A conversation with Viney Author about writing, everyday people, money and hard work.
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When and why did you start writing books?
Thoughts come to me all the time, and I wanted to write them down instead of letting them disappear. I started writing because I wanted to share those thoughts with people. A book lets me take something from my own mind and put it in someone else’s hands.
Where do your story ideas come from?
Mostly from the people around me. Sometimes I simply imagine something. Sometimes an idea arrives while I’m at work, or while I’m scrolling social media and see something small. I can see a stranger on the road and a story starts running in my head.
Not long ago, while I was at work, I saw a grandfather crossing the road with his two grandchildren. His little granddaughter held his hand, walking slowly beside him. But her brother, just a small boy, was out in front, pushing a big stroller with both arms raised, almost running, as if he was leading the whole family forward. That small moment stayed with me. One day it will become a book.
How do you write?
Whenever an idea comes, I catch it. A lot of my stories begin with something I notice during my day, and I keep turning it over in my mind until it becomes a story.
Which of your books are closest to your heart?
Two of them. The first is Working Man Money Man. It is the story of every home. Everyone works hard, and earning money is difficult. After that comes the harder part: managing it, knowing where to invest and where not to. The book also talks about overtime, something almost every working person struggles with. People work extra hours and still can’t get ahead, and their bodies pay the price. Money problems live in every home.
The second is The Quiet Rules of Power, my book of forty rules. It took me a long time to write, and it means a lot to me.
If someone is reading you for the first time, where should they start?
Start with Working Man Money Man. It teaches you how to earn money and how to save it. When you’re ready for the next level, read The Quiet Rules of Power. It shows you how to deal with people without trying to dominate them.
One story in that book shows exactly what I mean. A broken printer caused a mistake at work. It wasn’t one young man’s fault, but his boss blamed him anyway. He stayed calm, accepted it and let it go. Another employee argued loudly that it wasn’t their fault, and he ended up suspended. A few months later, the young man who stayed quiet got a promotion. Real strength is often quiet.
Has a reader ever said something you still remember?
Yes. I went to a barber shop for a haircut, and while he cut my hair, we talked for about forty-five minutes. He asked what I do, and I told him I write books. I gave him a copy of The Quiet Rules of Power. The next time I went back, he had read it, and he asked me, “How did you write this? You’re still so young. How is that possible?” I told him I read a lot, I have read many books, and I keep learning from my own life. That is where the ideas come from.
Another time, a friend ordered one of my books on Amazon and told me, “You do this for the money.” I told him no. Writing is my passion.
What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Sometimes, while I’m writing a story, I start crying myself. Some scenes are really hard to put on the page. But I keep writing anyway, because if a scene moves me that much, I believe it will move the reader too.
What makes a good story?
Emotion. When you read a story, you have to connect with it. If you read one or two pages and feel connected, you want to keep going. You feel something inside, a feeling that tells you, “Yes, I just read something real.” A good story should give you that.
What do you like to read?
I love motivational books, the kind that push you to keep going when life gets hard. I also read about how a person can survive on their own: how to stand on your own feet when nobody is there to help you. And I read books about money, because I want to keep learning, and whatever I learn, I try to pass on to my readers through my own books.
What do you enjoy besides writing?
Talking with people. I love conversations, and so many of my stories begin with them.
What message do you have for your readers?
My goal is to help people understand how to earn money and how to grow it. I want to share some of my own journey too. Over the years I have invested in the stock market and in property, and I have built houses. None of it came easy. I learned everything step by step, with hard work and a lot of patience.
What is your biggest dream as an author?
Making money is not my motive. There are many ways to make money. My dream is simple: I want people to know my name, and I want to be able to help someone.
I don’t write for money. I write so that something I say might help you.
Have a story the world should hear?
If you have a powerful story, from your own life or an idea you believe people need to hear, write to me. I may turn it into a book, write it and publish it myself, with full credit to you inside the book. That is how What a Father Gives was born.
And if you’d like to share your thoughts about my books, write to me at hello@vineyauthor.com.