Interview with writer Jemi Fraser about her memoir Dancing with Dementia

My special guest today is writer Jemi Fraser. She’s chatting with me about her memoir, Dancing with Dementia.

During her virtual book tour with MC Book Tours, Jemi will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Jemi Fraser writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her nonfiction work focuses on the ways that dementia has impacted her family. Her fiction work varies from contemporary romance to suspense and flash fiction. Years as a teacher have taught Jemi that life is short and that happy endings are a must.

Jemi lives in Northern Ontario, Canada where snow is always a topic of conversation and the autumn leaves make everything better.

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

As first-generation Canadians, we didn’t recognize the early warning signs. We didn’t know the differences between regular aging and the early stages of dementia. We’ve made mistakes but we’ve learned a lot.

Dancing with Dementia will help you:
•Identify those early warning signs
•Use visuals to improve communication
•Choose your words wisely
•Redirect and reassure
•Stay calm and cope with your own emotions
•Consider nursing home options
•Improve caregiver self-care

We’ve learned to dance the early steps of the disease with our love and laughter intact. If you are looking for help recognizing early signposts along with practical ways to cope with early Dementia and Alzheimer’s, this book is for you.

What inspired you to write this book?

Dancing With Dementia was a tough book to write. Dementia slammed into our family a few years back without any warning. Well, looking back there were warning signs, but we didn’t recognize them. This was the inspiration for the book. We know we’re not the only people to be taken by surprise by dementia. We hope telling the story of our first steps through the early stages of dementia will help others. We know that Mom would appreciate that her story could make other lives easier.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m currently working on a contemporary romance series set in the fictional town of Bloo Moose, Vermont. The first book, Reaching For Normal, involves a freelance journalist and a former SEAL - both with all kinds of troubles in their pasts. When a wolf is butchered and left as a bizarre warning, they must work together to solve the mystery before the killer escalates to people. Lots of shenanigans ensue!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

It took me a while. I started writing when my kids were both napping at the same time (miracle!). It took me many, many years before I thought about writing for publication. Then I had to learn how to write for people other than myself. I think the first time I thought, “I’m a writer!” was when my short story Until Release was accepted into the Dancing Lemur Press anthology: Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

It has to be my Tigger Brain! My brain likes to bounce around … a lot. It’s not uncommon for me to have 3 different Scrivener files open, each for a different writing project. The Tigger Brain helps me switch easily between projects, but it can sometimes make it difficult to focus on one task for any length of time.

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

So many things! My earliest ambitions were many and varied. Horse rancher, veterinarian, professional tennis player, Broadway director, special effects technician, cartoonist, astronaut, photographer, chef, natural biologist (studying dolphins and/or wolves in the wild), scientific researcher, baker, and so many more. Strangely, teacher and writer didn’t top the lists early on!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Dementia is a tough disease, and the book can be an emotional read. Facing the early steps of the dance with dementia is daunting. We’ve listed some tips and ideas that have helped us keep our mom safe and content. Everyone is different and the disease appears to affect everyone differently, but we hope the tips we’ve learned might help others who are just starting the dance.

Buy links:

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Apple Books | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

Links:

Goodreads | Website | Just Jemi Blog | Dancing With Dementia blog | Amazon Page | BookBub | Facebook | Twitter | Quick Tips Videos

Thank you for being here today, Jemi.

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Interview with short story writer Jemi Fraser

Today is the third interview in a series with the authors of:

Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime

An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

About the anthology:

The clock is ticking...

Can a dead child’s cross-stitch pendant find a missing nun? Is revenge possible in just 48 minutes? Can a killer be stopped before the rescuers are engulfed by a city ablaze? Who killed what the tide brought in? Can a soliloquizing gumshoe stay out of jail?

Exploring the facets of time, eleven authors delve into mysteries and crimes that linger in both dark corners and plain sight. Featuring the talents of Gwen Gardner, Rebecca M. Douglass, Tara Tyler, S. R. Betler, C.D. Gallant-King, Jemi Fraser, J. R. Ferguson, Yolanda Renée, C. Lee McKenzie, Christine Clemetson, and Mary Aalgaard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these eleven tales will take you on a thrilling ride into jeopardy and secrecy. Trail along, find the clues, and stay out of danger. Time is wasting...

“Each story is fast paced, grabbing the reader from the beginning.”

- Readers' Favorite, 5 stars

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

First up was C.D. Gallant-King (on April 19), then Gwen Gardner (on April 26). Now I have Jemi Fraser and we’re talking about her suspense crime short story called “Until Release.”

Bio:

Jemi Fraser lives in beautiful Northern Ontario where she works hard and plays harder with both her family and her students. Holding an ever-present mug of Chai tea, she spends her free time baking cookies and writing Happy Ever Afters. The world can always use more of both.

What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

I’ve always enjoyed reading short stories, but Until Release is the first one I’ve written. I’ve always written stories that take much longer to tell, but putting an entire story arc into 3500 words was fun! I’m definitely going to be trying my hand at shorts again.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

As I’ve said, Until Release is my first short story so it’s my favourite … so far! I enjoyed the way the story rushed into my head and wouldn’t let me go. The characters flowed from one to the next easily and each seemed to want to tell the next bit of the story.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

I’ve always been an eclectic reader so I enjoy reading and writing a lot of genres. Currently my favourite is contemporary romance with a splash of suspense. In romance, the characters have to work on both an internal problem (improving themselves) and an external problem (making them stronger) and I like the ways the characters grow and challenge themselves. This genre also calls to me because it is all about hope and our world can always use more of that!

What exciting story are you working on next?

My current WIP is a contemporary romance involving a woman who is trying to figure out her brother’s death. She is a freelance writer specializing in car and motorbike articles. Her research puts her in danger and she turns to a scientist friend for help. This friend’s brother is an FBI agent and he thinks she’s more than a little bit crazy, but the attraction zipping between them means he’s going to help her anyway. Chaos and fun ensue from there.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve always written stories in my head, but I didn’t start putting them to paper until my kids were in school and busy with their activities. I’m a full-time teacher as well, but one day a particular piece of fan fiction wouldn’t stay in my head and insisted on being written down. Although that piece was written for me and me alone, I think that’s the moment when I thought I might be a writer.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

I’m still learning this as Until Release is my first published story. As my life is pretty full, I haven’t turned to querying yet. Decisions on publishing more of my works are still in the (hopefully not too distant) future.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

When I’m writing, I absolutely have to have noise in the background, preferably some kind of sports programming on TV. My favourites are tennis, curling, hockey, Olympics, basketball, baseball, and pretty much everything else.

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

That would very much depend on the year and the month. My future career wishes changed often! Some of my choices: professional volleyball or tennis player, wildlife researcher (think Dian Fossey or Farley Mowat’s short-lived wolf researching career), acrobat, horse ranch owner, artificial intelligence researcher, Broadway musical director, wildlife photographer, architect, screenwriter for Star Trek, animator for Disney, author, and many, many more!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

As humans, we tend to be very hard on ourselves, setting unrealistic goals, and then shrinking when we don’t meet them. Life is for living first. Be kind to yourself when those dreams have to take a back seat for a while.

Author links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Tick Tock links:

Facebook | Website | Goodreads

Purchase links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes