Sci-Fi writer adds variety to Ames reading series
MEGAN R. ROONEY
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John H. Ames Reading Series featuring Robert Reed
When: Tonight at 7:30
Where: 3rd floor, Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 S. 14th St.
How Much: Free
Robert Reed's short attention span keeps him and his readers on their toes.
Reed cannot do any one thing for too long or he gets bored. The exceptions to this general trend are his love of running, writing and his family.
Tonight, Reed will appear as a John H. Ames Reading Series reader at the Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 S. 14th St., at 7:30.
``I'm just kind of geared that way I guess,'' Reed said. ``I really get bored very easily. When I read now, I don't tend to finish books.
``I have a short attention span and that applies in my writing things, too. I have to do different things or I get bored.''
As a long distance runner, Reed has logged close to 60,000 miles in the 33 years since he started training for marathons.
``A friend in high school said, `there's a marathon in six weeks,' so I said let's do it,'' Reed said. ``I've been running since the Yom Kippur War.''
Although Reed earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1987 from Nebraska Wesleyan University, he found a day job as a short fiction writer.
2005 marked the publication of Reed's 140th story. Also in 2005, Reed published 15 works - a personal record.
Reed's need for variety translates into a wide range of inspirations for his stories. In addition to writing science fiction, Reed has tried his hand at fantasy and horror.
``I've made a couple of attempts to write a thriller, but they didn't sell,'' he said.
Reed is one of only a handful of science fiction writers featured in the 20-year history of the John H. Ames Reading Series.
A native of Omaha who has lived in Lincoln for many years, Reed is fairly typical of the John H. Ames Reading Series readers, many of who are from one of Nebraska's biggest towns.
The seeming bias toward local, rather than statewide authors, is not intentional, but coincidental.
``We don't pay Ames readers other than mileage. Sometimes people happen to be in town at a convenient time; sometimes they just want to read,'' Meredith McGowan, curator of the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at the Bennett Martin Public Library wrote in an e-mail interview.
Although Reed does not do many book reading events, he has a game plan for the Ames Series.
``There's one story I'll definitely read, `The New Deity','' Reed said.
The story was inspired by a trip to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln track, where Reed runs every Tuesday. The story runs parallel to the search for a new football coach.
Reed is not an overly aggressive self-promoter. He writes for the sake of writing rather than for the money.
``This is not a money thing, it is a prestige thing,'' Reed said. ``No major publishing company is going to be interested in my collections. I'm no Ray Bradbury.''