Adelaide Magazine No. 39, August 2020

Revista Literária Adelaide
seek, the vibrant colours the shades and hue
The essence of life, the values in you, the greatest of loves the faith and youth
I am the love within the truth, your armour and protection all
days of new, The love and the power inside of you

About the Author
Nardine Sanderson is a Geelong born writer poetess who’s
love of poetry stretches across the seas immortalizing.
Those she loves in words.

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INTERVIEW



AL DAWSON

Author of
SEARCHING FOR NORIKO

1. Tell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the official author’s bio?
During WW II, my father was in the US army air force, stationed at Alamogordo Airfield
(now Holloman Air Force Base) in New Mexico. Many German Afrika Korps prisoners were
interned nearby. My first birthday cake was baked by one of those prisoners, a former chef
at a fine Leipzig hotel.

I was present at the birth of the nuclear age. When in July 1945 Robert Oppenheimer’s
“gadget” was tested at Trinity Site, a remote desert location in southern New Mexico, I was
asleep in my crib in Tularosa sixty miles away. The detonation of the first atomic bomb
caused a great flash like daylight and a tremor that shook our house, causing my parents
sleepily to wonder if I’d fallen out of the crib. The military cover story afterwards was about
the explosion of an ammunition dump. Three weeks later the atomic bombs were dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

I’ve written for nearly as long as I can remember. Probably my first story was written when I
was 16 at the seminary in Santa Barbara. I was very much taken with Salinger’s “The Catcher
In The Rye”, and decided to write a seminary version of that masterful description of ado-
lescent confusion and ennui. It apparently didn’t sit well with the friars in the faculty and
no doubt contributed to my dismissal some months later. I always had difficulty submitting
to authority. They must have known that and decided they didn’t need another Holden
Caulfield. Even so, I valued my time at St Anthony’s where I had a fine English teacher who
sparked my love affair with words.

3. What is the title of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book is “Searching For Noriko”, my first novel. It was inspired by the real life experi-
ences of two uncles, my mother’s brothers, US soldiers who were captured by the Imperial
Japanese Army on Bataan in the Philippines in 1942. Theirs was a heroic story, rich in family

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legend. Miraculously they survived over three years of brutal captivity which included the
infamous Bataan Death March, and came home. While the novel isn’t about them, the germ
of a story that covers nearly 60 years had its origins there.

4.  How long did it take you to write your latest work and how
fast do you write (how many words daily)?

I regret that I am not what you’d call a disciplined writer. The Noriko novel began as a per-
sonal dare, and it took four years to bring to fruition after many rewrites and a major re-
structuring.

My days are not structured. I don’t rise at a certain time and count hours or words in
front of my keyboard. I am episodic, based on ideas or inspiration that may occur at any time.
In those moments I am quite productive, sensing the need to put thoughts to print quickly.
But as I’m finding my stride as a writer I believe I will push work out more efficiently with the
benefit of lessons learned with Noriko.

5. Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I don’t know if it’s a “habit”, but my forte is storytelling. I can spin a story, sort of stream of
consciousness, out of a fertile imagination. Stories come easy to me. Just ask my kids. The
craft of writing a story is something I’ve had to work at. And I’ve had some fine teacher/
coaches, people who showed me how best to express those sometimes inspired ideas of
mine artistically in print.

I like writing fiction. There’s a certain freedom in that. The plausibility of a story set in a
certain time and place requires research and its own sort of discipline, but there is freedom—
maybe even license—to rewrite history to a degree so long as the plot is plausible. Just look
at dystopian alternate histories like Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America.” And there’s
nothing quite like inventing characters to whom you can give life, looks, loves, hates and
habits. It’s like an act of creation. They become your people.

And as far as “unusual” is concerned, I guess the fact that I don’t do elaborate plot out-
lines or chapter structures with scenes to be filled out later may fit the bill. That is not how
I roll. Or maybe I’m just lazy. I begin a story not actually knowing how it will end. My plot
evolves with the story, and it can take many turns before it reaches resolution.

6. I s writing the only form of artistic expression that you utilize, or
is there more to your creativity than just writing?

I suppose you could include a brief period in my youth when I played clarinet. But that ended
abruptly when I went to high school. Clarinet seemed rather not the macho image I wanted
to project. I once did write some poetry, but it was at a dark time in my life and writing poet-
ry was a sort of catharsis. The poems are wrenching still. I don’t revisit them.

Would you consider tennis an artistic expression? I suppose you could if I were Roger
Federer, but at my age that is quite unlikely. I was a competitive gymnast while at university.

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The artistry of that sport probably exceeds that of most others, combining amazing strength,
agility and dance. Alas, that was many years ago and it is a form of artistic expression that
requires the nimbleness (and fearlessness) of youth. Not in the cards, so writing remains my
one creative outlet.

7. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?

I love the style and storytelling of Herman Wouk, Tom Wolfe and Leon Uris. James Michener
became an idol for a time. Roddy Doyle has done much I admire. I suppose I’d have to say
Tom Wolfe is the one I’d most like to emulate.

8. W hat are you working on right now?
Anything new cooking in the wordsmith’s kitchen?

Actually, yes. There are some who have suggested possible sequels to “Searching for Noriko”,
and I may pursue those ideas later. But right now I have two novel projects underway. One is a
thriller involving a crusading prosecutor fighting the drug cartels in the southwest. The other is
more of a detective story involving a priest who several years after his death is accused by three
people of sexual abuse that occurred years earlier. These projects are in the earliest stages.

9.  Did you ever think about the profile of your readers?
What do you think – who reads and who should read your books?

Of course. Most writers have a canny eye on the prospective purchaser/reader. I will write
primarily for those who have some life experience, not children or young adult readers. I
believe most people who buy books today are women, willing to spend the time to become
engaged in stories with romance, family, stress of relationships and some sense of history. I
originally considered that men would be my best audience but realized that I wasn’t going to
be a Lee Childs-Harlan Coben writer type. I could write action thriller and military type works,
but they don’t interest me as much as the human emotions and interactions of everyday
people, posited in a familiar historical context.

10. Do you have any advice for new writers/authors?

That seems presumptuous for someone who is a new author himself. But here goes. Don’t
become discouraged. Writing isn’t easy although many non-writers would have you think
so. Don’t be afraid to rewrite. Good writers will tell you that they constantly rewrite. Under-
stand your strengths. There are storytellers and writers. Storytellers can invent a narrative
complete with elaborate plot twists. Writers are usually the craftsmen who have the talent
to put those stories into the words that become art. If you can’t become both a storyteller
and a writer, work hard on developing one or the other.

11. What is the best advice (about writing) you have ever heard?

Several bits of advice: 1) a work is never really finished. It can always be improved. Don’t
settle for a first or even second or third draft; 2) seek advice from good writers. Most are

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happy to share; 3) in fiction limit your viewpoints to an essential few characters. And 4) find
a good editor.

12.  How many books you read annually and what are you reading now?
What is your favorite literary genre?

It varies, depending on what I have going on in my life, like writing. I try to read four or five
books a year, sometimes reading two simultaneously. I am currently re-reading “Personal
Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant”, a great book written by Grant while he was dying of throat
cancer and published with the aid of Mark Twain in 1885. As literary genres go, I most enjoy
historical fiction that concentrates on the 19th and 20th centuries. Memoir and biography are
also high on my list of preferences.

13.  What do you deem the most relevant about your writing?
What is the most important to be remembered by readers?

I try to tell stories that recognize opposing points of view. I shun the sharp lines demarking
issues as black or white, preferring to delve into the world of grey where I find most of life
resides. In Noriko, for example, there are two sides to the story of the Pacific war and its
aftermath. There is the Japanese side of the story as well as the more familiar American side.
I think it is necessary to be fair to both sides, recognizing the strengths and failings of both
as I move the characters toward a conclusion. There are heroes and bad guys on both sides
where powers beyond their control drive them to deeds both good and evil. Reality requires
that recognition.

14.  What is your opinion about the publishing industry today and
about the ways authors can best fit into the new trends?
I don’t claim to have any important opinions about publishing today and how authors

should adapt to new trends. For the new author the task of securing an agent can be ex-
tremely daunting, with much frustrating trial and error. And the chances of selling a manu-
script directly to a major publishing house are slim to none. Few literary agencies are willing
to spend capital on an unproved writer. So after sending hundreds of queries to literary
agents without a nibble, many new writers now resort to self-publish, with varying degrees
of success. I was fortunate that Adelaide Books took a chance with me and “Searching for
Noriko”.

That said, one must play to one’s strengths and avoid the temptation to go with the herd ,
trying to write in the genre du jour. If you are a memoirist, best stay away from sci-fi or chil-
dren’s books, even though they may be currently selling better than memoir.

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207

BONNIE CARLSON

Author of
RADICAL ACCEPTANCE

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that
we will not find in the official author’s bio?

The physical environment where I spend my time—my home, my yard, my study—are ex-
tremely important to me. My study, for example, is painted a soothing shade of green and
also doubles as my yoga studio and, during the Covid 19 stay-at-home, my workout space.
I’m surrounded by artwork on the walls. When I write I like to have music playing and scent-
ed candles (eucalyptus is a favorite) burning.

As soon as I could afford it, I started to buy original artwork. At this point, despite owning a
large home, it would be hard to find room for more art. It is a privilege to support artists of all
types from around the world. We have paintings, prints, baskets, masks, and sculptures. Much
of it comes from travels to places such as Peru and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. I love walk-
ing through the house, seeing the different pieces, and remembering the trip when I bought it.

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

I began to write casually while I was still working as a professor, probably in the late eighties
or early nineties, inspired by short stories in The New Yorker, which I read avidly. I remem-
ber writing a first story, inspired by a walk around a pond and through some woods on the
campus of my university, the State University of New York at Albany. I wrote it longhand, in
purple ink, on yellow lined paper, but I don’t remember what it was about. Godawful, no
doubt, because I knew nothing about writing fiction, despite having written numerous pro-
fessional journal articles for my job.

My first published story—flash fiction—is called “When You Lose the Love of Your Life.” It
appeared in a literary magazine called Foliate Oak in 2017. It’s me imagining what it would
be like to lose a husband after a wonderful, long-term marriage. The mixed emotions, the
longing, the loneliness.

Before I had written this story, I had never heard of flash fiction, but I now really enjoy it
and have published 20 flash stories.

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3. What is the title of your latest book and what inspired it?

My debut novel is called Radical Acceptance. The concept originates in Buddhism. It refers to
the fact that in life, pain is inevitable, but suffering is not. Suffering occurs when we refuse to
accept pain and fight against it, which makes the pain worse.

I’m very open about my being a recovering alcoholic. This story was inspired by an experi-
ence I had sponsoring a woman who had been in and out of recovery and had a lot of trouble
staying away from a drink. After a couple of years of sobriety, she disappeared, and I never
saw her again. My fervent hope is that she is still alive and sober.

Her disappearance disillusioned me, and I abandoned the novel for about a year and a
half. I don’t remember what got me started again. Very little of the resulting novel is based
her story, much of which I’ve forgotten. But I’ll be forever grateful to her for getting me
launched as a writer.

Later this year, Adelaide will publish my short story collection, No Strangers to Pain. The
logline is: Stories of Everyday Struggles and People on Life’s Margins.” The title story is about
a young man coming out of foster care who hitchhikes from Riverside, CA, to Silverton, CO,
which I had visited in the year before I wrote the story. As my husband and I stood in front
of a hostel in tiny Silverton, a former mining town that is now a popular tourist destination,
I found myself wondering, who would stay in a place like this. And Boom! I invented Joachin,
who’s lost and looking to outrun his past, to find his place in the world.

That story, along with a several others in the collection, was inspired by my background as
a social worker, but also by stories run in The New York Times about kids leaving foster care,
how little we provide for them and how lost most of them are.

4. H ow long did it take you to write your latest work and how
fast do you write (how many words daily)?

My first novel I wrote in fits and starts over a period of about six years between when I put
the first words on paper through a professional edit, and finally sending it out on submission
to independent publishers. All the while I was writing short stories and getting them pub-
lished in literary magazines. It had been suggested to me that having a portfolio of some sto-
ries in literary magazines might help me find my first publisher. Then I discovered I enjoyed
writing short form fiction as much as I have enjoyed reading it over the years.

Unexpected Turbulence I’ve worked on for two, maybe three, years. I expect it will be
ready to send out by the end of the year.

5. Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I think about what I’m going to write while I’m walking or hiking while also listening to mu-
sic said to unleash creativity (embedded with theta brain waves). And while I’m thinking I
dictate using the Notes app on my iPhone. I don’t know if it’s the walk or hike, being out
in nature, or it’s the music, but it never fails to get my creative juices flowing. Sometimes I
don’t intend to work on something, but while I’m walking I can’t get it out of my head until
I get it down. I’ve written entire scenes that way. Of course, they need editing and are just
very rough drafts, but it gets the bones of the story down.

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6.  Is writing the only form of artistic expression that you utilize, or
is there more to your creativity than just writing?

I’d say my only other creative pursuit right now besides writing is gardening, which I enjoy
immensely. I had to learn a great deal when I moved from Upstate New York to Arizona,
with its different climate. It’s so much fun to plan my “combo pots” of flowers, visit several
different nurseries, and plant them outside in my backyard and courtyard so there are bright
spots of color everywhere I look.

7. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?

Ann Patchett’s novels have been a source of inspiration, as well as the short fiction of Bonnie
Jo Campbell. I gravitate mostly toward women writers, although I love Richard Russo’s nov-
els and look forward to taking a workshop with him this fall in Hawaii.

8. What are you working on right now? Anything new cooking in the wordsmith’s kitchen?

I’m revising my second novel, Unexpected Turbulence, getting it ready to send it off my editor.
It’s about a retired psychologist, a recent widow, who as a result of a tragedy finds herself
responsible for two teenaged step-granddaughters. The girls are not in good shape, having
just lost both parents. My protagonist has not been a parent herself and is also in the throes
of grieving the loss of her husband, so the situation is tough on all of them.

This book was inspired in part by my own experience as a (step) grandmother with seven
grandchildren through my husband’s three adult children. Five teenage girls are sandwiched
between a grandson who’s twenty and another who’s ten. The novel is not about any of these
children (although I do name the kids in a grief support group attended by my character Lily
after the seven of them).

I’ve also been obsessing about a third story about a family in southern Ohio ravaged by
the opiate epidemic there. I’ve written four short stories about them, three of which are
published. My focus is on the two children, an older sister and a younger brother, who the
sister is essentially raising. I’m tentatively calling it Collateral Damage, although Innocent By-
standers is another possible title. I’m experimenting with a structure I’ve never used before,
telling it from alternating timelines (also called dual timeline structure). Alternating chapters
tell the story from the present and the past, eventually converging. It’s a story about resil-
ience and the strength of family bonds even through incredible dysfunction.

9. D id you ever think about the profile of your readers?
What do you think – who reads and who should read your books?

All three of my novels (two are still works in progress) are upmarket women’s fiction, so my
target audience is educated women, especially mature women. Radical Acceptance will also
appeal to men in recovery, because it is about the process of getting sober and facing a dif-
ficult past, in part brought on by drinking. All three are about family, and family dysfunction
in particular, and what it does to a person. I’d say all of them should be good reads for book
clubs with lots of possible topics for discussion.

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10. Do you have any advice for new writers/authors?

Several things helped me when I was getting started. First, although this may sound obvious,
it’s important to read widely, especially the kinds of books you intend to write. In my case
that is family sagas and women’s fiction.

I read books (and blogs) about writing fiction. There are loads of good ones out there.
Some that I have found most helpful include anything by Donald Maass or KM Weiland. I read
about plot, and dialogue, character development, scene construction, etc. Writer’s Digest has
an affordable series on those topics.

After struggling quite a bit with my novel early on, I discovered writing courses, in person
and online, that have been very helpful. For example, I’ve taken courses on writing flash fic-
tion and on how to put a short story collection together. Local writing conferences that are
affordable, such as those sponsored by a nearby university, can also be helpful.

Lastly, it’s important to find a critique group (or groups) of writers who can give you feed-
back on your work while you also provide feedback on their writing. Friends and families can
also offer helpful feedback after reading drafts, but there is no substitute for other writers
who are looking at your writing through a different lens.

11. What is the best advice (about writing) you have ever heard?

There’s a ton of advice out there, some helpful and some not-so-helpful. For example, many
successful, extensively published authors insist you must write every day, no matter what.
Although I do write most days, sometimes it’s editing or revising my work rather than putting
down new words. And some days it just doesn’t happen.

There are plenty of people trying to be writers out there who just can’t manage writing
every single day. People with demanding full-time jobs, or kids, or both! I do think goal setting
is important though. So, if you’re not going to write every day, on which days will you write?
Try to carve out consistent time for yourself.

A couple of pieces of advice I have found to be helpful have to do with rejection and
persistence. Once you start to have other people—whether friends, family, critique group
partners, or editors—read your writing, you are going to experience critical feedback and
rejection. Lots of it. Over and over again. It can be hard on your ego and self-esteem, espe-
cially in the beginning before you’ve had much success. It’s an unavoidable part of the writing
experience. It’s how you get better. And if you’re going to submit, whether to magazines or
book publishers, you’re going to get rejections.

Once I got onto Twitter and started following other writers and literary magazines, I got
to see how even successful, published authors still experience rejection. It’s an inevitable
part of the process. Accept it and get used to it. It takes a while. Because most writing, es-
pecially fiction, is subjective. What one reader or editor or publisher thinks is terrific another
says is junk.

Persistence is essential. I’ve read some successful writers who say it accounts for more
about success than just about everything else, except talent, of course. There are so many
ways to get distracted and discouraged, but to succeed you have to keep trying, keep put-

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ting yourself out there, keep getting feedback, and keep submitting. Unless you are submit-
ting—a lot—you’re not going to get published. Since 2017, on Submittable alone, which
doesn’t count submissions via email, I have almost 500 rejections! When I just looked back
on it to get the number I got freaked out. But the point is, I keep trying.

12.  How many books you read annually and what are you
reading now? What is your favorite literary genre?

I probably read thirty to forty books a year, mostly literary or upmarket fiction, the occasional
mystery or thriller. I dip into short story collections by writers such as Bonnie Jo Campbell and
Viet Thanh Nguyen. I belong to a book group, so we’re reading a book a month together. We
struggled through Richard Powers’, The Overstory, which I thought was worth the work in the
end. Boy, can he write. The most recent book group selection was Long Bright River by Liz Moore,
which we loved. Everyone really enjoyed Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee as well. I thank my book group
pals for introducing me to historical fiction which I thought I wouldn’t enjoy but I do.

Other recent books I’ve enjoyed recently include Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng;
There There by Tommy Orange; and The Revsioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. I don’t
remember how I stumbled onto The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, but I
loved that one, and it gave me the idea of using an alternating timeline in my next novel,
which Ann Napolitano also used in Dear Edward. Other recent reads I’ve enjoyed include,
Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid; The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes; and The Dutch House, by
Ann Patchett.

Next up is The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. As a white woman, I’m always
looking to expand my perspective and world view by reading stories by writers of color, as
you can see from the list above.

13.  What do you deem the most relevant about your writing?
What is the most important to be remembered by readers?

Hmm, that’s a tough one. I draw heavily on my background as a social worker to explore
social issues that I think are complex and not well understood by a lot of people who haven’t
experienced them, like addiction, homelessness, and poverty. I want people to look closely
at hard things they might rather avoid. I like to tackle social issues and add a human face by
developing complex, flawed characters that readers can identify with as a way into these
issues [see Jody Picoult]. I strive to show characters struggling with complex issues about
which they have a range of feelings that can seem to conflict with one another.

14. W hat is your opinion about the publishing industry today and
about the ways authors can best fit into the new trends?

Being relatively new to the publishing industry, I wouldn’t presume to know what its “new
trends” are. From what I’ve read, those trends which are mercurial and predict anyhow. I
guess one way to tell is to read a range of literary magazines (which I do) and see what
editors are publishing and to look at what’s selling well. Not that the best seller list should
dictate what you write, but it’s helpful to understand what’s getting recognition.

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15. How do you deal with stress?
If you’re going to be a writer for the long haul, there’s going to be stress, lots of it. Like get-
ting rejection after rejection on a story you have poured your heart into. Like while you’re
waiting to hear from agents or editors about a book you’ve submitted. If you’ve gotten that
far, you’ve worked really hard over a long period of time; the stakes are very high. It can
also be stressful seeing other writers succeed (or fail) and comparing yourself to them, even
though you try not to.

So, what’s a writer to do? I find that mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga are
extremely valuable. I try to do some mindfulness activity every day, though I don’t always
succeed. Like has a way of getting in the way. Or sometimes when I try to practice, my monkey
mind is going a mile a minute and I can’t seem to turn it off, or my body won’t stay still. It
comes with the territory.

Exercise is also key, especially exercise done outside, in nature, like walking, hiking or bike
riding.

The last thing I’d like to say to readers who’d like to know me better is to check out my
website (www.bonniecarlsonauthor.com) and blog (www.vibage.blogspot.com ). Although
I’m not active on Facebook or Instagram, I do read and post on Twitter daily.

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CHRISTINE KING

Author of
WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that
we will not find in the official author’s bio?

I really like animals. In fact, my house feels at times like a mini suburban zoo. Almost acciden-
tally we have a male and a female Dalmatian that eerily resemble in temperament, personal-
ity and appearance to Shai and Dolly, the heroes in What Didn’t Happen. Sometimes, when
I look quickly at them it’s easy to get confused to time and place. During Covid-19 lockdown
we got another Dalmatian puppy. He is the cousin of our current female Dal and the neph-
ew of our male Dal and he is a bold, silly, independent character. We also have 2 rabbits, 2
parakeets, 4 betta fish, a small freshwater lobster that eats any fish that we house with him.
During Covid quarantine we have also acquired 15 heritage breed chickens that we started
as chicks. I never thought I would use or know, or need to use or know the term pasty butt in
chicks, but I have and I will leave it at that. Somewhere on the wish list for the future there
are also goats and an armadillo lizard. While much of our day seems to be tied to animal care,
living with so much nature with us brings a level of noise and calm at the same time.

2.  Do you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

When I was in second grade I wrote a poem for a regional poetry contest. It was a requirement
of school and I was in a class with who would be my most formative teacher of my entire edu-
cation. It was also just a few months after I had suffered my three concussions. It was a sad and
dark poem that is easy to see now as a young girl being out of control and grief struck. But at
the time I saw it as a poem about bees and the sadness and grief they experience about having
to protect themselves and their hive and then also knowing that their stinging and protection
would lead to their own death. My teacher was excited about the poem and returned a draft
with slash marks where she wanted me to start a new line so it was written as a poem. I didn’t
understand the slash marks that she made meant I needed to start a new line. Instead, I re-
wrote the poem inserting slash marks rather than starting new lines. My teacher was confused
by my confusion and explained it again. I wrote it again with the slashes rather than the new
lines. I was embarrassed and frustrated and finally understood the third time. I won the poetry

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contest but didn’t understand because in fact, I didn’t really like poetry. I did however like the
feeling of people responding to my writing. That’s what stuck.

3. What is the title of your latest book and what inspired it?

What Didn’t Happen, is a title that came easily to me. As a therapist I was trained to see and
label the trauma or what went wrong in my patient’s lives. But I’ve also always been inclined
to understand that it’s often what didn’t happen in peoples lives that can be even more
traumatic. In my memoir, it wasn’t just the trauma I experienced that was the problem. In
fact it was the lack of recognition, understanding, connectivity and proper attachment that
led to the bigger trauma. I often believe it’s what doesn’t happen in our lives that shapes us
more than what does happen.

4. H ow long did it take you to write your latest work and how
fast do you write (how many words daily)?

It took me 2 years to write What Didn’t Happen. It was a series of starts and stops interrupt-
ed by life itself. Sometimes the words and thoughts flowed and sometimes they were void.
Sometimes I wrote feverishly for days and then not at all for months.

5. Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I’m not all that fond of small talk and I am a swim mom. This left me with the dilemma of
forcing myself into small talk or finding something more productive to do. In some way, that’s
why I started writing. As it turned out, I wrote every drafted word to What Didn’t Happen, on
the notes section of my iphone while sitting at swim practices for my children and prolonged
weekend swim meets. I then transferred the notes to my email and transferred the emails
into working documents. Eventually, I had hundreds of pages of roughly written chapters that
were in no particular order at all. I printed them all up, laid them out on the floor and moved
the pages around like a giant chess board until I had cohesion.

6. I s writing the only form of artistic expression that you utilize, or
is there more to your creativity than just writing?

I find that most of my creativity actually occurs when I am riding my bike, and training for
track racing. At those times my mind is unencumbered, free and open. Writing is the portal
for the thoughts to come out, but it’s not where or when they are created.

7. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?

One of the most influential books I have read is West With The Night, by Beryl Markham. Her
descriptiveness of the freedom of flight and the expanse of Africa, offered me a connection
with two experiences I have never personally lived through yet I felt intimately connected to
and moved by. I was easily both Beryl, her plane, and her country all at once. I thought that
was magical. I have also been deeply influenced by Kay Redfield Jamison’s, An Unquiet Mind.
This book was permission for me to be both a patient and a clinician and not see oneself as a

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failure because of mental illness. She offered hope that in fact illness can be a gift and a tool
to be better as a therapist, understand more of our patients, and persevere.

8.  What are you working on right now?
Anything new cooking in the wordsmith’s kitchen?

I am excited to be working on a YA novel called The Ghost Bike. Saddened over the past few
years to have known many cyclists that have been killed by cars, I’ve also been inspired by the
movement of ghost bike installations that have become grassroot streetside memorials to
those killed. The book is about a cycling accident and how that impacts a group of young girls.

9.  Did you ever think about the profile of your readers?
What do you think – who reads and who should read your books?

I have two very different books right now. One a memoir and one a YA. In some way, like any
book, they are both about overcoming a challenge or crisis. For What Didn’t Happen, my mem-
oir, I imagine coaches, victims of brain injuries, and those who love those victims to read this
book. As a society we are just beginning to see the wide reaching and amorphous impact of
brain injuries. We still have limited understanding of them. I am hoping this book offers some
understanding, and rather than putting people into boxes of diagnosis or problems it offers
hope that the world is in fact bigger than those boxes. For The Ghost Bike, my readers are a YA
audience or anyone who enjoys reading YA, myself included. I think this book is more geared
towards the dynamics and difficulties of girls relationships with themselves and their peers.

10. Do you have any advice for new writers/authors?

My advice for new writers is to never let anyone tell you that you are not a writer. If they do,
ignore them. If you are compelled to write, then you have something important to say. And
if you have something important to say, someone will experience this as important to hear.

11. What is the best advice (about writing) you have ever heard?

The best advice I have ever heard about writing is to just keep doing it. Even if you think you
are stuck or you feel that you’ve lost your voice, just keep writing. Write about something
else. Write about anything. This advice has helped me when I don’t want to write, or I feel
disconnected from my voice, or I am blocked. Just keep writing through it.

12.  How many books you read annually and what are you
reading now? What is your favorite literary genre?

To be honest, reading is a struggle at times. My attention span is terrible and so is my memory.
I am also a chameleon and when I am writing I need to be careful not to be influenced by other
writer’s voices because then I tend to lose my own. I am famous for reading parts of books
and losing interest and abandoning them. Some of this happens because if I get distracted and
can’t read every day I lose connection to the story or characters or plot. In these periods of
my life I find it easier to read non-fiction where it’s less important to pay attention to details or

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plot twists. I enjoy adrenaline packed books such as Touching the Void, Into Thin Air, and Into
the Wild. In another life I would like to climb Everest, or at least live deep in the wilderness.

When I read fiction and I’m able to concentrate, where I once wanted to read books that I
could relate to, lately I have wanted to read books that have nothing to do with my life or my
worries or struggles. This is evidenced by my recently being sucked into The Ninth House by Leigh
Bardugo, which was a delicious book that has nothing to do with any of my personal experiences.
13. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your writing?

What is the most important to be remembered by readers?
I want my readers walking away from my writing not just thinking that they will be okay, but
also believing that they will be okay. Whatever you are going through, maybe the plot twist
of your life won’t be the ones you expect, or plan for, but you can get through them, and
there will always be people, even if you have to look hard for them, that can help you. I want
my readers to learn how to find their own gut and own voice.
14. W hat is your opinion about the publishing industry today and

about the ways authors can best fit into the new trends?
When I started this process I saw the world of publishing a series of walls. It’s a world de-
signed and built upon rejection. Inherently this can be difficult for anyone, let alone a mod-
erately introverted insecure writer such as myself. I found the process of publishing to be a
profound power dynamic where the writer is left with little power. I think there are many
more models for getting published and getting your voice heard. This model of publications
from indie, to hybrid offer a route to reclaim your power. Ultimately, the walls have doors,
you just have to keep looking and squeezing through.

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JIM METZNER

Author of
SACRED MOUNDS

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that
we will not find in the official author’s bio?

The Catskills, where I live, is called “The Land of Little Rivers”, and is arguably the birthplace
of American Fly-Fishing in America. I started fly-fishing about ten years ago, and still consid-
er myself a beginner. It’s a wonderful pursuit. Nothing quite like inventing a fly, tying it and
seeing if it can fool a fish, especially a trout. You’re out on a river, staying focused, vigilant
– especially if it’s a dry (surface) fly, and every once in a while, it’s a bass or trout for dinner.
Mostly “catch and release”.

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

An early story from grade school was about a spacecraft reaching the edge of the universe
and finding it to be an enormous glass container, tapered at one end. The last sentence was,
“That substance out there is cork!”

3. What is the title of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sacred Mounds was inspired by the ancient earthworks that proliferate in the eastern US
and around the world – some of the earliest places of spiritual practice. They’re buried, rel-
atively unknown, mysterious – living metaphors.

4. H ow long did it take you to write your latest work and how
fast do you write (how many words daily)?

This book took decades. I started it, put it down, came back years later, threw it all away and
started from scratch again. After that it was - come what may, in sickness and in health, at
least an hour a day, however many words that produced.

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5. Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Does writing underwater qualify? Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. I like to
write with pen and paper in a journal, transferring it to computer in a later draft. I suspect
this is not particularly unusual.

6. I s writing the only form of artistic expression that you utilize, or
is there more to your creativity than just writing?

I write poems and songs, tie flies for fishing, paint on birch bark. As for the songs, sometimes
I make them up on the spot, in the company of friends. Ephemeral art that’s only possible in
an atmosphere of trust.

I’m mostly known as the producer of the Pulse of the Planet radio series. That program
and all of my work in radio, stems from a lifelong interest in sound and listening. Which
translates to going out into the world and recording the ever-changing soundscape. Not
exactly an artistic expression, except that what we choose to listen to and share can change
our state and understanding of the world.

7. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
Rene Daumal’s “Mount Analogue”, Bernard Cornwell, Patrick O’Brian, Ken Follett, Michael
Chabon, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman. I admire Louise Penny’s work, but don’t think it has
influenced my writing.

8.  What are you working on right now?
Anything new cooking in the wordsmith’s kitchen?

Well, a sequel to Sacred Mounds is possible – if you’ve read the book, you know what I mean.
But it’s on a back burner of the kitchen stove for the moment.

9.  Did you ever think about the profile of your readers?
What do you think – who reads and who should read your books?

I’d love the book to be read by all ages and demographics, but it was written for my genera-
tion, Baby Boomers. Read the first Chapter, tell me if you want a “Guppy Power” T-shirt, and
I’ll guess your age.

10. Do you have any advice for new writers/authors?
Nothing that wouldn’t sound like a homily you haven’t heard a hundred times before. Persist, be
both patient and ruthless (with yourself), write about what you know and what compels you, let-
ting others worry about whether it will sell or not. And whenever possible, show rather than tell.

11. What is the best advice (about writing) you have ever heard?
A good editor is worth their weight in precious metals. OK, I said that, but lord knows, others
have, too.

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12.  How many books you read annually and what are you

reading now? What is your favorite literary genre?
I’m reading Joyce Yarrow’s “Zahara and the Lost Books of Light”, a historical fantasy. Am a fan
of history and historical fiction.
13.  What do you deem the most relevant about your writing?

What is the most important to be remembered by readers?
I’d love to bounce that question off the reader’s themselves. There is a spine to Sacred
Mounds, a reason it was written, which has to do with why we humans are here, on this
planet, reading books and doing the countless things we do,
14.  What is your opinion about the publishing industry today and

about the ways authors can best fit into the new trends?
I am not really qualified to answer this question, except to say that it was impossible to find
an agent and quite difficult to secure a publisher. Consequently, I am grateful to Adelaide
Books for publishing the print version of Sacred Mounds and to Skyboat Media/Blackstone
for publishing the audio version.

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