I was recently interviewed for the Crime Writers of Canada by Bob Harris, a Vancouver writer, book promoter and publicist. Below is the section on my life as writer and reader. How would you answer these questions?
The Writer
and Reader
Please
enlighten me on when you think you realized that writing was your destiny, even
though your website bio states, “I don’t’ know that there was one definitive
moment, event, or experience that led me to conclude my life would be shaped by
words.”
Growing up I
wanted to be a lawyer. I started university prepared to be a lawyer. Then I was
introduced to academia and research. I wanted to teach at a university and
publish papers in esteemed journals. Then I had a scholarship to get a PhD. I
was thrilled. I turned it down. I had a chance to go to Harvard to research
perceptions of time. I was thrilled. I turned it down. Clearly something else
was at play. I finally realized what I wanted to do with my life was write.
Describe the
genres you have pursued. What is your
preference?
I have
published poetry and literary short stories. I have published thousands of
articles in magazines and newspapers, online and in print. I have published
personal essays, usually humorous. More recently, I have published non-fiction
books and my first mystery novel as well as two mystery short stories. Whatever
I am working on at the time is my favorite.
Who and what
are your influences and why? And mentors?
My mother
taught me to love language – and to respect it. She cared about words and
getting the words right. She was my greatest influence.
When I was
about eight or nine, a next-door neighbor tossed me a Nancy Drew book. She
thought I might like it. I sat on the curb between our two houses and read the
entire book cover to cover. I loved the puzzle, figuring out who dunnit, and
being propelled into a world outside my own.
That same year
someone gifted me Charlotte’s Web, and my life was forever changed. Not only
could words transport you to new worlds, they could become a part of your
heart, change you in ways you could not have imagined. I wanted to do that.
As a book reader,
what genre appeals to your personal taste?
I really like
mysteries. When you’re busy, career focused, juggling meetings and deadlines
and interviews and research and editing and teaching and scurrying to find
something for dinner, there isn’t a lot of time for reading. As wrong as that
is, it is also a reality. So, I embraced the mystery genre and read as much as
I could as often as I could. That was sheer enjoyment.
I also wanted
my ideas to be challenged, my senses to be assaulted (gently but definitively),
and my heart to be broken. So, I read as many novels, especially Canadian
novels, as my mind, heart, and spirit could bear.
Do you have
an ideal reading experience?
There is no special
place for me when it comes to reading. Whenever I have a chance to engage with
a book, that is the most special of all places. Like a curb. My mother told the
story of one Christmas when I was about five. Turkey is in the oven, tree is
lit, gifts are being opened, bows and paper everywhere. It was all a little too
much for me. She turned to find me curled on the couch reading. I loved that
couch.
What books
have you read recently? What format--print, e-book? Do you listen to audio
books?
I’m trying to
reduce my screen time and I like to read before I go to sleep, so e-books are
not currently my go-to. I love the idea of audio books but have yet to delve
into that format. (I fall asleep to audio meditations, and audio books would
compete with that joy.)
I was a judge
in the recent Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence and read 43
wonderful, diverse, absorbing, and amazing novels. It reminded me to immerse
myself more and more often in Canadian writing.
How is the
library in your writing space organized?
Haphazardly,
with a whiff of organization. There is the non-fiction section, the
books-by-people-I-know section, my books, books on writing and editing, and
everything else, which is most of the books. Trying to find a mystery or novel
can be time consuming but it is time well spent. I get to scan shelves and
remind myself of all I have yet to read and reread.
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Nice interview. I've learned a bit more about you. Your Christmas memory brought up one of my own. I was about six and recieved a book, a chapter book, I never opened another present until I finished the book
ReplyDeleteGreat introduction. I always knew I wanted to write. I wrote poetry at age six. But as a teenager, I realized that I would have a lot more interesting things to write about if I had more life experience. So I set up to discover the world and myself in the process. Thanks for sharing.
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