Hi Feather! Thanks for taking time to chat with us. We would all like to learn more about you - do you have a website?
Writing is my “retirement” career. I’ve spent around 30 years of so in advertising and public relations – but always in the writing end of things. I’m also a song-writer, and have written dozens of children’s shows, which have been produced throughout NJ several times. Music and lyrics. Occasionally book.
And I do a lot of lecturing around NJ on my books – and about the old First Ladies. That’s a lot of fun! I do a lot of senior groups, college clubs, women ‘s groups, historical societies, etc.
Q2: I’ve been writing since I’ve been a kid – maybe 12. Mostly songs. And they just “fell out of me.”
Q3. I write historical stuff. Previous works have been historical fiction, but my current work-in-progress is a non-fiction. I prefer it.
Q4-5. I have three books out to date:
“LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities” (PublishAmerica) is about the OLD First Ladies: Martha thru Mamie. They each “write” their own chapters, and everybody (including the Modern FLs) chimes in with commentary. It’s an entertainment, rather than a tome.
“Garfield’s Train” (PublishAmerica) is another historical novel, about the death of President James Garfield in Long Branch, NJ in 1881. I invented fictional characters to interact with the real people about real events.
“T: An Auto-Biography” (Red Engine Press) is my most recent book – it’s being formally launched in April, 2007. It’s a children’s book, maybe grades 3-8, depending on reading level, about a Model-T Ford. Kind of like “Black Beauty” on wheels!
Or go to amazon.com
Q6-7.“LADIES” took a long time. Too long. The hardest part was figuring out the format so I could get all these old gals to “talk” to each other. “Garfield’s Train” took a couple of years, and “T” was actually one of my children’s shows that I adapted.
Q8: I don’t have a favorite author. I like LOADS of authors. I usually read non-fiction, so my favorites are all biographers, historians or similar in genre. I am currently reading Shelby Foote’s Civil War, which is marvelous. He is not only a good historian, but he is so READABLE!
Q9. Re Rejection. I realize that the subjects I work with are not mainstream and will not appeal to everyone. I do lots of lectures where people love me and are happy to listen and ask questions – but don’t buy books. I’ve become very philosophical about it. I am a picky reader myself, and have learned to respect that in others. I imagine that holds true with publishing. I am not that young anymore, and I find that the people on the other side of the desk, as it were, are young kids who have no clue about history, especially if it happened before they were born. I don’t have a chance with them, and it really doesn’t bother me that much. Maybe I am a little snotty, but I chose my audience and am willing to live with the choice.
Q.10. Re Elements of good writing. Hmmm. Have a good vocabulary. Know how to use that vocabulary. Be literate. Write “up” not “down.” Put things in proper order.
Q11. I write history and use real people, so I don’t have to come up with plots and characters, etc. No formulae.
Q12-15: I am a pianist (whose hands are giving me problems, so I don’t play as much as I did); I read a lot, travel, and find zillions of ways to crowd my hours. See Q8 about what I read. I am always inspired (and depressed) by good writing. I try to emulate it, and worry that I can’t.
Q16. I am currently working on a non-fiction called “Presidential Lovebirds.” It will be a series of comparative essays on some (not all) of the Presidential Marriages. And I never go past Eisenhower. It is not spicy, dishy or salacious. (Oops, no market again!) I hope to have it done by the end of the summer.
Q17. Writer’s Block. It is a recurrent problem, like malaria. I’ve had it on and off since I’ve been in my teens! Years ago, I was given an excellent piece of advice, although I did not think it was so excellent at the time. The man told me that he thought my earlier work was really very good and showed great promise (I was around 21 then); but the current work seemed forced and spotty. He said I was trying too hard. He said I should relax, do something else for a while, and wait for the call. Of course I thought he was wrong, but I was the one who was wrong.
It is not easy to sit back and shuffle the cards, as my mother used to say, but sometimes that’s all you can do. Wait for the call. Sometime you have to take a number.
Q18. Frustration: I am finding the most frustrating problem I have is putting things in their proper order. This also includes putting every sentence in the paragraph in its proper order too. Most rewarding – solving my problems.
Q19. Schedule? Are you crazy? I am the most UNDISCIPLINED writer! I am trying to improve, but I don’t think it’ll happen!
Q20. Best advice: The order part. It is really important to have orderly flow. Worst advice (at least for me): Write what you feel. I am not a feel-y person. I am a think-y person. I write what I think. My thoughts are far more interesting than my feelings.
Q21. For new writers: Best advice is to concentrate on writing well. Forget about trying to be published. Work on the writing. The world has been inundated with self-published and POD authors who think they can write, and they write nicely, perhaps, but not on a high level. Aim high in the writing.
Q22. Don’t think about being published. If all you want is to be published, there are dozens of places anxious to take you money, and maybe even a few dozen friends and relatives who will be happy to buy your book. If you want to write, focus on writing and being good at it. Then focus on being better at it.
Q23. I do not consider myself successful. I am still working on my first million dollars.
