WE all know that WEbookers are creative types. This WEek's WEbooker, Staci, takes her creativity beyond WEbook, using a personal blog to promote her work and share her writing process. On top of it all, Staci is a mom with a fulltime day job. How does she do it? WEbook asked a few probing questions to find out.
Q: What is the brief story of your life, including your history with writing?
A: I grew up in the small desert town of Newberry Springs, California, on 40 acres of dirt and dry lake beds. It was the kind of town where everyone knew each other, and I actually ended up graduating high school with the same kids I went to first grade with. Being the oldest of seven made every day interesting, to say the least. With two bathrooms and ten people, everything was a well-orchestrated routine. It had to be in order to avoid utter chaos. That being said, life in the middle of nowhere was often boring so I turned to reading, writing, and listening to my Walkman to wile the time away. I won a writing competition when I was in second grade, but really didn't put much thought into writing for enjoyment until well after high school. I had always been the "wordy one," using big words for the simplest things, but it wasn't until I moved to Needles, California that everything seemed to fall into place. I really got into reading again and I was inspired to work my creativity. I have decorated cakes, done scrapbooking, dabbled in digital photography, and made little things out of paper. Finally, at the urging of family and friends I started writing for fun. Now it has become my most engrossing hobby yet.
Q: Tell us a little something about your WEbook project, Lie to Me. What's it about? Where did the idea come from? What is your greatest hope for this project?
A: Lie To Me is about a girl who discovers that she
has a twin brother who was kidnapped by their aunt. She was never told
about him, and the book follows her journey to find out the truth. My
mom and I were talking about twins for some reason and the idea of
growing up not knowing I had a sibling -- a twin to boot -- really seemed
interesting. It sort of grew from there, and right away I knew I
had to write about it. My greatest hope would be to see it published
some day so I can show my son that all those late nights sitting at the
computer were worth it.
Q: In addition to your WEbook work, you
also have a blog that you use to talk about your writing. What's the
most fun thing about having a blog? How does your blogging help your
fiction writing?
A: I've been using my blog to talk myself through the struggles of
writing out of my comfort zone and being motivated. I take my
frustrations out in words so I can go back and see that it really
wasn't so hard after all. It can really keep me focused.
Q:
In your profile, you mention that you have a 10-year-old boy. You also
have a day job. How do you balance being a mom, having a career, and
writing?
A: You know, I really don't know how I do it. My son, Devin, has
been extremely supportive, cheering me on every day. I try to spend as
much time with him after work as I can, waiting until he goes to bed to
write. Sometimes, I'll sneak in an hour or so while he's playing his
video games or reading. All I can say is that it only works because I
have a really supportive family.
Q: What's your idea of the perfect vacation?
A: The
perfect vacation would be a train ride across the country in the fall --
just Devin, my mom, and I. I've spent my whole life in the desert and
would love to see the greener side of the States. If I just so
happened to end up in New York, I wouldn't be terribly upset. I've
always wanted to go there.
Q: What's your favorite word?
A: It would have to be "family." It means much more than the number of people that I am related to. "Family" means I always know I have a friend.
Do you have a line on the wonderfullest writer on WEbook? The fantastickest feedbacker? Or anyone else who goes above and beyond to make WEbook the best writing, reading, and publishing community on the internet? Drop me an email, or visit my profile and send me a message with the title "WEbooker of the WEek" to nominate your favorite WEbooker and he or she will have a shot at joining the ranks of the immortals -- and getting a free WEbook T-shirt to boot.
Sign up for WEbook today and start reading, writing, and feedbacking.
-- Melissa
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