family histories Archives - Page 29 of 33 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

A Weirdly Wonderful Storyteller….(Part 2) an Interview with Cathy Lamb

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

This is a job. People imagine writers are off on palm tree studded islands writing, or in tree houses, or at their darling cottage at the beach, no distractions except their pinging imagination. This is a false image. Almost all the writers I know have children, responsibilities, people who need them. Some have day jobs. You simply must get your work done as others do in every other profession on the planet.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

A. Don’t procrastinate. Sit your butt down and write and quit dallying around. Do you want to publish or not? Seriously. Ask yourself that question. It’s a good one.

I can procrastinate, too. I’m quite talented at it. But for me, if I don’t meet my goals, I don’t let myself go to bed at night. I have very, very late nights sometimes. Getting books written is about dedication, focus and hard work. Not romantic. Not always fun. You may be in pajamas most of the day. You may not wash your hair when you should. But you do buck up and write. It is what it is.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

A. I can get lost in my story, my characters, for hours. I’ll sit down upstairs, lean against the wall, my computer propped on my lap, and the next thing I know it’s three in the morning and the characters have taken me places I didn’t know we were going and done things that would get a normal person arrested.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment (i.e. specific creative inspirations)?

A. I don’t have a muse. Can I get one somewhere? Are they on sale?

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When I was sixteen. Truly. That was when I decided I had to be a writer. There was no other goal, professionally, for me. I couldn’t be anything else. I wrote for the school newspaper, I wrote my first romance at age nineteen at the University of Oregon as a freshman. (It was rejected.) I taught fourth grade from the time I was twenty – two to twenty nine. I became a teacher specifically so I would have time at night and during summers to write.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. I sold my first book in 2005. My road to publishing took a while. I went to college, then grad school, taught school, got married, had three kids, was a freelance writer for years for The Oregonian writing about homes, décor, people, events, fashion…the usual curvy road. When my kids were little I wrote late at night, too. It was the only time I had. I lived off about five to six hours of sleep a night for sixteen years.

Q. What makes a writer great?

A. A writer is great when they’re able to reach the reader through characters and wrench deep emotions out of them.

If you missed Part I, click here. Return to read Part 3 of this interview August 29th

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview with one once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Raymond Benson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my On the right side you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Don’t Miss Part II of my interview with author, Cathy Lamb

being different, outcasts, love, scorn, achievement — A captivating story about a young boy who teaches us what ‘normal’ really means

COMING TUESDAY! Part II of my Interview with best selling author, Cathy Lamb

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

To read Part I click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

To receive my posts sign up for my On the right side you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘General Noggin and I Really want to play Basketball, Boss Mom!’ An Interview with author, Cathy Lamb

best sellers, books, fiction, Cathy Lamb — Photo by Marv Bondarowicz

An Interview with best-selling author, Cathy Lamb (Part 1 of 3)

CL: ‘ I became a teacher because I wanted to become a writer. It was difficult for me to become proper and conservative but I threw out my red cowboy boots and persevered. I had no choice. I had to eat and health insurance is expensive. I loved teaching, but I also loved the nights and summers where I could write and try to build a career filled with creativity and my strange imagination.

I met my husband on a blind date. A mutual friend who was an undercover vice cop busting drug dealers set us up. My husband jokes he was being arrested at the time. That is not true. Do not believe him. His sense of humor is treacherous. It was love at third sight. We’ve now been married a long time. I drink too many mochas. I love chocolate. I run. I walk. I love to read. I often cry when I’m writing my books, and I laugh, too. I love walking through the waves at the beach and I believe that daydreaming makes you a better person so I do it a lot.’

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Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. I write everywhere. Upstairs on my bed looking out the window at my maple trees, on my couch staring at my petunias and an

interviews, writing, best selling authors — the Deschutes River. my husband fly fishes. I journal.

occasional hummingbird, and at Starbucks. I write best late at night. Ten o’clock to two o’clock in the morning. It’s quiet. My kids are in bed. My brain stops buzzing. I can dive straight into my imagination and hang out there for awhile like a crazy lady.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. I look at email and then I feed my small, but mostly healthy addiction to the New York Times. I get ticked off at what I’m reading sometimes and sit back and think what I would do if I was president and which politicians I would immediately get rid of. It entertains me.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer?)

A. Pretty journals. One journal to five journals per book for writing ideas, characters, plots, and working through all sorts of literary problems. I write the story, however, on my computer. I write straight through, 2000 words a day, 10,000 a week, for the first draft. I edit every book eight times before it even goes to my editor. I edit it another four times after that. Yes, twelve edits. I want to bang my own head through the keyboard just thinking about it…

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. Waiting to “feel creative,” for me, is like waiting for the moon to drop on my head. Or for my flying Porsche to arrive. People who only write when they feel creative rarely get published. I make myself get creative. I give myself goals every day, every week and I meet the goals.

Don’t Miss Part 2 and 3 of this Interview on August 27th and 28th.

A REVIEW of “If You Could See What I See” Click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Cathy Lamb, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Raymond Benson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page. Enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘If You Could See What I See’…by Cathy Lamb * A Review

Five out of 5 quills A Review of Cathy Lamb’s new release, ‘If You Could See What I See’

Every time I read one of Cathy’s amazing stories I think to myself, “this is the best one yet!” And I’ve read them all! Once again Cathy has out done herself with her characters and her story line. I understand from my upcoming INTERVIEW with her, featured here August 22nd, (and runs in three parts) that this author fills journals full of story treatments, characters, and plots before she begins to write her novels. In my opinion it certainly ‘shows’ and we, the readers, benefit from this meticulous work.

Her latest offering ‘If You Could See What I See’ is about a family of women who own and run a lingerie company. Set in current times with a failed economy they struggle to find a way to keep the doors open and their employees working. The grandma, the mother and the three sisters are wonderful, unique in their own way, and quirky to say the least. The teenagers, that make up the fourth generation of this wacky family, lend a charming and fresh angle to an already wonderful novel.
Be ready to cry, laugh, sigh, and feel outrage.

A real page turner, you won’t be able to put it down!

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Don’t miss my Interview with Cathy Lamb August 22, ,27, and 29.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Receive my posts in an email. Sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

If You are Very Lucky…Your Education Never Ends!

‘Education’ is rooted in the word educare–or ex ducare— and the most important aspect of the definition is that it has two meanings. One being to acquire knowledge, from books and study.

The second is to explore and understand that which is within us all. A search, a journey leading to the places where wisdom lies and is crucial to who we might become.

I am a mishmash of both…formal education mixed in with a continuing search for myself, my goals and the wisdom that life wants to give me, if only I’d listen. In the past decade I have pursued the second part: to explore and understand what I’m all about. It is indeed a journey and has led finally to some wisdom, which IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO WHO WE MIGHT BECOME.

So why am I even talking about this? Well, let’s see….knowledge leads to awareness and awareness leads to being a better writer. Wisdom, if you are so lucky to find some, leads to you writing richer characters because you now have the empathy that comes with wisdom. The ‘journey’ in the second part of your education makes YOU a richer character and that leads to your story being fully developed, abounding with interesting characters, fascinating places and good plots.

And if you try hard enough and have a little luck you never stop learning. Even if the only thing that happens in your education today is that you read a new, sometimes obscure, word and have to go and look it up…you are continuing to learn. My favorite thing!!

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is October’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author.

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To receive my posts sign up for my

blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction

on the home page; On the right side enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

What Inspires You? Michael Douglas as Liberace? No Way!

I’m a Michael Douglas fan and also loved his father, actor Kirk Douglas. Going back too far for you? Liberace on our old black and white TV so many years ago. So naturally I had to see how Mike Douglas would play Liberace. Yep! You heard me right !

MIchael Douglas, Liberace, great movies, great actors — The Great, the One and Only Liberace

…..testosterone laden, sexy, smoldering all-man Michael Douglas playing the incredibly talented, prissy, outrageously gay Liberace in the movie, “Behind the Candelabra” with Matt Damon as his long time partner/lover, Scott.

I’m writing this pseudo-review because the movie inspired me TO WRITE. It’s another way to sharpen your writing claws on a daily basis. Write about things that move you, makes you happy (which this film did on so many levels) makes you sad, angry, passionate. Keep writing!

ichael Douglas, Liberace, great talent — Michael Douglas as Liberace

But let’s go back, for a moment, to ‘matinée idol’ time…….when men were men and women were glad! When Kirk Douglas was every young woman’s heart throb and Michael Douglas was not even a twinkle in Kirk’s eye.

My God, he was sex on two legs. He was a real film hero. But he wasn’t alone…..Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Kirk, Randolph Scott…the list went on and on.

Kirk Douglas, great actors — Kirk Douglas as Spartacus

His movies included: In Harm’s Way, Two Weeks in Another Town, Lonely Are the Brave, Spartacus,

Paths of Glory, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Lust for Life (Vincent Van Gogh), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Vikings, Man Without a Star, The Indian Fighter, Ulysses, just to name a few.

In those days it would have been the kiss of death to their career if a man played the role of a ‘faggot or queer or pansy’ which is what gay men were called in those days. Very offensive words these days. Actors like Rock Hudson and Montgomery Cliff spent their careers and lives going to great lengths to hide their life style. Liberace promoted the false rumor that he and Sonja Henie (famous ice skater/movie star) had a long-standing love affaire to cover his gay life style.

So now let’s look at Michael Douglas’ work…. Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, (one of my favorites)
Basic Instinct, The Jewel of the Nile, A Chorus Line,

Romancing the Stone, The China Syndrome, Coma, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Again, just picking a few from what comprised his career.

And now after a stellar career as a leading man, Michael Douglas had the vision, los cajones, the guts, the talent to portray Liberace in this very fine film.

Growing up, we watched Liberace every week on TV, at our house, much to the disgust of my Dad. (a raging homophobe) and when I watched “Behind the Candelabra” I felt that the great entertainer and pianist, Liberace had returned! Thank you, Michael!

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Cathy Lamb, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb, and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is October’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author.

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Receive my posts in an email. Sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘Hair Cut…Two Bits’…. Nostalgia – (part 6)

Just because……….the few people that have purchased or read my first book of poetry seemed to love this story the most, I thought I would share it with my readers.

This story originated from old papers, receipts and journals owned by Marcel Guerman that I found in a trunk in the attic of a building on Camp Street in New Orleans. The building was being renovated into apartments and I was to be the first tenant. My third floor walk-up looked out on St. Patrick’s cathedral. (seen here) One day we crept up to the attic to take a look. Among the many things in the attic was a single, cherrywood door of an armoire that I have to this day. Off in a corner was a leather and metal ribbed trunk forgotten for decades. As I read pawn tickets, journals, papers of this stranger’s life, from decades earlier, I could envision this European man as clearly as if he stood next me. I wrote the first draft in 1979. Continue reading “‘Hair Cut…Two Bits’…. Nostalgia – (part 6)”

World Renowned Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton visits my Blog!

DON’T MISS IT! Starting tomorrow, my interview with Sue Grafton, most famous for her best selling alphabet series!

August 1st and 6th, Sue shares with me and her readers her process as she writes her best sellers. Beginning back in the eighties she wrote “A IS FOR ALIBI” and the rest is history. What happens when we get to “Z”?? Will that be the end to Kinsey Milhone, PI? Oh, no!!!

Got Secrets in your Family? Write about Them!

family stories, family secrets, story telling, writers — (left to right) Brother, Jack, Mom, me, Sister, Doris

Secret: I was the baby in the family, born 11 and 8 years, respectively, after my siblings. Not until just a few years ago did I hear that my mother “farmed out” my sister and brother to strangers. The term usually referred to children who were sent to a relative back in the day, but in my siblings’ case it was an indenture. My brother and sister had to work for their keep, ages six and 11.

They told me these stories as part of my research while writing, ‘Wild Violets’, a romanticized version of my Mother as a flapper and entrepreneur in the 1920’s in San Francisco. As I was writing and the family secrets unfolded, the romanticism flew right out the window. And that’s okay; remember what I told you before about your story taking hold and telling itself?

history, family stories, Wild Violets, writing — Violet’s Fulton Bar & Grill in San Francisco, 1929

But the enormity of my mother’s actions still didn’t really sink in….grab my heart. ‘It happened so long ago, it happened in a different time, it didn’t happen to me’, I told myself.
Until.…I began to actually write that part of the story. Here were these two little kids dumped at the front door of a farm house by their mother and her current boyfriend. The kids had no warning, no time frame, didn’t even know if they would ever see their mother again. And for no good reason. The family wasn’t destitute….she owned a bar and grill in San Francisco. There were no addiction problems unless you counted our mother’s addition to men.

As I wrote those pages, I finally became invested in what had happened to my brother and sister over seventy years ago. And my heart broke. To finally see why, in part, they became the people they are today. Why, at times, my sister bitterly resented me. Why my brother was an overachiever and obsessed with family.

In my own way, I too was abandoned by our mother. No, she never farmed me out. Nothing so overt as that. But she chose her men over me, time and time again. Her desires always trumped my childhood needs.

family histories, family secrets, story telling, writers — My Mother, Violet and me (age 5)

I was a left-over. A possession that she could put down or pick up again on a whim. Show off to her current beau or friends and then set in a corner, like an old broom.

And if you, my readers, hear bitterness leaking through my words….it’s not for me and how I was raised. Because I have overpowered my past and empowered myself to be the fierce, tough and resilient woman that I am today. Seeking and honing my talent and achieving my goals. (Yes, I still have abandonment issues).

The bitterness and heartache you hear, in my voice, are for those two little kids dumped at a stranger’s door!

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Come Ride with Me in my Time Machine * Review

REVIEW: “For the Love of Mike” by Rhys Bowen
(5 out of 5 quills)

I’m totally engaged reading Rhys Bowen‘s Molly Murphy’s mysteries. Set in the early 1900’s, these books are more than just entertaining mysteries. For example: The sub-story is of New York City in by-gone days. Where Ellis Island disgorged immigrants by the thousands, dumping them on the streets of Manhattan, willy-nilly, to fend for themselves however they could. Few requirements were imposed; they had to have five dollars, be fairly healthy and free of consumption (tuberculosis). The immigrants could be wanted criminals back in their home country and still be admitted.

At the turn of the century, Greenwich Village was filled with “students, rowdies, Negroes, miscreants and anarchists“. (“For the Love of Mike”) Ha! The Village hasn’t changed much! Hell’s Kitchen and lower Manhattan were the “Irish Section” and filled with tenements and poverty. The discrimination of those times was not white against all the others but rather nationality against nationality. In the Jewish and Italian sections of town there were signs in the windows of shops stating “NO Irish need apply”. Only Italian and Jewish girls worked in the sweatshops of the garment district; and in Hell’s Kitchen and Five Points other ethnic groups (not Irish) who ventured into those neighborhoods did so at their own peril.

If you are at all familiar with the ‘neighborhoods’ of today’s Manhattan you will quickly see that the face of the city has not changed all that much. It is still an island of ethnic neighborhoods. Much to my satisfaction! That’s how I learned the city from 1991 to 2006….wandering (by design) the streets of each neighborhood so that we could taste the air there, eat the food and often chat with the inhabitants. I’ll never forget the time, in Chinatown, when I attempted to photograph the face of an ancient Chinese woman. She ran me off with her umbrella held high!

Now because of Rhys Bowen brilliant writing I get to revisit those neighborhoods (that I love) in a different era. My very own TIME MACHINE!

I so enjoyed Interviewing Ms. Bowen just recently.
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Coming in August! A review of Ms. Bowen’s latest release, “Heirs and Graces” The Royal Spyness series
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month .These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: : Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Robert McCammon, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Amber Winckler, Caroline Leavitt, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is January’s author.
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

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