In my “normal” life not many people
know I'm a writer. They know me as the someone's mom, the carpool
mom, the 4-H mom, the PTA mom, the lady that answers the phone and
doesn't let them speak with the luthier (my husband) so they give the
lady attitude, and usually that's fine. It's simple. But, every once
and awhile the two hemispheres of my life converge.
Conversations will slow, and talk will
turn to what we had been doing that day, or someone I know better
than most will ask me a question in front of an acquaintance. Folks
either react one of two ways: first, dismiss it as a phase or as a
character flaw. They have
preconceived ideas or notions about people that engage in such long
term pursuits of artistic expression and merit (flibberty gibbitt,
head in the clouds, and such). So I get an “Ahhh... good for you.”
and a pointed change of subject. Yeah,
duly noted.
The second sort of “typical” response I get is more of a
vicarious one. The “Oh! That is so cool! How did you ever come up
with that idea? How long do you think the book will be?” and a
continual onslaught of questions all the way down to “What kind of
music do you listen to when you write?” Creativity can be very
mysterious, I have found, and there for intimidating. So, I
thought I would take the time to answer some of the more frequented
questions. My answers, I understand, are different than some writers.
We all have own paths to follow, our own truths to seek.
To answer the top of the Hit List questions...
My
background: I have a fine arts background, I taught high school art-
including photography and film making- along with all the other
standard courses. I have a very visual approach to most things. I
also have a Masters of Education degree in Instructional Technology.
I am one of the few art majors that can hook up the Wii and get the
Netflix working! I believe technology is the great equalizer. It
rocks.
What
music do I listen to when I write? I don't listen to music when I
write. I have music playing most every other time, but not then. My
girls have a wide and vast appetite when it comes to their music so I
could be listening to Taylor Swift with one girl and then Blood on
the Dance Floor with the other. When we are in the car it's usually
top 40 radio, Tokio Hotel, or movie soundtracks, like Almost Alice.
My husband has a penchant for really old or dead guys with either Red
or Bone in their names. So when I'm with him there is a lot of blues,
blue grass, classic rock, instrumental rock and the occasional swing.
When left to my own devices I listen to what would be considered hard
rock and pop rock. I like Rob Zombie, Velvet Revolver, Muse, The
Civil Wars, Mumford & Sons. I'm all over the place depending on
my mood. But when I write (even right now), no background music. As I had mentioned before I'm a visual person and when I'm writing
I can “see” in my mind how a scene is playing out and I can hear
the dialog between the characters, like in a play or a movie. I have
found that if I have music playing, for me, I end up listening to the
music and not the voices in the head. Sounds crazy, but true. The
scene usually comes complete with it's own music anyway...
How
did I come up with the story idea in the first place? The series that
I'm currently writing is about a teenage girl that is, as it turns
out, half fairy, and there are all sorts of shenanigans surrounding
her. When I was first batting around ideas in my head and jotting
down notes here and there about story lines and plot devices I
realized I was missing the big “Whoa”. I needed a Voldemort and
Dumbledore but I wanted it to be somewhat grounded in myth or
folklore, female would even be better. That was when I had stumbled
across a university website (at least I think it was) talking about
the creationist theories and the whole Adam and Eve story. There they
went on to explain how in Hebrew folklore Adam had in fact three
wives.
The first, was made the same way as Adam, equal in every way, and was
called Lilith. The story goes that she and Adam fought horribly. Even
thought they were equal Adam refused to see her as such, (a bunch of
sexual references later, some concerning animals...) Lilith becomes
so consumed by her rage and fury she expells herself from paradise
and becomes the first demon, the mother of all demons. After awhile
Adam decides he would like to try again with a new mate of the female
persuasion. God then creates the Second Wife the same as he had
created Adam and Lilith, from the inside out. Right before Adam's
eyes he saw his new mate materialize, bone, muscle, veins, skin, and
hair. He was so completely discussed by the scene that he refused to
touch her. Plus, he argued that if she was created the same way as
the first one, she was probably going to be just as difficult. So without
even receiving a proper name first name, Second Wife is just cast a side.
That then brings us to Eve. One rib to make them compatible and mud
and dirt to make her mailable; We all know how well that all turned
out... The part of that story that struck me was that after the
Second Wife was cast off, there was never anymore mention of her.
You hear blips and blurps about Lilith whenever powerful women have
come into power in ancient times, but never anything about Second
Wife... So I made up one for her. Beginning with her daughter.
Voldemort = Lilith, Dumbledore = Second Wife, and they're both
female. Double word score!
How
long will the book be? Well... that's hard to say. I have a lot of
story to tell. The first installment of the series that I am
currently refining (already writing book two) is in the 700's. I envision
this being a long running series. I love writing it. It's one of the
few things in life that have been “easy” for me. Not necessarily
fast, that has been the only frustrating part. Right now my writing
is part time, my hope, my goal is be a full time in the near future.
If
you have any of your own questions, hit me in the comments below :-)
