Les" by Vocal Media author Call Me Les in the new Vocal Creators Chronicle. The Vocal Creators Chronicle is a free, online magazine. Les is both a columnist and a co-founder. Her column presents candid interviews with people from all backgrounds, and aims to examine the finer points in the lives of those around us, such as Tony Stauffer: veteran, father, author, LOTR superfan & chef!

Follow Tony's Work on Vocal Media & on his Meta (Facebook) Page

Interview

Q: What is an average day like for you?

A: Typically, I’m awake between 4:30 and 5 AM. I get myself ready for work and then wake up my three children for school before leaving for work at 5:45. I usually work until 3:30 PM, then I come home and get myself settled for making dinner and getting the house clean (all in coordination with my amazing wife). We then settle into our room around 8 PM for couple’s time and watching our favorite shows. My writing time is mostly found while I’m at work, as my type of work allows for a lot of down time waiting for something to go wrong.

Les says, Tony wrote about time spent with his family in an elaborate menu breakdown of his Thanksgiving feast! This entry includes some incredible recipes. I highly recommend giving them a read. I will be attempting the Chocolate Almond Cream Pie!

A Feast For Five

" A hearty, filling Thanksgiving meal is a great way to enhance the family atmosphere. When you’re all eating something delicious the smiles will infect everybody, the conversation will be more fun, and the whole experience will create a grand entrance to the holiday season. In that vein, I take the preparation and cooking of Thanksgiving dinner extremely seriously. I have my staple dishes, but there always has to be something different, and even the staples are can be slightly different from year to year."

Q: What or who inspires you?

A: I can be inspired by anything, but mostly it’s simply learning. I have a hunger for information, a lot like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit… “Need input!” I can also relate to Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation; in a scene where he is kissing a woman, when asked what he was thinking about, he listed off several things. The woman was glad that she “was in there somewhere.” But inspiration, on the grander scale, for me, is about treating people right, and recognizing the beauty in even the simplest aspects of the world.

Les' personal favourite of Tony's many works.

The Mathematics of Nature's Beauty

"The universe, and everything in it is mathematics. The body that you live in everyday, the consciousness that lives in your mind, even the etheric soul that drives you, it’s all mathematics. Nature is nothing but numbers. And they are beautiful!"

Q: What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen lately?

A: I would say that there are two things that belong on this list. First, Siobhan Flynn published a piece about Developmental Editing, something I really had no idea existed in the world of publishing. I can’t wait to use her talents on the novel I am currently writing. The other would be the connection I found between the Vikings and the history that led to the establishment of the United States. Again, history is always fascinating to me, and finding such interesting connections is like honey to me.

Vikings and the USA

How are the Vikings of old responsible for the eventual ratification of the United States Constitution?

To answer that question, we must travel to the Scandinavia of 13 centuries ago. It is theorized that nobles in Scandinavia, in the 7th and 8th centuries, enjoyed the right of polygamy. So many wives would these nobles have that there was a shortage of women for the general population of men. So, men being men, they resorted to more and more risky behavior to court those not yet married. They also banded together and tried to find women from outside their lands. Thus was born the Vikings, raiding and pillaging the coastlines of Europe.

Q: Why do you pursue your career and what is your niche?

A: If you’re talking about my current career, it just kind of fell in my lap as I was rebuilding my life. I operate what are called “short circuit generators”. They are extremely powerful electric generators meant to produce high currents and voltages for a very short period of time. The main goal is to test equipment that our clients bring in to ensure they meet national and global standards on electrical safety for use in commercial and industrial electrical supply applications. But, considering the technically savvy person that I am (thanks to nearly a decade in the US Navy as a nuclear propulsion plant operator), my current career is very much fulfilling.

The Chronicle was deeply honoured to feature Tony's writing this past Veteran's Day/Remembrance Day

If it’s writing you’re referring to, I pursue it out of pure love. I love to create; I love to take something mundane and turn it into the fantastical, something memorable. I love to take the reader on a journey, not just through my mind as the author, but also through their own mind so that they may find the fantastical.

"Writing is eternal; writing goes on forever, for there are an infinite number of stories to be told." - Anthony Stauffer

My goal is to take the reader on such a saga that they can’t wait to come back for more. If I never get the chance to make a career of it, I at least want those that read my works to never forget it. That’s why I wish I could have the reads that some on Vocal have, not for the recognition, but to know that my stories are reaching people, that they find meaning in it on some level. I want to entertain the masses with all that is in my creative mind.

Q: What is your best creation?

A: Hmmm… I would have to say that my best creation is something that nobody has seen yet. My most influential authors are Stephen King (as can be seen in my short fiction) and Tolkien. I know just about everything there is to know about Middle Earth, and I’ve used that as inspiration to write my own fantasy epic. I have a world that I’ve created, Gods to rule that world, and a creation epic that is nearly fully written. I have also developed my own speakable and writable language to be used as a base for language evolution in my world. Linguistics is a super-fascinating field of study, and there is a lot of understanding that goes into developing phonetics and syntax and the evolution of the language itself. Tolkien was absolutely correct when he said, essentially, that language rules the world. Maybe one day I will be at a point where I can publish some of that world.

A taste of Tony's ability to build a fantasy:

Q: What is your best accomplishment?

A: My best accomplishment is simply being able to put my stories out there for people to read. I’ve spent three decades trying to hone my craft, and it’s finally starting to fall into place, thanks to flash fiction.

Q: How do you pick yourself up after a failure?

A: I don’t have to pick myself up, I just simply continue on. It took Edison 209 tries to develop the filament for his light bulb, and when asked how it felt to fail 208 times, he replied that he didn’t fail, he simply found 208 ways NOT to build a filament. Failure is a state of mind which can be easily overcome with the right way of thinking.

Q: What quotes get you through the hard times?

“At some point, everything's gonna go south on you... everything's going to go to shit and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem... and you solve the next one... and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.” - The Martian

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - The Fellowship of the Ring

Les says, I turn to this LOTR quote often as well.

Q: What would you like to have remembered about you?

A: That I was kind, genuine, and entertaining. I’m never going to be famous, I accept that, but I will have a chance to leave a worthy legacy. And that’s all I can really hope for. And it’s also the only reason why I fear death. I fear not being remembered, whether by others or by my own soul.

Les says, this is one of the most insightful personal pieces I've ever read and does a far better job to show his readers who he really is than any external interview ever could. It's a gem of a read.

Q: If you could have a superpower, what would you choose and why?

A: Teleportation, without a second thought! To be able to see all of the amazing wonders of this world without having to use time or money for travel… Yes, please!

Q: What is one message or piece of advice you would give to your fellow creators?

A: Keep creating! Keep expressing yourselves! Keep opening up! If you’re fighting to find inspiration, just remember that you’re inspiring others! If you’re feeling down, or going through a rough spot, then be open and honest with your fellow creators. It will help you be open and honest with yourself, and could inspire somebody to something great and grand!

In Tony's words...

Trivia

Food: Hands down, garlic-crusted prime rib! I finally get to make my own for Christmas Dinner this year!

Pet peeves: Running/stomping on the stairs, not being well-spoken, not cleaning up after yourself

Books: anything by Stephen King or Tolkien, new fantasy author Ryan Cahill, and The Count of Monte Cristo

Movies: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Braveheart, Big Trouble in Little China, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Christmas Vacation

Hobbies: Politics, history, reading

Quirks: I’m an emotional person, but my wife says I have trouble opening up, and I believe her.

Night owl? Early bird? Early bird! I had to set my alarm for 11:50 PM last year to watch the ball drop on New Years!

What’s on Netflix? We don’t watch Netflix, but we do stream way more than we watch cable; we watch The King of Queens (my wife’s favorite), Home Improvement, Roseanne, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Supernatural

Hero: This is tough one, because I really don’t believe in heroes, per se. We have so many people that influence our lives. But, the fact that I seem to be turning into my father, I would have to go with him. I miss him terribly...

Happiest Day of My Life: It was July 18th, 2020. In the middle of a global pandemic, and after only five hours of discussion a couple of months before, my sister and her wife gave me and my wife our wedding day! It was a simple ceremony with just over ten people in attendance, and several more that joined us over Zoom. It was small, and it was perfect!

Fav Vocal creators:

Poets

• When it comes to poetry, it has to be Mike Singleton and Tiffany Gordon. I don’t have a favorite from either one, but Mike’s muse inspires him like nothing I have ever seen. Tiffany, well, I just love her raw, in-your-face poetry.
• Mike Singleton: I Want You
• Tiffany Gordon: Double-Feature

Series

• Melissa Ingoldsby and her "Bexley" series is fantastic. The visceral emotion in her every word is mesmerizing.
• Jason Ray Morton and his "Three Rivers" series. It is so inundating and suspenseful. I read all five chapters of his series in less than an hour, and I have to move on to chapter 6.
• Josephine Mason and her "Ramblings" series is superb! Her most recent is “14”, and I smiled ‘bigly’ when I read it.
• Daniel Millington and his “Random Musings of a Dead Man” series is incredible!

Bad habit: I’m a smoker…

Finale*

Q: If you had a theme song that played when you entered a room, what would it be and why?

One of These Days by Pink Floyd . The only reason would be that it’s just a badass instrumental! If you’ve never listened to it, give it a try!

~~~

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About Les & Why She Writes Her Column

"Understanding each other is the foundation for many of the great causes in the world. I can’t champion them all, but, like Dr. Roshdy states, I can make a difference by starting with one. Telling one person’s story, starting small by bringing their passions, frailty, hopes and humor into the world, is a way I can make a difference to many." -Call Me Les

*This question is dedicated to the memory of Les' writing partner, the late Tom Bradbury

First Published December 4, 2021 by Call Me Les for The Vocal Creators Chronicle.

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