Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a freelance writer and editor who has been writing since I was a child. I have actually completed several books, including a young adult novella, a full-length literary novel, a collection of linked personal essays (a sort of “memoir-in-essays”), and a collection of poetry. So far, I have only published one book–my poetry collection, though I came very close with my essay collection and novella. I have yet to shop around my novel as I am still working on revisions and rewrites.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a collection of poems, Swallowing the Stem of Adam’s Apple.
It includes poems I’ve written spanning over a 20-year period, from my early twenties to my early forties. Mostly, the poems are a record of my childhood experiences and how the trauma of familial dysfunction impacted my adult relationships, especially my romantic relationships with men.
As I was also raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school for twelve years, my writing is heavily influenced by and often includes Biblical references. Hence, the title of the book, referring to my poem “Stem,” which is a sort of re-telling of the Garden of Eden allegory.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My most unusual writing habit is that I don’t really have any specific habit. Often when I read about successful writers, there is this layout of a stringent schedule: waking up early to work X amount of hours every single day, or maintaining a certain evening schedule after other daytime commitments have been met. But I don’t have a set schedule. I’ve written in mornings, afternoons and in the evenings. I have gone through periods, usually when working on a specific project, where I write loyally on a daily or near-daily basis for however many weeks or months until it is completed. But otherwise, I also have periods where I don’t write much and take a break. I write in many different genres, and different topics draw me to different forms of writing, so sometimes I am pulled in different directions.
Depending on the genre or format, I will keep different kinds of schedules and maintain different habits. For my fiction, I tend to like quiet. For poetry or journalism, I sometimes prefer music or even sometimes the white noise of talk radio or television news in the backdrop.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
For my poetry, there can be no doubt that I was heavily influenced by the Confessionals, especially Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Additionally, Audre Lorde became a staple of my reading and her tone and style definitely also have affected my own. Early on, as a young teenager, I was a fan of the Romantics, especially Percy Bysshe Shelley and I still adore his flair and attraction to macabre themes. For essays, I think James Baldwin is the master and I am ashamed to say I barely read him until a few years ago and now I am hooked.
What are you working on now?
I completed my novel last year, so I am slowly working through revisions. I continue to write poems, articles, and essays on an array of topics and themes as inspiration strikes.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mostly boost my book on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read as much as possibly can. Expand your horizons to encompass authors of different races, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, and religions than your own. Constantly challenge your perspective. Then find your voice/style and hone it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
To read a lot.
What are you reading now?
I am between books. I just finished reading The House of Erzulie by Kirsten Imani Kasai, which was fabulous.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish up revisions of my novel and begin submitting to agents and indie publishers. To keep chipping away on my collection of essays. To continue writing articles and essays on pertinent social issues.
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?
The Black Unicorn by Audre Lorde
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
Written on the Body by Jeannette Winterson
Probably a book of poems by Pablo Neruda and/or Mary Oliver
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