Author Interview with LB Gschwandtner!
Page Truly is on a mission. It won't be easy. There will be danger. Page will have to be very brave and very smart.
It all happens one night when a sassy tooth fairy brings a borrowed wand and a big attitude to Page's bedroom. She makes it look like a wand can do anything. That is until Page has to save Nearandfar, and discovers that a magic wand is only as powerful as the gifted one who knows how to unlock its secrets and use it wisely.
For ages 7 to 11...
I am VERY excited to post my very FIRST Author Interview with the talented and lovely LB Gschwandtner! She is the Author of Page Truly and The Journey to Nearandfar, The Naked Gardener, Foxy's Tale, Maybelle's Revenge, just to name a few! Thank you for being here LB, let's get right to it...
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF, LB, AND YOUR BOOK.
I was as an artist who came to writing because of my work as an editor. Kind of a roundabout path but I think it made my writing more visual.
I have a family – a husband of 40 years – three grown girls and a grandson. He and I are great buddies. Being a grandma is wonderful.
I live in a tree house I designed. It stands over fifty feet above the ground nestled in treetops looking out over a tidal creek and across the
If I had one wish it would be that I could crank books out faster. I know some writers who produce three or four books a year. I don’t know how but they do.
And I wish I had a live in publicist to handle all the book promotion. I would even do her laundry for her – or him.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
Hmmm, that was a gradual event over many years. I started writing, had interest from a few agents a long time ago before the Indie publishing revolution. I spent a few years attending writing workshops with some fabulous writers. I slowly learned the craft of fiction. Of course that’s an ongoing learning curve. It takes time. It took time for me anyway.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
My middle grade book, Page Truly and The Journey to Nearandfar. It was the first book I actually finished and published and it has continued to sell (at least on the Nook platform) for all these years.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
The writing. And then promoting your work.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
A light paranormal romance about an 18-year-old who’s in culinary school when she discovers she has the power to cast spells. Complications ensue.
WHAT GENRE(S) DO YOU WRITE?
I’m a bit of a generalist. I started writing literary fiction. Then wrote the middle grade novella, Page Truly. And lately I’ve been writing paranormal romance. I have a series out called The Wish Granters about a couple who died (but they’re really in Transition) and get called back to earth to grant wishes to women. And the one I’m working on called Witch Dish For You? about a girl who has the power to cast spells.
DO YOU EVR SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK? IF SO, HOW DO YOU GET PAST IT?
I don’t. But if I did, from everything I’ve heard and read from other writers, I’d say the best way out of it is to write – without self criticism or expecting to create anything for anyone but yourself. A journal is a good way to exercise your writing muscle. Write your dreams. Write your hopes. Write about what you see out your window. Write up a conversation you had with a stranger or with a friend or a family member. Just write. Don’t concern yourself with where it’s going. The best concert pianist still practices the scales every day.
DO YOU
My studio at my home. There’s a window in front of my flat screen. And a hummingbird feeder outside. I love sensing them flitting by as I work.
I know writers who like to go to a Starbucks or Panera or some other public place to write but that’s not for me.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
Someone told me that Page Truly and The Journey to Nearandfar was “transformative.” That was what I’d hoped for when I wrote it. I’d hoped it could take children (or any reader) to another world.
WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
I don’t know about worst but it was the funniest and made me laugh. It was an Amazon review. I assume from its tone by a young guy. The book title is The Naked Gardener. He must have thought it was going to be salacious and it isn’t. The genre is women’s fiction on the literary end of the spectrum. He wrote: “Girl talk. Yuk.”
OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
I’m also an artist. I drew the image for the book cover of The Naked Gardener. I love to paint. I also kayak and love growing things. I’m always planting something. And I like doing laundry.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK(S) PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
Copy edited and proofed, yes. All my books.
HOW DID YOUR BOOK COVER COME TO FRUITION?
I knew for Page Truly and The Journey to Nearandfar I wanted an artist who had drawn a lot of fairies. So I researched that online and found a wonderful artist who lives in
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
Not really. But I hear my voice in different aspects of some of them. I think there’s a little bit of the writer’s DNA in a book’s characters.
DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
I don’t think about it. I just do what I want and leave the rest alone. I’m happy being an Indie.
DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Of course. But that’s really hard to actually do. Because those stories and characters go on living and you want to enable them. It’s a kind of co-dependency I guess.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
A good day of writing. There is no better feeling than pushing back from your work space and feeling you’ve put something down that is true. True for you.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
- Don’t expect any instant gratification.
- Learn your craft and then practice it doggedly.
- Read everything you can. There is no substitute for wide reading.
- Find out what the reality of publishing means in all its possible forms. It is not a game for sissies.
Thank you for this opportunity. It’s great when someone asks you to focus and you get the chance to share a little of your experience.
And now for the speed round of questions...
LB's “BLONDE” BASICS:
FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate
FAVORITE MOVIE? Casablanca (or possibly Young Frankenstein or The Producers – huge Mel Brooks fan)
FAVORITE BOOK? Dr. Zhivago
FAVORITE SUPERHERO? Mr. Spock (he’s a superhero to me because he’s always so calm no matter what)
FAVORITE AUTHOR? Hard to answer; there are so many … but if pushed … the author of my fave book – Boris Pasternak. But I love all Russian literature. It’s truly amazing how Russian writers can keep a story going even with all those impossible names.
nook: http://bit.ly/R2wHXn
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