Interview with Diane Keyes about her memoir To Wendy's with Love

Writer Diane Keyes wraps up this week with me. We’re chatting about her memoir, To Wendy’s With Love: The 22-Year Lunch.

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

I’ve owned a staging business for more than twenty-five years—since before the name staging. I also have an eclectic background working as a book reviewer, editor, retreat director, grief group facilitator, and commercial floral designer, and I often speak at real estate functions and make appearances on local TV and radio programs.

As a child, I always told people that I wanted to be a race car driver and a writer. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 30 years old and I didn’t start writing till I was in my 40’s so I guess I’m a late bloomer. And even then I began writing only because every word of my first book, Spirit of the Snowpeople, came to me at a stop light between the red and the green. I couldn’t have even thought every idea in the book, much less composed it, in that short space of time. I believed then, and still do, that it was sent to me and I had an obligation to get it to print. It took twelve years before it was published but it was published exactly as it was given to me. It sold out its first printing three weeks after publication and I’m thrilled to say the book had the largest presale in the 60-plus-year history of DownEast Books. My second book, This Sold House, received two Best Book Awards, in the business and how-to categories, from the Midwest Independent Publishers’ Association (a twelve state region) and is endorsed by Joan Steffens, host of HGTV’s, Decorating Cents. It will be going into its 3^rd edition later this year.

Please tell us about your current release.

To Wendy’s With Love: The 22-Year Lunch is the story of my weekly lunches with my mother, which I started in an attempt to heal my relationship with her. I needed a low energy way to spend time with Mom. I was carrying around a lot of baggage I’d had since childhood after a brain hemorrhage left me with painful memories, unanswered questions, and crippling depression. I found my healing in an unlikely place—Wendy’s fast food restaurant. Once we met in “the neutral zone,” she wasn’t doing the Mom thing and I wasn’t doing the kid thing and we were able to see each other outside of our accustomed roles. Along the way I discovered the power of gratitude, relationships, and family meals. The lessons I learned have changed my life as well as those of the family and friends who have joined mom and me each week around the Wendy’s table. Still going strong after 22 years, it now includes four generations of our family and some weeks we have as many as 15-20 people show up for lunch.

To Wendy’s With Love is just that—a love letter to Wendy’s for creating a congenial space in which to heal, along with good food and warm and welcoming staff who have become like family to us.

What inspired you to write this book?

Over the years, I’d occasionally think “I should write a book about our Wendy’s experience.” But I never felt compelled until one day when the local Wendy’s PR person came to take photos of our family. They’d finally noticed we’d been there every week for more than 15 years. (If you go to our Wendy’s in Roseville, Minnesota, you’ll find photos of us all over the walls). Anyway, my mom was bragging about me and telling the photographer that I was a writer. He asked me if I’d considered writing a book about Wendy’s and I said I had. He told me, “I think it would be a very good idea.” I started the book that week.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working on a juvenile fiction novel tentatively called The Legend of Bella Vie, about the woman behind Santa Claus. Unfortunately I’ve been stuck for a while, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know. I also have the first draft done of Sound Bytes of Relationship Advice. I’ve been married to the same wonderful guy for decades and I’ve learned some things it would be helpful to know right out of the gate.

I’m also toying with the idea of writing the back story of getting To Wendy’s With Love published—because a lot of interesting things happened in the 7 years between writing the bones of the book and getting it in print.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think that I probably didn’t really consider myself a writer until I wrote the Wendy’s manuscript. The children’s book was sent to me—I’m very proud that I stayed with Spirit of the Snowpeople until it was published 12 years later, but I did not write it. And the staging book, This Sold House, had more to do with my business than with my writing so I don’t really count that book either. But in the last 7-8 years, I’ve been doing a lot of editing and I’ve been told I’m a good writer; the trouble is I want to be someone grand and lyrical, not just good. Oh well, I do what I can with what I’ve got.

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 do not write full time. I belong to a writers’ group for women; we started with 10 people and now have 300 members, and they often speak about their writing practices. I can’t relate to any of them. If I’m not in the middle of a book, I don’t write. When I do have something to write, I start and don’t stop, working 14-16 hours a day until I’m finished, I guess I’m a feast or famine writer. I love my writing process. It’s the same if I’m editing.

The rest of the time I’m a stager, which I also love. I love helping people get as much money for their homes as they can. It’s amazing what a little purging, painting and cleaning can do for the bottom line.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I think my interesting writing quirk is that I LOVE writing but I am not obsessed by it. From my experience, many, if not most, writers hate writing but feel compelled to do it. If I have something to write, I’m on it but the rest of the time I’m busy with other things.

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

My grandpa told me I could either be a teacher, a nurse or a secretary, and I knew I was not cut out for any of those things, which is probably where I came up with the idea of being race car driver or a writer. If I was going to go off the grid, I guess I wanted to go WAY OFF.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Don’t EVER let fear stop you. Everything good that comes your way begins with saying “Yes.” Don’t let other people’s notion of what is impossible keep you from reaching for your dreams. Nike’s right when they say “just do it.” There is not a single desire in your heart that wasn’t put there by the Universe/God/Spirit. If you have the desire you also have the means, but you first must believe it.

Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Thanks for being here today, Diane.

Interview with inspirational writer Philip Johnsey

Today I have an interview with the author of Climb that Fence and Take that Leap - Philip Johnsey. The book falls into the pets/body, mind & spirit/inspiration, and personal growth categories.

Philip will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment below. And to increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit other tour stops and leave comments there, too!

Bio:

Raised on a farm and having been a volunteer at different animal rescues, it’s no surprise that Phil’s book is about animals and the connections we share.

From Phil’s first high school job to present, he’s spent his career working with clients, explaining complex ideas in an easy to understand manner. Phil enjoys using his talents to make a positive difference and sharing all the things he learns along the way.

You’ll often find Phil outdoors exploring and sharing his experiences via writing, photography, or videography. Phil’s credits include, multiple I.T. certifications, Reiki master, photographer, author of two blogs, author of the Backyard Tourist column, contributor to Bucketlistpublications.com and whatever else he can get into.

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

The book is a compilation of my personal animal stories and the insights I learned from watching them. Pet lovers can attest that each animal has its distinct personality and mannerism, so its easy to appreciate the diversity of the stories. I wrote it to be easy to read, almost conversational and nothing too heavy. Just a good read that encourages readers to make positive changes and also pay more attention to their furry friends.

People often think the book is entirely about cats because of the cover photo. There are three stories that involve cats and two about turtles so it’s an entertaining mix. After publishing the book, I thought of even more stories. Maybe that’ll be the sequel.

What inspired you to write this book?

It was actually a combination of things. As a volunteer I saw heart wrenching animal stories both happy and sad. Each time I volunteered, I kept thinking I really wanted to bring more awareness to the animals but in a positive manner and not in an extreme way. Itt was one of those ideas that got lost in the far reaches of my brain.

At the same time, I was writing a lot of stories about my personal life insights and realized that most of them involved animals. Well it wasn’t long before it hit me that I could put my stories in a book, which could inspire others as well as bring positive awareness to animals. So I took the leap….

Excerpt:

Ever since I took Keiko to the park that day and let her out every evening, she was wired. Every morning she was under foot, walking around the kitchen and living room. I’d be upstairs getting dressed and here would come this spindly, almost wobbly cat blasting up the stairs. At times, it was really annoying to hear the constant meowing, so I’d pick her up. “What is your problem?” I’d ask. I thought she might be in pain.

As soon as I picked her up, all I heard was the familiar sound of contentment: purring.

What had changed with her? I had not given her any different medicine, and she had become skinnier by the day. But something was obviously different.

Let’s see, she went from just hanging around the house and receiving whatever “leftover” attention I had to being the first to receive attention. She received my attention first and foremost, and we spent quality time together.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Currently what’s taking up most of my writing time is travel blogging. It’s a place where I can combine my writing, photography/videography, and showcase great places local and far. My laptop has folders with book ideas ranging from my experience hiking the Grand Canyon, my dad, and other diverse story lines. I seriously could write for weeks and not get through it all.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Ironically, I’m still getting used to that term. I’ve been writing off/on for several years, but never thought I would get published. Then it happened, without any effort or fanfare; I posted a story online about an event at a state park where I volunteered. I wrote the article as if I was talking and didn’t think much about it. I figured it’d be another online post that would get lost in the cyberspace.

About a week later, a friend called and asked “have you seen the paper”. “I don’t get the paper, why do you ask?” I responded. She laughed and said you’ll see at when you visit the park. I went to visit the state park and the ranger excitedly took me to a room and pointed to the wall. I just stared in disbelief; it was my article published in the local paper.

I was stunned at how easily it happened. I really didn’t put that much effort into the story; I just wrote what I felt. (I’ve since learned those make the best stories!)

It only takes that one someone or event to give you that much needed boost. That article was the turning point. I began submitting more stories, became a regular in the paper and just kept writing from there.

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?

Officially, I work in systems administration and information security. However, I really enjoy being creative so I also write a column titled Backyard Tourist that highlights local places to explore. These articles are published on our website and in a local online magazine. Where I work, we have our own T.V. station, and each month I find a positive story to write, interview and host.

In my “spare” time I write a weekly article for the travel blog, bucketlistpublications.com and for my own blog, theworldaccording2phil.com. By the time I get home, cook dinner, and exercise, it’s close to 9pm.

To squeeze it all in, I schedule certain evenings where all I do is write. I’ll pick something simple for dinner like leftovers so I can just come home and get to it. I have a list of articles that I work from so I always know what I need to complete. If I didn’t do that, I’d never get it all done.

Currently I have enough things to write that I could literally spend all day writing so I’m deciding how to focus more on writing and less on work.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I usually start an article with a question as if we’re having a conversation. I really like to have the reader feel like we’re talking to each other.

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

I wanted to be a teacher or an engineer and ironically I’m doing a little bit of both now via the technical and writing. I really enjoy working with people and knowing how things work so those two paths work well together.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

First off; thank you for following my blogs and reading my book. It’s really fun to hear other people’s stories and connect with them. I bump into a lot of people who want to write a book and I enjoy sharing my experiences. One thing I often forget to explain is that writing a book will change you in a lot of positive ways. For example, I really wanted my writing to be more soulful and several life changing experiences brought that out. I wouldn’t change what I’ve learned, continue to learn and the great people I’ve met along the way for anything. 

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Thank you, Phil!