About “Momentous Moments”

1. What was your motivation for writing “Momentous Moments”?

Overwhelming emotions demand expression: I’m seeking catharsis and empathy.

2. What challenges—if any—did you have writing your piece?

I felt guilty writing about my frustrations with my Mom.  I wrote it when she was still alive and only had the courage to edit and publish it after she died.

3. What is your favourite line—if any—in “Momentous Moments”?

The ending, which I didn’t add until the decade-later rewrite of the piece: 

“Still to come was my mother’s passing.  Still to come was my grief.” 

4. What do you want people to walk away with after reading “Momentous Moments”?

I would love it if someone were to have a sense that they’ve felt something similar in their own lives.

5. Is there anything else you would like to talk about regarding “Momentous Moments” that hasn’t been asked?

Writing can be therapy for the writer and reader; I think that’s what I was aspiring to with this piece.

Reading

1. What are you currently reading?

Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

2. Do you have a favourite book? If so, what is it?

Summer’s Lease by John Mortimer; I’ve read this mystery, set in a Tuscan villa on a family holiday, dozens of times throughout my life—and it never gets old.

3. What is your favourite poet or author, if any?

CS Lewis (his Narnia series) is a perennial favourite.  Just answering this question makes me want to revisit those magical worlds.

4. Do you gravitate towards reading genres outside the ones you write?

I’ve dabbled in my preferred reading genre of mystery writing and would like to try more.  

Writing

1. Why do you write?

I feel compelled to write, to get my thoughts and feelings out of my head.

2. What do you love about being a writer?

The feeling of being a writer (not just an imposter) is fleeting but worth all the challenges.

3. What time of the day do you write, and do you have a writing routine?

Any time, any place: but if I do it on transit, I can lose track of time and miss my station!

4. Where do you get your ideas from?

My own experiences are the major source of ideas I write about. I haven’t had a particularly exciting life, but aspects of it may be uniquely or at least interestingly dysfunctional.

5. How long does it take you to write your projects?

Honestly, it can take decades. I’ve recently revisited, revised, and published materials written long ago.  Other writing seems almost instant!  So… twenty-four hours to twenty-four years, for me!

6. What advice would you give to other authors/writers/poets?

Be patient with yourself, be true to yourself, be good to yourself.

7. What project(s) are you currently working on?

A textbook!  But I hope to do some more creative writing and rewriting this season.  I have a few stories from many years ago that I want to resurrect, a process which connects me, for better and worse, to my younger self.