INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FROM MY EDITOR (March 18, 2018):
Describe yourself in one sentence.
I am an empathetic human being who resides in my imagination almost as much as I do in the real world.
What is the one writing rule that you live by?
A bit of humor sprinkled in can make even the most boring prose tolerable. (If that’s not an actual rule, it should be.)
What inspired you to writer?
After shaking my family tree, a few interesting characters fell out who wanted me to tell their stories.
Do you share any characteristics with one of your fictional characters? What are they?
I believe I do. Claire Brenner, from the Mari Mort Theater Trilogy is a bit of a wise-ass, but also a loyal friend.
Which book do you wish you had written (and why)?
Gone with the Wind…because it’s a sweeping tale that exposes all the flaws, as well as the goodness, in humanity. Our choices — not our history, religion, ethnicity, etc. are what separate us. (Also, I’d be rich from the sale of the movie rights, character dolls, and book royalties.)
On September 27th, 1958, a vote was held, with an overwhelming outcome, to keep the schools of Little Rock, Arkansas closed rather than integrate them. In September 1957, nine Black students known as the Little Rock Nine entered Central High School and were met by angry Protesters. Known as The Lost Year, high schools in the city remained closed for the entire 1958-59 academic term.
It is hard for me to comprehend that this happened less than sixty years ago.
There is an election coming up where one of the candidates wants to “Make America Great Again.”
The, “Again” part is what upsets me. Is this what he means? I remember the fire hoses and the dogs, and the people dragged beaten and bloody through the streets. Those images flashed across our TV screens almost every night when I was young.
It’s disturbing to see and hear white supremacist groups brazenly supporting a presidential candidate “again” in this country. Many of us thought their time had passed—and we were all the better for it.
Why have we stopped admiring the brightest among us, in favor of those who are only capable of “bumper-sticker” jargon? I know there are always two or three or twenty sides to every story–but they can’t all be accurate. When, as a nation, have we stopped caring about facts?
This is a dangerous path we are on. I would use the tired term “slippery slope,” if I weren’t so sick of hearing it. We’ve fallen into the trap of trendy terminology and, if we are to advance, we have got to stop.
Every political scandal does not have something to do with a “gate.” Every problem we need to solve does not have to have a “war” waged against it.
The media has gotten caught up in the Manhattan advertising practice of the clever logo or jingle. Dumbing down the population makes the population easier to control.
I’m curious about the words or phrases that you, dear reader, are completely and utterly sick of hearing. Maybe, together, we can create a dictionary of words and phrases from hell. I look forward to your suggestions.
Stern Words 