Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a former journalist for print media. I started writing as a columnist for the “Czechoslovak Newsweek” based in NYC and “Prague Reporter” based in Prague, Czech Republic. That was the only time I wrote in Czech in 1990-1993.
Later, I worked for both daily and weekly newspapers covering hard news and human- interest stories in West Michigan. This included photography. While working for the Ionia Sentinel-Standard daily newspaper in Ionia in the early 2000s many of my stories were syndicated by the Associated Press (AP.)
Human interest stories like the story about a guy who used to work in the Belding silk mills inspired my fiction short stories such as historical fiction“Silk Nora” in the “Shifting Sands Short Stories collection, Book no. 2 “Shifting Sands: Secrets.”
Hard news stories inspired my fiction as well. I covered extensively the ousting of the Otisco Township supervisor in a conflict with a local pig farmer due to the stench from the large capacity operation that impacted the supervisor’s recreation ranch on the Flat River. The opposition was led by the herdsman’s wife Deb. Drawing on this experience, I penned the story “Iron Horse” in the book no. 1 “Shifting Sands: Short Stories.”
In 2012, I switched to digital journalism on the WordPress platform which resulted in creating my blog “EW Emma’s Writings.”
Throughout all my stints, I freelanced for the “Grand Rapids Magazine,” “The Lowell Ledger,” the “Grand Rapids Press” and “Advance Newspapers.”
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my new book is “Greenwich Meridian Memoir” with the subtitle “Where East meets West.” Our family immigration saga from former Czechoslovakia to the U.S. spanning two generations inspired the memoir.
What actually made me sit down and write the memoir was a flashback to my naturalization on Aug. 18, 1999, at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. The Ionia Sentinel-Standard ran a story about the naturalization, which was syndicated by the AP and I received congratulatory phone calls and cards from all over Michigan. I thought if all these readers are interested in our immigration story, I could write a book about it. However, it wasn’t until the Lowell Ledger proof-editor actually asked me to write it sometime in mid-2000s, that the idea finally got embedded in my mind. The actual “butt in chair” time behind the computer screen goes back to 12-12-2012 and I had to quit my job to get serious with this challenging project. The memoir encapsulates five decades of our lives traveling across three continents: Africa, Europe, and North America.
The major challenge was to overcome the emotional impact of diving into the past, that hasn’t always been pleasant. I had to use all sorts of tools to bring back the memories such as souvenirs from our travels, documents, postcards, and mom’s album.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When the idea for a story is fusing in my head, I have to be by water outdoors like a lake. There’s something about both the flow and the resilience of water that brings all the story elements together. Whatever I come up with I write down on mom’s iPad.
I also have to meditate, do yoga, and walk on the treadmill to achieve balance on all fronts. Sometimes ideas come to me on the treadmill.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his “100 Years of Solitude”, Paulo Coelho with “The Alchemist,” Earnest Hemingway with “The Old Man and the Sea,” Tennessee Williams with “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” Mario Puzzo with “The Godfather”, Vaclav Havel with “Letni Premitani” and Romanian poet Valeriu Barbu with his collection of poems “Heretical Soliloquy.”
What are you working on now?
Starting on Nov. 1st I will participate in the annual National Novel Writing Month known as NaNoWriMo with my brand-new project “Shifting Sands: Steel Jewels.” This will be the third book in the Shifting Sands Short Stories collections. My goal is to write 12 to 15 short stories depicting charismatic and egoistical characters. All my short stories are considered mainstream magic realism genre.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method for promoting I have is my own website. You can visit me at emmapalova.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Explore and get to know yourself. Consider what you like to read and what kind of movies you like. Start out small with short writing exercises-outbursts of writing. Figure out your genre.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You need to write daily.” Editor-in-chief Peter Bisek of the Czechoslovak Newsweek advised me.
What are you reading now?
“Heretical Soliloqui” by Romanian poet Valeriu Barbu.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will write a screenplay based on the forthcoming book “Greenwich Meridian Memoir” slated for Nov. 12 publication on Amazon.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Poetry and short stories. Poetry by Charles Baudelaire “Les Fleurs du Mal,” “Sudden Fiction,” Emily Dickinson’s poems, and “The Alchemist.”
Author Websites and Profiles
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