INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- Tell us about yourself:
- Where do you live?
Midwest, Illinois on the outskirts of a small town, surrounded by farm fields, cows and horses.
- How long have you lived there?
22 years I moved from the city, the northwest side of Chicago
- Are you married?
Yes. This is my second marriage.
- Kids?
Yes. 3 two from my first marriage and one step-daughter
- Full time job?
Not anymore. I was hurt at work, which they fired me afterwards-legally ethically they shouldn’t have been able to do that. Having an employee that had been injured wasn’t the look they wanted people to see. Then I had a car accident, a college student on her cell phone. After that I had to apply for SSD.
- Education?
Some college, technical certificates. Writing certificates Oddly enough, I had a knack for computer programs.
- Who is your favorite author and book?
To pick a few, Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis Series; The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham; the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher; Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. I can go on and on. So many wonderful authors.
- What is your preferred genre?
I love all types. It really depends on my mood, mainly Science Fiction-fantasy-magical-romance…
- How did you start this journey to become a writer?
I was born this way. I started as a storyteller that got me in trouble as a kid so I ran with it.
- What have you written so far?
Lots of garbage- not really kidding. I have had a few pieces published short stories and poetry. I wrote for examiner.com until that site went under. I wrote apiece titled, ‘Noreen’s Piano Stool’ that was added to a site called ‘The League of Extraordinary Authors,’ I had a link for it. But if you click it now it goes nowhere. So always make a hard copy of your work, keep it in a file or a notebook. I have files full of pieces that need to be edited. Once the editing fairy shows up I will put her right to work. I have a Blog that I work on. http://mywalkingpath.com
- Tell us about your current book.
Current? Hmmm. I have been working on different books for years, I add to them, over and over. One story I wrote, just for me, is part Magical realism & Fantasy & Science Fiction it is set in a world like our own, mixed into an altered world. It is so mixed up I planned on sorting it out this year (tick-tock).
- What is the inspiration for your current book?
Oddly enough, most of my ideas came out of dreams.
- Who was your favorite character to write and why?
Someone who is a little strange and quirky.
- Is there anything of you in that character?
Maybe the confused character at the beginning.
- What sets your book apart?
Now that is the million-dollar question. I have no idea.
- What’s your favorite part in the book? (read it).. This is not from my book. It is from a poem.
MY FATHER’S SUITCASE
I have my father’s handmade, wooden suitcase,
With names of places, neatly printed, prominently displayed,
Pearl Harbor
Quarter inch pieces of wood
Carefully glued, nailed together
Eniwetok
Varnished to a deep, reddish brown,
Wooden grains visible,
with etchings of life scratched into its surface.
Saipan
Lined with a heavy, red piece of fabric,
Carefully folded to fit the interior
Iwo Jima
Crisply tucked into the corners
Then held neatly in place,
Okinawa
With rounded, tarnished, sliver headed,
Upholstery tacks
Manila
My father explained
He needed a place to keep his things,
Cavite
A place to keep himself
During the time, when life was one second at a time
Guam
This suitcase followed him through;
WWII….
The rest of the poem is here:
http://www.iwvpa.net/baughg/index.php
I noticed that my father’s name- under his picture- has been changed. His real name was; Robert J. Esterday
- What was the most difficult part to write?
The first five minutes, getting started is hard. There is always something calling me away, pretending it is more important that my creative self.
- What was your favorite book (story) to write? ‘Father’ I need to rewrite that piece. It was the first piece that I didn’t care how it turned out. I sold it (first rights) to the first place I sent it off to. Now it is mine to rework. I also, enjoyed writing ‘Noreen’s Piano Stool’
“Noreen clutched at the back of stool, she knew this was the last time her hands would touch where her mother’s hands had held so tightly. Her swollen fingers traced the design scratched into the wood. When she looked up, her mouth quivered, “I was always surprised that the stool never broke under all that pressure. Years after she died I pulled the stool out of the back of the closet. When I sat down the legs gave way under my weight. “She laughed, “And I was half the woman my momma was!”
- How do you write? Do you have a set time or place? How many hours a day?
No, and I wish I could set up a schedule. If I did I would get more done. I am more creative in the mornings. I will drag my laptop around the house, trying to find a comfortable spot, when I find it one of my cats will usually try to declare it their own.
- Why did you want to be a writer?
I just want to write, create people, characters, and animals. A lot of my pieces I wrote for myself or told as bedtime stories to my kids.
- How do you get your ideas?
I have no clue they just come from a word or a picture maybe some memory. Others from my life or people I know, or just observed. Mostly dreams.
- What do you have planned next?
To finally, categorically finish my novel- Just do it like you did, Laurie you are amazing.
Find out more about Gerardine at her website. http://mywalkingpath.com/