Tag: writer interviews

Writer’s Life: Holly Brown

Published on by Laura Nicole Diamond2 Comments

If you are among the people who this week may be craving a little extra reality-escape, I’m here to suggest: Read BOOKS! To that end, allow me to introduce you to family therapist and author Holly Brown, and her new psychological thriller, THIS IS NOT OVER.holly-brown-ap1

 

  1. What have you learned from parenting, or from your own parents, that you bring to your work as a writer?

In high school, I wanted to be the next S.E. Hinton (no, I’m not dating myself at all here.) S.E. Hinton wrote “The Outsiders,” “That Was Then…This is Now,” and other fantastic books that were all the rage when I was a teenager. She was a teenager herself when she was published, which made her my idol. So when I was about fifteen, I finished writing my first novel. My family lived in Philadelphia, and there was one literary agent that we found in the Yellow Pages. My father drove me to the agent’s office so I could deliver my manuscript personally. Now, barring the fact that this is not at all how submitting to agents works and that I was summarily rejected and that I didn’t get published for many more years, what I love about the story is that my parents never doubted that talent and drive could make things happen. They never doubted that MY talent and drive could make things happen. So I carry that confidence and determination into my writing, and my life. And I want to bring it to my daughter’s life, too.

  1. Where do you write? What do you love about it?

This is the least sexy answer ever, but I love to write from my bed. It’s just so cozy. Sometimes I have the TV on, which is something you would never encourage your kids to do at a time of concentration, but it’s kind of like having a party going on nearby. For some reason, that works for me. And I think it’s important that every writer just finds a system that works for them and embraces it, fully.

  1. If you had a motto, what would it be?

Stay curious. It’s critical to me as a writer, and as a therapist, and as a human being. It’s dangerous to feel like you know everything. And it’s boring.

  1. Who inspires you?

Sue Johnson, who developed emotionally focused therapy. It’s informed by attachment theory, which says that the emotional bonds we have with our loved ones are vital, starting with our parents. But it doesn’t stop there, and even if you didn’t get what you needed as a child, you can still get it later in life; you just have to work a little harder. Sue Johnson helps couples learn to love well, to become emotionally secure and able to truly depend on one another, and her teachings have made me a much better therapist.

  1. What charity or community service are you passionate about?

I feel passionately about an informed electorate, and about the necessity for independent investigative journalism. Investigative journalism is on the decline at a time when we need it most in order to keep elected officials and corporations accountable. ProPublica is an amazing non-profit dedicated to finding, researching, and telling stories that advance the public interest. They’re funded almost entirely through donations: https://www.propublica.org/ 

For more about Holly:

Website: HollyBrownBooks.com       Facebook: Facebook.com/HollyBrownAuthor

Blog: Bonding Time   Buy the Book: http://bit.ly/TINOHB

 

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P.S. If you are lucky enough to be in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area on Tuesday, January 17, at 7pm, you can meet Holly for her launch party at Books Inc. Alameda (a hop, skip and jump from the Oakland Airport), one of my favorite bookstores.

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On Balance…

Published on by Laura Nicole DiamondLeave a comment

I came across author Susie Orman Schnall as I browsed the Penn Alumni magazine section looking for my update about publishing a novel. I was sandwiched between two other announcements of novels being published —  before mine was classmate Cheryl Della Pietra announcing publication of her novel, Gonzo Girl. After mine was Susie announcing publication of her second novel, The Balance Project.

The novel emerged from an interview series of the same name. The Balance Project is “a series of relevant and refreshingly candid interviews with inspiring and accomplished women talking about balance.” Susie has just published interview No. 148 (mine). What prompted her quest to understand the notion of balance in women’s lives?

“I’ve always been curious about how women I admire manage the tragically glorified ‘doing it all’ craze. So I asked them. As I suspected, no one really does ‘it all.’ Everyone’s making sacrifices somewhere. And that should make us all feel a little better.” – Susie Orman Schnall

 

I recommend you skim the list of interviews and read a few — who interests you? A writer? A chef? A fashion designer? A journalist? They’re in there.

Allow me to suggest a few, women whose stories are windows into many different ways we make life happen:

No. 56: Nicola Kraus, Author and Creative Coach (author of many novels, including The Nanny Diaries)

No. 100: Reese Witherspoon, Actor/Producer (as if you need me to tell you)

No. 107: Bobbi Rebell Kaufman, Reuters Multimedia Anchor and Reporter (In the spirit of the Penn Alumni magazine that connected me to Susie in the first place, Bobbi is a fellow Penn grad)

And, okay, here’s mine (as if you haven’t heard freakin’ enough about me in the past year. I know.)

I have a feeling you’ll want to spend some time with these interviews, browsing, recognizing parts of yourself, wondering about paths not taken and paths you might yet take, remembering that this business of living can be thrilling, overwhelming, satisfying, crazy-making, enervating and energizing — and that we’re all doing the best we can. The interviews are fun peeks into alternate lives, and above all else, reminders that none of us is in this alone.