Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve lived in Minnesota all of my life. Writing was a choice while I spent many hours in music, almost going for performance. In college, I wrote for the college newspaper and after jobs in publishing and reporting, I obtained an M.A. in writing at the University of Minnesota. Now I have three books published and another forthcoming in July. I also manage an internet bookstore.
The House in Windward Leaves was my first published book, self-published. It’s a comic fantasy for children.
Curiosity Killed the Sphinx and Other Stories won the Prize Americana and was published by Hollywood Books International. It’s a collection of short stories.
Newly released by Silver Knight Publishing is The Wide Awake Loons, a middle grade novel that unites two stories, those of kids at a lake and a family of loons.
In July, The Swan Bonnet will be published by GMTA Publishing. A historical novel, it is set in Alaska when swans were much endangered.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Wide Awake Loons was inspired by my lake stays in Northern Minnesota. My grandparents had a cabin there and eventually, there was another family cabin nearby. During my childhood, I also spent vacations at resorts and during college, I worked at two resorts. I listened to loons all of my life and I think it is the loons and their setting that inspired the book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I recently bought a tablet that can fit in my purse. All the time that I was writing, I would say after an hour or so of creative work in the morning, “Don’t think about it until tomorrow. It’s too hard to think without a keyboard.” But while walking or going about my day, I would decide on something in my book. That would seem like a revelation. So now I have a tablet with me. Walking is often a time when I decide the next day’s lines.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many. Roald Dahl and E. B. White influenced my children’s work, besides others. I would say that Katherine Anne Porter and D. H. Lawrence influenced my short story work.
What are you working on now?
I am actually working on a nonfiction book for children. The project was outlined years ago but now I find, with the internet, that research has become quite interesting. But especially, there is recent archeology concerning the project that makes it even more challenging. I’m not certain how this book will work out because I usually write fiction. I might get started soon on a historical fiction project I’ve been planning for awhile, set in the Midwest.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Blogs. When I self-published, I went to book review blogs. Some featured my book and that, with reviews, might have been the best boost.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
This is a piece of advice I got when I first began taking classes: “Write on something you care about. That’s the most important thing.” A new writer might emulate another writer, as painters study a great painter, but they will learn authorship finally by writing their own story.
After a story is done, it needs editing. It doesn’t seem that great writers needed editing but I suspect they did. You’ll want to do as much as possible at your end. That will impress editors.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I’d have to say that it came from editor submission guidelines: Send your best work. That meant finally to me that everything I sent should be my best work. It wasn’t about picking my best work. It was about doing my best work before submitting. It took a long time to understand that.
What are you reading now?
I usually read three or four books. I sell used book because I still love books before our time. I’m reading Lost Illusions by Balzac and King Solomon’s Mine by H. Rider Haggard.
The two new books that I’m reading are Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff and The Doll Collection by Joanna Stephen-Ward.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure. The projects I mentioned above are in process or planning. I’m writing children’s work right now. But I’m involved with other books being published. I have other books that are seeking a publisher or my decision to self-publish.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Wow. So I’ll just say Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
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