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Chat Live with QUIET Author Susan Cain TONIGHT 9PM Eastern

January 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
Susan Cain

Susan Cain

We’re so excited to have Susan Cain, author of  Quiet: The Power of Introverts join us for a live chat tonight at 9PM Eastern. While you wait for our live chat with Susan Cain, check out what our From Left to Write members had to say about Quiet.
To join the chat, you can log in to your Livestream account or enter a nickname by clicking on the pencil/pen icon in the chat box. Please play nice and use your manners during the chat!

Big thanks to Susan Cain for chatting with us! Click through to read the full transcript.

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Filed Under: Author Interviews, Online Chats Tagged With: , , ,

Chat with Martha Beck-TODAY 1PM Eastern

November 10, 2011 5 Comments

Martha Beck headshot    Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

Today is our live chat with Martha Beck. Join us at 1PM Eastern as we discuss her book Expecting Adam. We’ll be talking pregnancy, special needs, angels, special signs, work-life balance and much more! If you have any questions for Martha, please submit them in the comments below.

If you haven’t read Expecting Adam, check out From Left to Write members’ posts inspired by Martha Beck’s memoir.

To join the chat, just enter your name in the box that says “Guest_1234″ or something similar and start typing! Click “Send” or press enter to submit your chat. 

Due to technical difficulties, we’ve moved the chat to our Facebook page. Join us there!

Guest_852
From Left to Write
November 9, 2011 - 7:13 pm
Welcome to our chat with Martha Beck! She will join us live at 1PM Eastern, so please join us then.
Guest_681
November 10, 2011 - 7:44 am
Joyce
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 7:54 am
Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us. We'll start in about 7 minutes!
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 7:56 am
LOL It tweets like a bird when someone says something. I just ducked when I heard it, like a bird was flying around my office.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 7:57 am
Kristine, it's Kim here. i just heard it too. Hadn't tested the sound before now
JackieMcD
November 10, 2011 - 7:58 am
New to Left to Write and a huge Martha Beck fan.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 7:58 am
Welcome Jackie! Glad to have you visit.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 7:59 am
While you're waiting for Martha to arrive,take a look at our bloggers' take on Martha's book: http://bit.ly/v4XLaF
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 7:59 am
I really connected to Expecting Adam. I love when that happens.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:00 am
Kristine, I can't even imagine what it was like for Martha. I remember how agonizing it was to even decide if we wanted to test our baby for Down syndrome
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:02 am
Who has read Expecting Adam?
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:02 am
My situation is pretty unique still. I was 38 but pregnant with an embryo of a 29 year old woman. So while I was high risk, the fetus wasn't. We still did testing, but did not go as far as an amnio, etc. We still had some semi scary months because of an ultrasound. I really just believed it was going to be ok though, and it was.
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:03 am
@Guest_325: @From Left to Write: HELLOOOOO! IT'S MARTHA! ANYONE OUT THERE??
Guest_325
November 10, 2011 - 8:04 am
Martha!!!!! yay
Guest_325
November 10, 2011 - 8:04 am
hellooooooooooo
Guest_325
November 10, 2011 - 8:04 am
love that "hello" ....
JackieMcD
November 10, 2011 - 8:04 am
Hi Martha! What a pleasure to be a part of this energy!
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:04 am
Hi Martha!
Guest_681
November 10, 2011 - 8:04 am
Hi Martha! It's a pleasure
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:05 am
Hi Martha! Glad you can join us! If you'll change @guest_299 to Martha (in box right above the place to enter your text) so we'll know it's you!
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:05 am
@Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy): @Guest_325: @From Left to Write: @Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy): @From Left to Write: @From Left to Write:
Guest_325
November 10, 2011 - 8:05 am
"expecting adam" was the first book of yours that I read and I was hooked!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:06 am
Hi everyone! Welcome to From Left to Write. We're really glad to have Martha here to chat with us.
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:06 am
Okay, this is Martha again--I got help from my son. Who has Down syndrome. And they think HE's the one with issues? Thank you all SO MUCH for joining me!
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:06 am
Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for joining me!
Deborah
November 10, 2011 - 8:06 am
thank YOU for being here
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:07 am
Martha, thank you opening yourself and sharing what must have been such a challenging part of your life! How did you prepare your family before Expecting Adam was published?
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:08 am
Are we supposed to be hearing each other? I'm so honored by your kind words and simply by the fact that you've read my book. It's overwhelming to think how alone I felt when I was going through that pregnancy, and how kind you are all being to me in retrospect!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:08 am
It's a text only chat, but you might hear a bird chirping if you turn on the sound notification
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:09 am
The book came out when my kids were 11, 9, and 7, and I frankly thought it would die quietly, so I didn't do anything to prepare them. Notice a pattern here? Luckily, they're awesome and handled it beautifully.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:09 am
Everyone, please feel free to jump in with any questions for Martha-she's Guest_299
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:09 am
Martha - I think that is one of the reasons I connected so much to you and to your book. Raising a special needs child I've felt that overwhelming "alone-ness."
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:10 am
It says "Martha" is already taken. I am, too. I'm very taken by all of you!
Guest_299
November 10, 2011 - 8:10 am
Um, it won't let me use "Martha." Says it's already taken. Martha Stewart, would you please leave me in peace????
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:10 am
LOL. OK. Guest_299 is a special name as well
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:11 am
Try MarthaB
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:12 am
Martha: I just wrote another book in which I talk about how Adam has taught me to see; it occurred to me that he took me from "aloneness" to "all-oneness." Open yourself to the experience, and you'll find unexpected magic happening. Really.
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:12 am
Martha - did you plan your third pregnancy? Were you ever concerned that adding a third child would be too much?
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:12 am
I'm going to dive right in with a question from one of our members, Marianne of http://www.writer-mommy.com/ There are many “supernatural” events to which you refer in this book, the majority happening durng your pregnancy. In the years since Adam arrived and since this book was published, how have those events (and any that have occured since the publishing of the book) affected and/or deepened your spirituality/faith?
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:13 am
Okay, point one: I did plan my third pregnancy, although really John was more urgent about it than I felt. It was lucky I had another child soon, because my body completely gave out not long after.
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:14 am
In answer to the "supernatural" events: I've come to see them as utterly natural. I think it's unnatural NOT to experience them, and our culture actually suppresses them the way the Victorians suppressed sexuality.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:15 am
@MarthaB Do you think that your "supernatural" events are what some might call their intuition?
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:15 am
Adam is incredibly psychic--always knows what's happening to me no matter where I am, knows how to get complex information to others when he really still doesn't talk much. After 23 years, I'm tired of dancing around the issue--I long ago lost my ability to deny the evidence that there's something spooky about that little man.
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:15 am
I felt very challenged by your idea to believe everything until proven false, instead of only believing if proven true. That's a tough one for a scientist.
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:16 am
We call it intuition, we call it a gut feeling, we call it love. Call it whatever you like, the joy is that we have a huge field of reality to play around in. I absolutely believe science will understand it one day. But for now, it looks pretty darn magical!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:16 am
This is a good lead in to a question from Jennie B of http://www.wantapeanut.com : I was troubled by the idea that Adam was somehow more magical than your other children. What do your daughters think about this? How did your subsequent pregnancy, after you found your new spirituality, compare to your time expecting Adam?
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:18 am
But the issue is that if you believe nothing until it's proven true, you literally CAN'T BELIEVE ANYONE. Descartes pointed out that you could be dreaming your life. Everything is filtered through perception--and we've known for almost 100 years--scientifically--that perception not only filters reality, but in some way determines it. Einstein had trouble believing it at first, too, but then he had to acknowledge the experimental evidence.
Worldtravelmom
November 10, 2011 - 8:18 am
There's nothing more magical than a mother's intuition in my opinion. We just don't always understand the power of it, and therefore have a hard time recognizing it. Just had to say that real quick.
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:19 am
My kids, and your kids, and you, are all much more interesting than we typically believe. My daughters are natural mystics, though I left them to develop their own beliefs (had enough religion stuffed into me as a kids, didn't want to do that). My daughters also know that Adam is different, that he shines in a strange way, and they know that does nothing to diminish their own magic.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:19 am
@Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy): that's an interesting thought. I feel like we need to believe everything we see/feel is true in order to make sense of life
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:20 am
There are two ways to see the world (paraphrasing Einstein again): as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle. Both equally potentially true, but for me, the second one's more fun!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:21 am
@MarthaB: Do you still feel the presence of puppeteers (from Melanie @ http://myattkids.blogspot.com/)
Joyce
November 10, 2011 - 8:21 am
Just having read the book has opened my eyes to the magic of my life and my kids. Thank you for that, Martha!
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:21 am
Adam has taught me not to hold any belief too tightly. I know that I really don't know anything, and that's okay. More than okay, it's a joyful, liberating truth!
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:22 am
I think it is very much about opening yourself up. Hopefully my brain is evolving as I get older and "wiser." It's easier to accept without proof, even though my education/training is so strongly focused on "evidenced based."
MarthaB
November 10, 2011 - 8:23 am
I have a question for Joyce: Do you ever feel as if YOU have puppeteers? It could be my unconscious brain, or Smurfs, or whatever, but I do often feel that way. Yesterday I was teaching a workshop and for some reason turned on my cell phone mid-class. At that moment a client called, sobbing, having just undergone a trauma. Why did I turn on my phone? I don't know.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:23 am
@Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy): My younger self (albeit 5 years ago) was very negative, until I learned how to open myself to the positive energy around me. I'm a very practical person and back then didn't believe in that "hippie dippie stuff"
Betsy
November 10, 2011 - 8:24 am
So how do you decide what -- of all the the unproven theories and people -- to believe?
Kristine (Mommy Needs Therapy)
November 10, 2011 - 8:25 am
I'm a very different person than I thought I would be prior to adopting Noah. I have learned so much from him, even as we struggle. I like the "me" I am now much better, but I never, ever saw myself becoming this person. If that makes sense. Sorry, I am monopolizing this chat.
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:26 am
@MarthaB does your husband all experience puppeteers? Your daughters?
Joyce
November 10, 2011 - 8:26 am
Yes, Martha, I do feel that way sometimes. But I what I was trying to say before, is that I don't think I would have paid any attention to the coincidences. After reading your book, I began to look at it differently. It's so much more fun! And I am in awe of the way things unfold sometimes...this is a gift that you have given to me. And I have passed it along to some of my friends who have, in turn, read the book.
Shannon
November 10, 2011 - 8:29 am
@MarthaB Just wanted to jump in for a second and say how much I enjoy your writing. I'm still reading Expecting Adam (I have a 3 month old so not a lot of time to read) and look forward to finishing it.
MARTHBECK
November 10, 2011 - 8:29 am
MY COMMENTS AREN"T POSTING! HELP!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:29 am
Oh Oh,did we lose Martha?
MARTHBECK
November 10, 2011 - 8:29 am
I answered about five questoins before I had to log out--nothing was posting. sorry!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:29 am
Sorry Martha, I think there was a glitch. We see you!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:30 am
Thanks for your patience everyone
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:32 am
I'm so sorry about the technical difficulties. Let's move the chat to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fromlefttowrite
MARTHBECK
November 10, 2011 - 8:35 am
Did everyone go to Facebook? I'm there!
Deborah
November 10, 2011 - 8:36 am
i am too ....
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:36 am
I'm on FB, hop on over! https://www.facebook.com/fromlefttowrite
Deborah
November 10, 2011 - 8:38 am
martha is on the facebook link ... click above .... it doesn't seem anyone is there
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:38 am
You m ight have to refresh the page to see new posts
Guest_977
November 10, 2011 - 8:39 am
I'm there!
From Left to Write
November 10, 2011 - 8:45 am
If you're just joining us, we moved the chat to Facebook due to technical difficulties: https://www.facebook.com/fromlefttowrite
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Filed Under: Live Chats, Memoirs, Parenting, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Q & A with The Taker’s Alma Katsu

September 6, 2011 Leave a Comment
The Taker by Alma Katsu


The Taker by Alma KatsuOne of the first person I met at Book Blogger Conference was Alma Katsu.  I went to the conference feeling like a book blogger newbie and her welcoming smile beckoned me to sit next to her for breakfast that morning. During our introductions, Alma laughed as I described my I’m Not the Nanny blog to her. Turns out, she’s Hapa, just like my kids! (Hapa is anyone of mixed Asian or Pacific Island ancestry).

Alma Katsu’s debut novel The Taker is available for sale today! The Taker is a dark and lusty (read lots of sex) novel about Lanny whose mysterious self-healing powers amazes Dr. Luke Findley.  As Lanny shares her past with him, Dr. Findley can’t tear himself away even though Lanny is accused of murder.

If you’re in the DC metro area, join Alma for her book launch party this Thursday, September 8 at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. For her other book signings, visit Alma’s website. Now with out further ado, here’s our interview with Alma Katsu.

When we first met at Book Blogger Con, we immediately connected because of our Asian-American heritage. How has your mixed ethnicity influenced your writing?

Alma Katsu: It’s probably made me more sensitive to characters who are outsiders, and the challenges they face. This tends to apply to protagonists because they usually view themselves as outsiders or as being apart from other in some way, whether it’s because they’re disadvantaged in some way, or an orphan: the hero’s journey involves overcoming adversity, and it’s hard to do this if you’re privileged and never suffered a day in your life. Of course, I think everyone tends to see themselves as an outsider to a degree because of our intrinsic apartness from one another (i.e., you never can really know what it’s like to be someone else) so maybe you should just scratch everything I’ve just said.

Because The Taker is predominantly set in New England of the early 1800s, there are no Asian characters. There is a piece of the backstory for the main character, Lanore (or Lanny, as she’s called) from the time of the Boxer Rebellion, when she lived in China with British expatriates. I keep trying to slip more about this period in the novels, but I haven’t found the right fit yet. For some reason, I’m drawn to right about Silk Road countries, too, and there’s a bit of this in the second book, The Reckoning.

You’ve been very active on social media and have embraced book bloggers. From an author’s perspective, how do you think social media will affect the book publishing industry?Author Alma Katsu

AK: I can go on about this subject all day because my last job (and one I might return to) was about interpreting the impact of participatory media on the way societies communicate. My days were spent pouring over social media analytics, understanding the best ways to bound online communities of interest and determine key influencers within a network. I firmly believe that social media is part of a fundamental shift in the way we exchange ideas, and its properties are quite different from the way we communicated before the social media revolution. The tricky part is that we’re still in a time of intense change, with new platforms created every six months, and users constantly finding new applications for existing platforms. It’s really tough for the industry to react nimbly—for any entrenched industry to react quickly to change, for that matter.

Regarding how any author should embrace social media, that’s a highly personal decision. It comes down to comfort, because being unauthentic on social media might be worse than not being there at all. Part of the reason I enjoy it is because I’m getting to put into practice things about which I’d only theorized before, or measured using raw metadata. Sounds totally geeky, right? Hey, I was an analyst for thirty years; it’s not going to go away over night.

Print books or ebooks? Which do you personally prefer to read? Why?

AK: Believe it or not, I have yet to read an ebook! I even bought an iPad so as not to be left behind with this particular technology, but I have yet to download my first book. I think it’s because I love paper, and I love beautiful book covers.

How long did it take you to write The Taker?

AK: Forever. No, wait—it just felt like forever. I wrote and rewrote it many times over ten years, though it wasn’t the only book I worked on during that time. I would work on it until I got stuck, then I’d put it away and write another novel, think about The Taker again, take it out and try to make it work. Repeat, repeat. I was working full-time for the government, sometimes crazy hours like after 9/11 and during the Iraq War, but I wrote every day. And I didn’t think I would ever get published. I just wanted to see if I could figure out how to write a novel. I must’ve been crazy.

You describe The Taker as dark and lusty. After reading it, I definitely agree. I thought that the lusty parts of the novel was befitting of the story. Was that an element you planned on including from the very inception of the novel?

AK: I think books must’ve been dirtier during my formative reading years. I’m not talking about purposefully smutty books; John Barth’s The Sotweed Factor springs to mind, anything by Vladimir Nabokov. Mainstream fiction these days seem to be more, um, prudish. Cautious. Or maybe I’m reading the wrong books.

Also, it seems that sex is usually a factor when adults do bad things. If you listen to anthropologists, it’s probably the motivation behind most of our behavior. We want money, notoriety, whatever to make us more attractive to potential mates. And the worst punishment—without giving too much away—involves sexual humiliation. Those psychological scars are almost impossible to heal.

On your website, you mention that The Taker was inspired by the fairy tale Pinocchio. Did you pull inspiration from any other fairy tales for your book?

AK: From sexual humiliation to Pinocchio! This is what you’d call a wide-ranging discussion. I’d say there’s a little Sleeping Beauty in The Taker, with Jonathan as the Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast. That’s the inspiration for the second book in the trilogy, The Reckoning, by the way. Obviously, these are not the Disney versions of those stories. No singing candelabras in The Reckoning.

You’ve been very busy speaking at writing and book conferences.  What have expertise have you shared at the conferences? What can you share for aspiring authors?

AK: I’ve been lucky in that my publisher is really behind the book and they’ve gotten me placed on panels at great book events, with many more to come. I don’t know that I’ve shared much expertise at these events, being a newbie, but I’ve learned a lot from the other authors, who have been so so generous, sharing their experiences. Because publishing seems like a closed industry before you’ve sold a book. You’re standing on the outside looking in and even if you’d heard a few things about how it all works, you don’t really know until you get there. At this stage, I’m consumed with worry: what happens if the book doesn’t sell well? Will I be dropped by my publisher? Will those terrible, snarky, ankle-biting reviews sink my book? It helps to hear from a best-selling author that they were dropped by two publishers before they had a major hit, or that no, nobody pays attention to the really mean reviews.

Now that The Taker is ready to hit the shelves, you have the next two books in the works. How do you stay focused on your writing?

AK: Sheer terror and a desire not to go back to working for the government.

Alma, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions!

The Taker is published by Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster. Don’t forget about her book launch party this Thursday!

You can visit Alma Katsu’s website as well as her blog Endpaper Notes. She’s happily  hanging out on Twitter as well.

Photo of Alma Katsu via her website.

I received a galley of The Taker at Book Blogger Con and finished it on my train ride home. No compensation was received for this post. Affiliate links are included in this post.

 

 

Filed Under: Author Interviews, Novels, Thien-Kim Tagged With: , ,

Author Christi Grab Answers Your Questions About Unexpected Circumnavigation

July 15, 2011 Leave a Comment

Thank you for everyone who answered our call for questions for Christi Grab. We already heard from our club members and their stories inspired by  The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People Part I. Christi took some time to answer your  questions about her adventure around the world with her husband.  (Keep reading till the end, we have another book giveaway for you!)

You wrote a lot about the foods and meals you consumed while on your journey. Are there any French Polynesian dishes that you prepare and eat at home now? And after eating so many bananas, do you still eat them? From Michele of Wife and Mommy

Yes, we still eat bananas! Eric and I got used to eating different foods every day as we constantly tried different local dishes. Now that we’re back in land life, we rarely eat out, but I try to cook a big variety of exotic dishes to keep that variety of foods up.

How has your travel changed your perspective on life- from your overall priorities to your pace of life. Also, what did you learn from your trip? From Michelle of Honest and Truly

In a lot of ways, we’ve come back different people. We’ve realized every culture is different. Each culture has aspects that are both better and worse that ours. Every culture has its problems; there is no such thing as a utopia. Most cultures value personal relationships more and live at a slower pace than Americans do; those are priorities we’re trying to hold on to.

 Would you ever do this again? What was the most interesting thing they learned from another culture? One thing they would have done differently? From  Amy at oh what a life

1. We are trying to figure out how to pull it off again! 2. We learned that 99% of the people in the world are kind and helpful. Everyone wants the same thing: to be happy and have healthy children. While cultural values varied, human nature does not. 3. We try not to second guess ourselves; we did the best we could at the time. What will be different next time around really will depend on time and money.

 What sort of additional preparation or training would you suggest to someone who is about to follow in your footsteps? Or rather, are you both satisfied with your preparation and would not have done anything different? From Adrian Douglas

We did the best training we could with the little time we had. It was enough for Eric — he was totally prepared. I probably could have used some more courses, but I had enough training to be adequately prepared and learned the rest as I went.

What was your transition back to life on land like? From Robin at Not Ever Still
It was tough. I got used to a slower life, higher quality food, and spending tons of time with my husband. It took six months and a lot of tears before I felt like I could function in regular society again.

Were you and your husband able to find jobs once you returned? From Melanie at Tales From the Crib

My husband was on sabbatical, so he went back to his same job. I was a mortgage broker, so my job was gone for good.

 What did you learn about yourself or your husband while on this adventure  and how did that change the dynamics of your relationship? From Elaine  of Connor and Helen Grow Up

Couples: In regular life, it was easy for us to sweep our issues under the rug. But locked up in a small boat together, we had no choice but to work out our problems. 93% of couples come back from cruising more happily married. The other 7% get divorced. There is no in between. Self: We were both super busy in land life. Then, suddenly, we had long stretches of empty time while at sea during which we realized who “we” were versus who “society” made us be. It was actually a huge surprise to realize I wasn’t really the person I thought I was.

What is it you love the most about your *Nordhavn 43 #18, “Kosmos”? From  Snappy Clam

Not too small to live on full time, not too big to do all the maintenance ourselves and small enough to manhandle if needed. She is solidly built and we feel safe.

How often do you use the boat now? From Robin at Not Ever Still

We still live on it full time and generally take it out every other weekend for a day trip around San Diego. Once in a while we do a longer trip, like Mexico or LA. Next month we’re going to take a trip to San Francisco.

 If you had the opportunity to go around again, where would you aim to go this time round? Ie. would you take a different route (Cape Horn, South Africa, Northern Europe, etc)? From Adrian Douglas

We picked the shortest route possible because we had such little time. What route we choose next time will depend on how much time we have. We’d happily do the same route, though.

What was your process for writing the book? How was the self publishing experience for you and would you recommend it? From Lisa of Hannemaniacs

I took our existing blog and turned it into more of a flowing story, adding in details that we chose to omit at the time for various reasons. Self-publishing can be overwhelming, but I picked that option because I felt like traditional publishing wasn’t the right avenue for me. I think the second book will be a lot easier than the first.

What would you like your readers to take away from your book?

Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone and try new things. Yes, you risk lows, but without being willing to deal with the lows, you never get to experience the amazing highs.

Thank for taking letting us pick your brain, Christi! You can pick up your copy of The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People Part I from Amazon. You can follow her adventures on her website.

Christi has also graciously offered a copy of book to a lucky reader.  To enter, leave a comment what luxury you would pack on your boat trip around the world.

For additional entries do any of the following and leave a comment for each item:

A winner will be chosen via random.org on July 29.
Filed Under: Author Interviews, Memoirs Tagged With:

A From Left to Write Interview with Teresa Strasser, author of Exploiting My Baby

February 17, 2011 1 Comment

Exploiting My Baby by Teresa Strasser

Teresa Strasser stops by to discuss her book , Exploiting My Baby, and answer some tough questions posed by our book club members. After you read her interview, come back tomorrow to read posts inspired by Teresa’s book.

Q:Where is your favorite place to write?

A: I like the public library. When I get stuck, I can let my mind wander as I observe homeless guys reading USA Today. What I won’t do for free Wi-Fi.

Q: When and why did you start writing?

A: started writing professionally at age 19 for a small weekly newspaper in San Francisco. Mostly, I was writing obituaries. I started out as an intern, but the paper was short-handed and I was cheap. My dad was a mechanic, so it was an appealing concept to make a living without getting in a jumpsuit and spending my day under a car.

Q: Is there a message in your writing that you want readers to grasp?

A: No. There is no message. I just try to be as honest as possible with the hope that a reader will think, “Holy crap. I feel exactly the same way, but I’d never admit it.” While I don’t have a message, I do find myself always looking for better questions, because I never have answers. Recently, I auditioned to be on one of Oprah’s new shows. The producers told me they were looking for someone who was “far along on the spiritual journey.” Don’t get me wrong, I would kick my cousin down a flight of stairs to work for Oprah, but I had to say, “I’m not your girl.” I have questions, not answers.

Q: What was your favorite book as a child? As an adult?

A: To Kill a Mockingbird was my favorite book as a child, but I was also obsessed with Of Mice and Men, which I discuss in my book Exploiting My Baby. See how I did that plug? You hardly noticed. These days, I can only read non-fiction — Joan Didion, Mary Karr, Malcolm Gladwell, etc. I just want to learn, and since I have a baby, I can’t follow plots anyway.

Q: What book are you reading now?

A:  I’m reading the Patti Smith book [Just Kids] because it won the National Book Award. I picked it up when I was doing a reading here in LA at Book Soup. I feel it’s my duty to buy at least one book everywhere I do a reading, because supporting local independent bookstores makes me feel righteous and morally superior.

Q: How does your family feel about having a writer in the family? Do they read your work?

A: My mom hasn’t read this book, which is ostensibly a pregnancy memoir but which centers on my own life as a daughter. My mom didn’t exactly greet motherhood was joie. In fact, she should have named me and my brother Bummer and Buzz Kill for all the excitement she brought to the process. I was terrified motherhood would suck, because it didn’t seem appealing based on my family of origin, so along with writing about the regular pregnancy stuff, it became a story about tangling with the abject terror that motherhood wouldn’t be something at which I excelled.

Q: Do you write full time? What did you do before you became a writer? Or still do?

A: Now, I work in radio and do a syndicated column that launches next week. I’ve been a freelancer forever, working for newspapers, magazines and TV, but I just take work where I can get it.

Q: Jen Bush, of Anybody Want A Peanut asks: I notice you have a quote from Jenny McCarthy, who also wrote a pregnancy book, on your cover. She has since become quite controversial for promoting the non-existent link between autism and vaccines. How far is too far when it comes to exploiting your baby?

A: People get really angry at Jenny McCarthy, either that, or they are madly in love with her for being a “mommy warrior.” I’ll tell you this — her pregnancy book still sells like crazy. I’ve never met her, but I wrote her a letter — ice cold — she read it, read the book, loved the book, and did me – a total stranger, a solid by giving me a blurb. As for the autism thing – wow — she really raised awareness, but now it’s so high all the moms I know spend our days going, “is he looking me in the eye or does he have mild autism?” It’s scary.

Q: Lisa from Hannemaniacs asks: How has having a child changed your career? Are you more strategic about jobs and what you’re willing to say on air/in print? How does the role of working mom impact the offers you receive now?

A: Like most people in show business, I used to operate solely on fear and desperation. Thus, if there was an audition for some idiotic pilot about doggy diets airing on deep cable, I would drive an hour to get there and spend three hours prepping. Now, for the first time, I’ve actually said no to some auditions. On the one hand, it feels pretty good not flinging myself all over town because I need to pick up my kid from daycare. There’s a sense of shifted priorities that I hoped would happen. Still, there are days I worry that my days of hustling hard to stay working are over, because my kid takes precedence.

Q: Lisa also wants to know: Based on how you mention her in the book you really had a horrible step mother who treated you terribly, yet you seem to think very highly of your father… Now that you’re a mother and know what it feels like to want to protect your child above anything else, is it hard to accept that your father didn’t insist that you lived with him (rather than your mother) and protect you from your stepmother? Has it complicated your relationship with him?

A: Good question. For whatever reason, I stopped watering my grudge garden toward my dad years ago. He did his best, which wasn’t that great when we were kids. However, he was a great dad to me in my 20s and 30s, so we’re square. In much the same way, my mom has thrown herself into redemption lately. People are shocked to find that she moved down the street from me after I begged her to come and help out with the baby. She shows up when I leave for work every morning at 5 a.m. to help with the kid, and she’s a spectacular grandma — warm and hearty – because childcare at this age is mainly a physical sport.

Q: April of It’s All About Balance asks: Is a follow-up in the works? I would love to read about her first year of motherhood and how that’s changed you.

A: Well, it depends on how this one sells. It’s doing alright so far, but unclear if the publisher would want me to write another one yet. So stop buying the Tiger Moms book and make this your go-to gift for moms or moms-to-be. Lots of feedback has been coming in from male fans (from my Adam Carolla Show days). Even dudes with no kids seem to enjoy it, because really, it’s just a dark memoir that happens to cover the time during which I was pregnant.

Q: Brenda Bartella Peterson wants to know: As an older mother and grandmother, I’m wondering if motherhood has changed your values in ways you would not have predicted.

A: Let me put it this way: I hate gambling. It gives me a stomach ache because I’m risk-averse. When I go to Vegas, I play nickel poker. Having a child feels like I’m all-in every hand, every minute, every day, because now that I have something with so much value, I have something on the line all the time. Or as my husband would say, I’m “pot committed.” It’s a hard feeling to explain, and I’m hoping you get used to having something you love so much who is so fragile just walking around in the world – or toddling, as the case may be. When I think about it too much, I panic, so I just remind myself how many people who are serious dunderheads get through motherhood without too much damage done, and I feel okay.

Q: Do you have any advice for other writers?

A: Just write. Writers write. They don’t talk about writing, they don’t dream about writing, they don’t sip a coffee and read the paper, they write. The best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten about writing are 1) just write it like you would explain it to your best friend 2) if it doesn’t read write, ask yourself, “how can this be more true?” That second one I use all the time if a sentence is clunky. When the sentence structure doesn’t read, it’s usually because there’s a small lie in there mucking up the prose.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekend?

A: Watch nine straight episodes of “The Wire.” That series is as good as book.

Q: Are you in a book club? Tell us about it.

A: I started a book group when I moved to LA because I was lonely and needed to make girlfriends — we read only female authors, and rotated monthly between fiction and non-fiction. We met for years, rotating houses, but we kind of disbanded, as Hemingway would say, first gradually, then suddenly. Those women were cornerstones for me when I moved here by myself, and many of those books were life-changers.

Q: Teresa thanks so much for taking the time answer our questions! Our readers can stop by tomorrow and read post inspired by Teresa’s book. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: Thanks for having me. It’s been a pleasure. My baby was up all night because he ate pizza and cake at various birthday parties where I’m sure tubs of plastic bubbles were filled with hand, foot and mouth disease particles. The point is, as per usual for the new mom, I am sleep deprived and just finishing my shift here at KABC. Pardon any errors – in grammar or judgment. Thanks for loving books.

Visit Teresa Strasser’s website, check out her blog, follow her on twitter and friend her on Facebook.

Her book Exploiting My Baby is available now.

Check out other From Left to Write upcoming book clubs and follow the From Left to Write Google Calendar to keep up to date on all of the book club events and dates.

Filed Under: Author Interviews, Memoirs, Thien-Kim

Call for Questions: Myra Goodman, author of The Earthbound Cook

October 27, 2010 4 Comments

From Left to Write often features interviews with authors whose books we are currently reading in our book clubs. In addition to asking questions of our own, we thought we would start opening up question asking to the From Left to Write readers as well.

The Eartbound Cook by Myra Goodman

Do you have a questions for Myra Goodman, author of The Earthbound Cook and co-founder of Earthbound Farms? Leave your question(s) for Myra in the comments to this post. We’ll select some questions and publish them in our author interview with Myra Goodman on November 17th, the day of our book club about The Earthbound Cook.

Read about The Earthbound Cook and our upcoming book club/cooking club about this book.

Filed Under: Author Interviews, Call for Questions

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