Hump Day Goodies
Okay, so today is one of those days where you get good news and throughout the day you find yourself smiling when you remember it. To others, it may seem as if though you’re smiling at nothing, but you’re smiling at the remembrance of the good news.
My regular readers might remember that I held a Goodreads giveaway, where I gave away two copies of my newest book, Tattered Butterfly Wings, back in April. One of the winners posted her review a couple of days ago, though I just stumbled across it last night. Here it is (I removed the reader’s name, though it’s visible on my Goodreads author page.):
rated it 5 of 5 stars
I won this book in the goodreads giveaways, I am so pleased as it’s one sounded really interesting. It didn’t disappoint, it tells the story of 4 teens struggling with different emotional problems at a specialist facility. The book is well written and you feel the emotional ups and downs as each story is told. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading more by Rosalind.
The other thing that makes today a “goodie” for me is that I finally purchased a copy of Pearl Cleage’s Things I Should Have Told My Daughter. Mrs. Cleage was one of the authors who graciously took time out to respond to my Ten Questions, Ten Answers interview a couple of months ago. At that time, she mentioned her book and I wrote in this space that I planned to get it. And I just did. Yay! Goodie, yes. And I’ll tell you how much of a goodie. I cracked open the book as soon as I walked out of the bookstore. I was driving down the street reading the comments on the back cover, then at a red light, I cracked it open to the first page.
From the first words, I already can tell I’m about to read something special:
“I’ve been heading in this direction for years. I light a candle. I light a joint. I turn down the music and begin to write.” These are words from Cleage herself, dated November 30, 1980.
I went to Starbucks to write, but who am I fooling? I’m about to read a few pages of this book by one of my favorite authors. Then I’ll spend some time working on my own stuff. Because of the excitement I’m feeling over beginning this new book, I’ve decided to run her Ten Questions interview again, here in this spot. Enjoy!
One thing I always remember about my favorite authors is the book that led to my discovery of them. I discovered Pearl Cleage with What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day. After my first read of this book, it became one of those books that I would re-read and re-read because of the enduring messages and the wonderful storytelling.
Cleage is an Atlanta-based writer whose works include eight novels, a dozen plays, two books of essays, two books of poetry, essays, and newspaper columns. Her new book, Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs will be published by ATRIA in April, 2014. And I can’t wait to read it.
1. When was your breakthrough moment? (When did you know you were an author and not just a writer?)
I knew I was a writer as soon as I learned there was such a thing as a writer. I always wanted to be a storyteller. I guess my breakthrough moment came when my sister taught me how to read and write when I was four years old and my grandfather gave me a tiny little spiral green notebook and a little number two pencil and I started writing stuff down for my stories. I would give a lot to have those notebooks now, but none of them survived. I’ve been writing ever since. I’ve been very lucky to have both commercial and critical success, but I didn’t need any of that to convince me I was a writer. I already knew it!
2. Where do you get your ideas for your novels?
My novels always start with a character who appeals to me. I’m going to have to spend a year with this person, so I want it to be somebody I like and somebody I find interesting. I’m endlessly fascinated by people and how we make the decisions we make. Like who to love. (One of my favorites.) Or what is right and what is wrong. Or how we are connected to other people, like our families. I do a lot of work on that first character until I can see clearly where she (for me, the main character is almost always a “she”) fits and what her problem is. At that point, I can start working on other characters and the plot, which is always the hardest thing for me. If I had my way, my characters would walk around and just talk about whatever came to mind, conflict be damned! Of course, that’s not possible, but it would certainly simplify my writing life!
3. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I don’t know what a pantser is. I know I always try to come to plot through character. I don’t write detective stories or murder mysteries so I’ve got to find a situation where the problem is serious, but death doesn’t have to be the solution. My books almost always feature a strong heroine who is grounded in the community she lives in and connected to the life that community in a way that may bring her into contact with dangerous people who don’t have good intentions. She’s also probably in love or falling in love with somebody. I really like love stories in the midst of real life situations. Anybody can fall in love if they’re rich, beautiful, healthy and strolling down the beach at sunset! The challenge is to fall in love in the midst of the messiness of real life.
4. Where is your favorite place to write?
I like to write at home in my office. My desk faces the front window so I can watch my neighbors going by and living their lives. I’ve never been able to write in hotels (too antiseptic in one way and too many leftover stranger vibes in another…) and I’ve never had the money to rent fabulous beach houses so I work at home. It’s actually a blessing that most of my novels take place in the neighborhood where I live. That way, everything that happens on an ordinary day is fair game for the books.
5. What is your favorite quote or advice about writing?
“Being a writer is like having homework for life.” I think it’s from Laurence Kasden, the screenwriter and director.
I also like “Writing is mostly a question of continuous work, done alone.” Don’t remember who said that one.
I also like “A writer’s life should be a tranquil one. Read a lot and go to the movies.” That’s Mario Puzo.
This was my Sixties favorite from Amiri Baraka, “A black writer’s job is to write something so ba-a-a-ad they have to ban it.”
Also Toni Cade Bambara who said “The job of a black writer is to make revolution irresistible.”
6. Who are some authors who inspired you?
My two favorite writers are Langston Hughes and Alice Walker. Langston because he is so deeply rooted in his African American-ness, but from that vantage point, he was able to travel the world and feel at home everywhere. His writing is like having a conversation with a good friend. I love Alice Walker because she is unafraid to tackle subjects that are challenging. Whenever I get cocky and think I’m really a serious truth teller, I read a new book by Alice and know I still have a long way to go. I also love Lorraine Hansberry because seeing her play “A Raisin in the Sun” when I was eleven years old made me know I was a playwright.
7. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
I would say write something every day. Take yourself and your work seriously enough to set aside time and place to give it your full attention, even if it’s just for a half an hour a day. If you are going to be writer, you have to get into the habit of writing. This is the work you’ve chosen. Be disciplined about getting it done. Think of yourself as a “cultural worker.”
8. What is your favorite first line from one of your novels or your favorite book by another author? (Please include the name of he book and the author’s name.)
“Blind people got a hummin jones if you notice.” Opening line of the short story “My Man Bovanne,” by Toni Cade Bambara, Random House, 1972.
And: “Call me Ishmael.” Opening line of Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
What fictional character from your novels most resembles you?
They all resemble me! The good, the bad, and the ugly!
10. Finish this quote: Writing, to me, is…like breathing: I can’t live without doing it!
Happy Hump Day People! Savor the goodies of the day!
Peace & Love,
Rosalind
