Ask the Author: Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
Answered Questions (9)
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
Way back in the 1980s my brother and I took a trip to Great Britain. We were driving in the rain and wind and cold of the Isle of Skye, just below Dunvegan Castle, on the night of an ancient battle between Clan MacLeod and Clan MacDonald, when we passed a Highlander in full MacDonald regalia striding down the side of the road oblivious to the elements. When we looked back, he was no where to be seen!
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
I knew now that I'd made a wrong turn fleeing the abandoned mine. In that instant, the batteries in my flashlight died, plunging me into total darkness.
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
Setting aside all the allegories of class struggle, I'd like to travel to the world of Kenneth Grahame's children's book, Wind in the Willows. I'd have breakfast with Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger somewhere in their uncomplicated Berkshire countryside, on the Riverbank or in the Wild Wood.
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
The Outermost House, A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod by Henry Beston; A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with the English Countryside by Susan Branch; Wilderness Volume 1, the Lost Writings of Jim Morrison; The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction; Black Spring by Henry Miller; The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe; The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir by Lewis Buzbee; Travelling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
My most recent book, Spirit Stones, Unraveling the Megalithic Mysteries of Western Europe's Prehistoric Monuments, came about as the culmination of personal experiences in visiting may of the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites discussed in the book, beginning with my first trip to the British Isles in the late 1980s.
There is something moving and magical about these places for me. A closeness to the people who built them; their individual artistry; and their timeless beauty. I looked on Spirit Stones as a way of honoring the stones by telling their story, by focusing on the power of the stones themselves, and by uncovering contemporary ways in which they might capture our spiritual imagination. The aesthetics and the often stunning natural settings of these stones bring to mind an appreciation of life's bounty, a recognition of the oneness of life, and the continuity of the human experience.
There is something moving and magical about these places for me. A closeness to the people who built them; their individual artistry; and their timeless beauty. I looked on Spirit Stones as a way of honoring the stones by telling their story, by focusing on the power of the stones themselves, and by uncovering contemporary ways in which they might capture our spiritual imagination. The aesthetics and the often stunning natural settings of these stones bring to mind an appreciation of life's bounty, a recognition of the oneness of life, and the continuity of the human experience.
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
I'm usually inspired by the subject matter addressed in whatever I'm working on. In the early days of my writing career, when I was working in non-fiction for magazines, I'd be inspired by something I'd read or seen and would look further into the subject before moving forward with queries and/or articles on spec. Daily, it'sharder to get inspired to write and if I waited for inspiration, I'd probably never get anything done.
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
I'm currently working on a collection of short stories with the working title of On Traigh Lar Beach. I also have a follow-up to my memoir, A Grand Madness, Ten Years on the Road with U2 ready to go, but for wanting to include the band's current iNNOCENCE + iXPERIENCE Tour. The manuscript, in the same format as the first Book, will likely have limited appeal, being basically a blog, but it does complete my own U2 story. I'm also researching for a follow-up to my relatively recent historical fiction novel, Power's Garden.
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
I'm always leery of giving any advice to aspiring writers, as I believe writing is a very subjective subject and pursuit, and very little can be said to be categorically right or wrong, beyond, perhaps, knowing the rules before you break them. I've gotten a lot of advice over the years, some good and some bad. "Patience, Practice, and Persistence," in no particular order, would be my best advice.
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
There are so many positives about being a writer that it's hard to choose just one. I suppose it would be the freedom of being one's own boss, beyond dealing with temporary editors and such. As long as you meet deadlines and expectations, you're pretty much free to set your own terms and your own schedule.
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