The Block Island Times recently spoke to writer Joe Houlihan about his new book, “Tangled in the Web,” and a little background about his writing life.
Q: Most writers seem to know they want to write at an early age. Is that the case with you? When did the writing bug hit you?
A: When I was a kid I spent lots of time alone and developing narratives in my head. I’d make things up to entertain myself. I also liked to mimic people and goof on them with different accents for my own enjoyment. I never read a book for more than five minutes. I was a type A kid — always on the move. I was also a terrible student, stayed back in seventh grade, developed a very bad attitude toward the nuns and raised hell. I never put a sincere word on the page until I was 14. Everything I did in school was the minimum. I hated school. Then, I had a punitive writing assignment in ninth grade. I had to stay after school and write about, as the nun said, “Where you belong in the world.” It was a heavy question for a