Interview with writer Stephanie Vanderslice

Writer Stephanie Vanderslice is sitting under the spotlight today. She’s chatting with me about her new creative non-fiction, The Geek’s Guide to the Writing Life.

Bio:

Stephanie Vanderslice's was born in Queens, NY in 1967 and grew up there and in the suburbs of Albany. Her essays have appeared in Mothers in All But Name, Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in their 40's and many others. In addition to The Geek's Guide to the Writing Life, she has also published Can Creative Writing Really Be Taught? 10th Anniversary edition (co-edited with Rebecca Manery) with Bloomsbury. Other books include Rethinking Creative Writing and Teaching Creative Writing to Undergraduates (with Kelly Ritter). Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the Arkansas Writer's MFA Workshop at the University of Central Arkansas, she also writes novels and has published creative nonfiction, fiction, and creative criticism in such venues as Ploughshares Online, Easy Street and others. Her column, The Geek's Guide to the Writing Life appears regularly in the Huffington Post. 

Please tell us about your current release.

The desire to create, to write, to fulfill our artistic dreams is a powerful human need. Yet the number of people who make a living solely by their pen is actually quite small. What does that mean for the rest of us, the self-described writing geeks, who are passionate about writing and who still want to sustain successful literary lives? What does it really mean to find time to build a rewarding writing life while pursuing a career, being a partner or raising a family, in the distracted, time-deprived, 21st-century? In The Geek's Guide to the Writing Life, based on her Huffington Post blog of the same name, Stephanie Vanderslice shares the secrets and tools to developing a successful, rewarding writing practice in a way that inspires the reader to persevere through the inevitable lows and even the highs of a literary life, so that anyone can pursue the path to realizing their artistic dreams.

What inspired you to write this book?

In 2011, after blogging for about 4 years on my own about the writing life, I had the opportunity to publish in the Huffington Post. I conversed with readers directly about issues in my writing life that way, the instant feedback I got, and decided to expand the column into a whole book.

Excerpt from The Geek’s Guide to the Writing Life:

Chapter 1, Making the Commitment:

“You don’t always choose writing. Sometimes writing chooses you. Sometimes it grabs you by the lapels, gets in your face, and keeps you awake at night, assuring you won’t rest until you get your thoughts down, somehow. Sometimes it just feels like a constant malaise, a low-grade depression, like you’re forgetting something, leaving something behind, by not writing. Sometimes it feels like a slow build-up of thoughts and words until it feels as if your head, or your heart, might burst.”

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m revising the middle novel of a triptych set in Queens, NY, where I was born and spent a great deal of time growing up. Beautiful, Terrible Things ranges from 1904-2004, following a family’s fortunes from the General Slocum Steamship fire in New York Harbor in 1904, through World War II, 9/11 and the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and then it’s on to 1970’s-80’s Queens and a young woman making sense of life, family and love with a closeted gay father during the AIDS crisis in the yet-untitled last book. I’m also working on another memoir, Dear Madeleine: Letters to the Daughter I Never Had, about growing up female at the end of the 20^th century.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

You know, I’ve never not considered myself a writer; I’ve written since I was very young. As I write in the book, I had a teacher in high school, Kevin McCann, who really validated my writing ambitions and that certainly made me feel like a writer. But I’ve written compulsively whether I felt anointed as a writer or not. Writing is just something I have to do; it’s how I make sense of the world.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I don’t write full-time, which is a challenge, but I am fortunate in that my other job is teaching creative writing in college, so that when I’m not writing I’m at least thinking and talking about it. If you do it right, teaching college writing is still time consuming, though, like any other full-time job, so I am always working to fit my writing in. I try to find an hour or two a day during the week, before I go to work, sometimes more if I am working at home that day. I work a great deal on the weekends and at night to keep up with my teaching and writing. And I write solidly through the summers. I also have a family, so it’s a constant struggle for balance. Fortunately, my husband is also a writer, so we’re always trying to balance together. I write about finding that balance a great deal in the book, about what works for me.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t know that it’s that unusual, but I have to have coffee or some kind of warm drink when I’m writing. It’s non-negotiable, a ritual. It helps if I have my dogs around; they’re quiet and unconditionally accepting and cuddly. I write more and more exclusively on the computer—typing is actually a very tactile experience for me and puts me in the zone. I just got a manual keyboard for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) I am so excited about. Before I moved to typing, I wrote exclusively with a ballpoint pen. I hate writing in pencil—hate, hate, hate it, and don’t like felt tip much better. I need to feel my words glide across the page. Stone paper is my new favorite thing for that—have you ever written on stone paper? It’s amazing, the texture—but it’s super-expensive. A stone paper journal starts at $12-13, so I’m not going to lay in a stock of that any time soon, but one journal, maybe. Writing on it is like nothing you’ve ever felt.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I’ve always written but I didn’t think writing was something people did as a job when I was very young. First, I wanted to be a paleontologist—I was obsessed with dinosaurs, rocks, and fossils, not unlike a lot of kids. I dreamed of finding a fossil in my backyard—(when I moved to Arkansas years later and discovered masses of actual fossils on the Buffalo River, I thought I was in heaven). Then I became obsessed with dolphins and I wanted to be an oceanographer like Jacques Cousteau—I had this beautiful book my parents had given me about Cousteau and his ship, the Calypso that I loved to page through. I can still visualize the illustrations and photos. Somewhere after that, as a pre-teen, I figured out that books, which I had always loved, really were written by actual people—at that point I never looked back. I knew that whatever I did, I would always write and that the more closely I could align my day job to writing, the better.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

If you want to write, there’s nothing stopping you. You don’t have to wait for permission. Just begin!

Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Thank you for joining me today!

Interview with creative non-fiction writer Robert W. Soll, MD, PhD

My special guest today is Robert W. Soll, MD, PhD and he’s talking with me about his non-fiction book, Unraveling MS: Food and Infection: Unexpected Partners in MS and Other Autoimmune Diseases.

Welcome, Robert. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Although medicine has occupied my life for many years, I have had a wide range of interests including aviation, music, literature, military, and other fields of science. My attraction to medicine first surfaced during the summer of 1944 while I was attending a summer school in Minnesota. I became friends with another boy whose father was a well-known physician. My friend wanted to become a physician like his father. His ambitions strongly motivated my own interest in medicine.

Thereafter, I never considered doing anything other than becoming a doctor. I remember lying in bed at night as a college freshman—I just couldn’t wait to begin medical school although it was going to be at least 3 more years. I finally graduated from the College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in 1956, completed a rotating internship at Albany Hospital, New York in 1957, and then served two years in the Strategic Air Command at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

After finishing a three-year residency in Neurology at the University of Minnesota, I completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 1970, majoring in Bacteriology and Immunology. My intense interest in the immune system and its relation to multiple sclerosis had gradually evolved during my neurology residency, and that interest has never diminished throughout my life. My lifetime goal has been to understand multiple sclerosis so that I could control it and improve the lives of my patients. I was very fortunate to have had the support of my professor and mentor, Dr. Dennis Watson, during my post-doctoral studies, and the opportunity to work with Dr. John Najarian and Richard Condie in the Department of Transplant Surgery at the University of Minnesota. In addition to my career in medicine, I joined the Army Reserves, became a Flight Surgeon, rose to the rank of Colonel, and eventually retired from the Virginia National Guard.

Please tell us about your current release.

The cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) has remained a mystery for more than 150 years. Some of the first signs of MS might be symptoms such as intermittent numbness, weakness, dizziness, incoordination, or blurred vision. Individuals who develop such symptoms often become very concerned, fearing that they may become an invalid without any hope for a cure. I believe that most patients, their friends and relatives really want to know more about the way that MS actually causes illness and how it can be controlled. In my book, Unraveling MS, I have submitted an “easy to read” detailed explanation of MS. This involves describing our complex immune system—how it protects us as well as how it sometimes may cause a serious illness. I also have discussed the blood-brain barrier and how it serves to protect the brain and spinal cord from disease, the malicious role that viruses play in contributing to the onset of MS, the fascinating way that white blood cells interact with each other, and the process of inflammation in both health and disease. I have used multiple sclerosis (MS) as a model autoimmune disease in my book because of my involvement in research and treatment of MS for several decades. Since most autoimmune diseases have a similar immune mechanism like MS, much of the information presented here may also be relevant to those conditions as well. My understanding of MS has changed considerably since the publication of my first book entitled, MS, Something Can Be Done published in 1984 in conjunction with Penelope Grenoble, PhD. At that time, very little was known about the intercellular transmission of chemical signals between white blood cells within the immune system by substances called “cytokines.” Their discovery has brought a much better understanding for all of the autoimmune diseases, and it has stimulated the development of more effective methods for treating these conditions. Further, their discovery has also supported my earlier belief that controlling infection as well as modifying one’s diet is extremely important in controlling MS, a subject that has been emphasized in my current book.

What inspired you to write this book?

I had treated more than 50 MS patients with an equine antiserum over a six-year period between 1971 and 1977. This antiserum was revolutionary at that time. It had been developed by the Department of Transplant Surgery at the University of Minnesota for preventing the rejection of kidney transplants. The antiserum, called antilymphoblastic globulin (ALG), had been prepared against a specific type of white blood cell that was thought to be causing transplant rejection. I had considered MS to be a form of rejection of the nervous system similar to a kidney transplant rejection. It was easy to understand how removal of white blood cells attacking a kidney transplant could prolong its survival. On the other hand, it was more difficult to comprehend why ALG could improve MS even though it was not removing white blood cells already within the brain and spinal cord. Since there was no way to explain this paradox in 1984, I only mentioned the antiserum briefly in my first book. What now has inspired me to write this book is that research over the past three decades has helped “unravel” how the ALG antiserum actually was producing such good results. This explanation together with employing a proper diet can not only improve MS but can also help anyone live a longer and healthier life. Remarkably, many new therapies for MS and other autoimmune diseases now include a number of specific antisera directed against identified targets in the body.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Curiously, in a book of this genre, I have already found ways to improve and elaborate upon the explanations contained in it. Consequently, if I live long enough, I may write a “second” edition, hopefully in the not too distant future.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I have never considered writing as a profession although I have published or been a contributor to a number of medical papers and two other books.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

No, but I consider myself lucky to have lived to see the computer replace the encyclopedia, and find the internet marvelously helpful in answering many questions I have on a daily basis. Years ago, I remember talking with a salesman selling a set of encyclopedias. He told me an interesting story (although I don’t know if it was true). He claimed that he had tried to sell a set of encyclopedias to Orson Welles. Mr. Welles had apparently turned him down initially, stating that he knew everything in the encyclopedias. He even proved this by telling the salesman exactly how many bushels of corn was produced in Iowa in 1955. As the salesman turned to leave, Mr. Welles unexpectedly said, “Wait, I think I will buy a set of encyclopedias—then I can prove to others that I really know everything in those books.”

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My quirk is writing something, then rewriting again and again, and still not being satisfied with what I have written.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to fly an airplane. I also wanted to be a doctor. I can proudly say that I have over 1000 hours flying time with a perfect safety record. I am also very glad that I have been able to help patients over the years to the best of my ability.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My neighbor and I together built a 25x40 foot, two story barn 8 years ago. Also, I have two wonderful golden retrievers, and one border collie that is too smart for his own good. They keep me healthy by exercising me every day!

Thanks for being here today, Robert.

Interview with novelist Susan G. Weidener

I have novelist Susan G.Weidener here today chatting about her newest book: A Portrait of Love and Honor: A Novel Based On a True Story.

Bio:

Susan G. Weidener is a former journalist with The Philadelphia Inquirer. She left journalism in 2007 and wrote and published her memoir, Again in a Heartbeat, a memoir of love, loss and dating again, about being widowed at a young age. Two years later, she wrote and published its sequel, Morning at Wellington Square, a woman’s search for passion and renewal in middle age. Her debut novel, A Portrait of Love and Honor, completes the trilogy, inspired by and dedicated to her late husband, John M. Cavalieri, on whose memoir A Portrait of Love and Honor is based. She lives in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.

Welcome, Susan. Please tell us about your current release.

A Portrait of Love and Honor takes place in 1993 when Jay Scioli approaches author and editor Ava Stuart to edit his memoir about his years as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point during the Vietnam War. She is newly-divorced . . . while she has a willing heart, she steels herself against more disappointment in love . . . until she meets Jay. His story strikes a chord in her and their connection is almost immediate. Jay is a man who has said good-bye to innocence, the U.S. Army, and corporate America. He is drawn to the striking and successful Ava.  Facing one setback after another, their love embraces friendship, crisis, dignity, disillusionment. Their love story reflects a reason for living in the face of life’s unexpected events.

What inspired you to write this book?

I loved my husband very much. For years his unpublished memoir sat in the closet. From time to time, I would pull it out and reread it. I knew I wanted to find an audience for his work; the question . . . how?

John, Class of ’71, USMA, wrote about his years as a cadet at West Point and his battle with cancer, before his death in 1994. John’s pen name was Jay Scioli. I always felt his memoir both compelling and beautifully written. The publication of A Portrait of Love and Honor, which is written in first and third person, and is a combination of memoir and fiction, is the result and culmination of a long-held dream to see his story reach readers.

Excerpt from A Portrait of Love and Honor:

After we arrived in Manhattan, we immediately headed for the one place cadets had been told to avoid – Forty-Second Street. What a scene we must have cut as we strolled down the avenue in our dress gray uniforms, gray hats covering our closely-shaved heads. Out of place, yes, but in a strange way we complemented the vendors, porno hustlers and street people; all of us melding into the great American mainstream. We stopped into the first bar we saw and ordered a few beers. Suddenly we had a personal game plan – take the subway to Greenwich Village.

We walked through Washington Square, home of the famous “Beat Generation.” I had read Jack Kerouac over the summer while lying in my bunk at Buckner and had tried to identity with that feeling of being free to do anything I wanted – although in reality my life bore no resemblance whatsoever to this new lifestyle of the sixties. We walked past shops and cafés, smelled incense and listened to the sounds of Jefferson Airplane and the Beatles wafting out of bars and head shops. Suddenly, a voice called to us from a doorway. “Hey war mongers, get outta here.” We didn’t stop walking, just looked over and saw two men with shoulder-length hair leaning against a brick wall, laughing at us in our uniforms and spit-shined shoes. They waved, then flashed us the peace sign. Bill flashed them a sign, too; half a peace sign.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Another love story . . . TBA

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I guess it was when I received an ‘A’ in my creative writing class at American University from a professor who used to be a journalist for the now-defunct Washington Star. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way! After graduation from college, I landed my first paying job as a reporter on a suburban weekly newspaper in my hometown. I got to cover, of all things, the filming of the movie Taps starring two unknowns – Sean Penn and Tom Cruise. It was like – I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this. I would have done it for free.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Since I left the newspaper, I’ve worked fulltime as a writer and editor. In the last five years, I’ve published two memoirs and the novel – along with an anthology of short stories and poems written by my group, the Women’s Writing Circle. In addition, I teach writing workshops and act as a writing coach. I also publish a weekly blog and market my books through social media and at community events and book signings. There’s not a whole lot of time left over after that.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t think I have any quirks. As a former journalist, I’m very deadline-oriented. When I have a writing project, I tend to get right to it. I let it percolate for a while, come back to it and then revise. I enjoy long walks with my dog, Lily, a yellow Lab . . . as a way to relax, ponder and jumpstart writing ideas and projects.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Ever since I read Gone With the Wind, I wanted to be a writer. I loved romantic stories . . . and stories about women, their lives, their passions, hopes and dreams. The book The Women’s Room by Marilyn French changed my life. I kept thinking, ‘this is what I want to do . . . write a book like this, something that matters, that is important and has a message.’ But I had to make a living, raise two sons on my own . . . and journalism was the best way to get paid to write. It would be many years before I could work on writing books.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My hope is that my books give readers something to think about, something they can apply to their own lives . . . lessons learned. And I’m grateful for each and every reader who takes a chance on my books. I love hearing from my readers and I can be reached at susanweidener711@gmail.com Thank you for offering me this opportunity to talk about A Portrait of Love and Honor.

Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Thank you, Susan!