AUTHOR Q & A
Elena, my publicist, recently requested that I answer a Q&A about my life. When I asked her why, she replied, “People are interested.”
My face scrunched into a giant question mark. Why would people be interested in plain Jane? But Elena’s a pro at her business, so how I could I refuse? Here a couple of her questions.
Why do you think are you drawn to books?
My attraction to books can be traced back to my days of pigtails and anklet socks. Although I was raised in the quintessential modest house, my parents splurged on one item: a wall of built-in bookshelves. Among my earliest of chores was a twice-a-year dusting of the shelves and their contents. While flicking the feather duster, I daydreamed of the day I’d be old enough to actually read the novels and Readers Digest Condensed Books.
What did you read while growing up?
When I reached junior high, I put the Nancy Drew series behind me. Being a typical girlie-girl, I became enamored by the first adult, mainstream novel I read, Gone with the Wind.
During my teens, things changed (as they tend to do). I gravitated toward science as well as James Harriot’s All Creatures Great and Small stories. That combination lead to a fulfilling 30-year career as veterinarian.
Do you have a favorite author?
If only I could be as talented a writer as Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Russo! During a seminar on writing fiction, the instructor told us that taking pen in hand and writing and re-writing good passages from favorite books would promote brain neuron connections that would improve our own writing. I must have copied the same passage from Nobody’s Fool several hundred times. If you were sitting here with me right now, I could recite all 672 words for you!
What insights do you want your readers to glean from How Did I Get Here?
I hope readers find several take-home messages. First, the old adage, “Beauty is only skin deep.”
Second, malevolence and injustice can mold a child, but fortitude plus a helping hand can remake the man.
Third, every person is obligated to give back to society. And not just according to what he received from it, but at a higher level.
Fourth, an enhanced understanding of the demons of war as manifested in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
My face scrunched into a giant question mark. Why would people be interested in plain Jane? But Elena’s a pro at her business, so how I could I refuse? Here a couple of her questions.
Why do you think are you drawn to books?
My attraction to books can be traced back to my days of pigtails and anklet socks. Although I was raised in the quintessential modest house, my parents splurged on one item: a wall of built-in bookshelves. Among my earliest of chores was a twice-a-year dusting of the shelves and their contents. While flicking the feather duster, I daydreamed of the day I’d be old enough to actually read the novels and Readers Digest Condensed Books.
What did you read while growing up?
When I reached junior high, I put the Nancy Drew series behind me. Being a typical girlie-girl, I became enamored by the first adult, mainstream novel I read, Gone with the Wind.
During my teens, things changed (as they tend to do). I gravitated toward science as well as James Harriot’s All Creatures Great and Small stories. That combination lead to a fulfilling 30-year career as veterinarian.
Do you have a favorite author?
If only I could be as talented a writer as Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Russo! During a seminar on writing fiction, the instructor told us that taking pen in hand and writing and re-writing good passages from favorite books would promote brain neuron connections that would improve our own writing. I must have copied the same passage from Nobody’s Fool several hundred times. If you were sitting here with me right now, I could recite all 672 words for you!
What insights do you want your readers to glean from How Did I Get Here?
I hope readers find several take-home messages. First, the old adage, “Beauty is only skin deep.”
Second, malevolence and injustice can mold a child, but fortitude plus a helping hand can remake the man.
Third, every person is obligated to give back to society. And not just according to what he received from it, but at a higher level.
Fourth, an enhanced understanding of the demons of war as manifested in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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Jane Marlow's Blog
My sincere hope is that you find my historical Russian novels to be both entertaining and informative.
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