Interview by Jenny

Posted on September 21, 2003 in Interviews

The interview meme is still going around. I must admit that it is my favorite because everytime you sneak in the phrase “interview me” new questions come down the chute.

Jenny of 111:2 is today’s interrogator:

What is your favorite type of writing, either to read to write?

Fine poetry, well-crafted short stories, informative nonfiction. I’m not a genre whore in either my writing or my reading. If you follow me in a bookstore, you’ll note that while I do briefly check the Nature section each time, I wander pretty much all over the store, picking up whatever catches my eye. I love art books and photography books. I love reference books. I love the odd book which professes an author’s love of a single thing. I love novels that speak of the magic in daily life.

Have you always lived in California? If you had to move away from CA now, is there another area of the country, or of the world, where you imagine (or know) you would enjoy living?

I am a California Native and have lived here all but five years of my life. I always manage to come back here. I’ve watched the changes from orchards to condominiums, from dairy farms to malls, from ranches to estates, from gun clubs to golf clubs. This is home and I am fascinated by the diversity and the endless errors we make. I prefer that people who come here don’t try to make it like it was back at home — all green trees and grass. You need to develop an appreciation for the khakis, the wheats, the turquoises, and the olives when it comes to color out here. I wish developers would stop trying to make us into New England.


Live somewhere else? I like to do that for brief periods of time. I’d like to spend a few years in Mexico, especially Mexico City, that terrifying smog monster and sprawl. I think it is one of the world’s most underrated capitals. It would give me a chance to brush up on my Spanish and to take part in a bustling way of life. They call it corrupt, but living in Orange County, I can say that I have survived corruption just fine, thank you.

How did you meet your wife?

At a party that I decided to attend at the very last minute. I thought everyone knew that story!

What is your (a) most favorite (b) least favorite thing about the writing groups you attend or facilitate?

I love the diversity of intelligent people that I meet. Groups give you opportunities for making new friends who have similar interests and doing things together that you enjoy. The only thing I don’t like is that they end and we have to go home.

Writing is a terrific thing to brag about, but it’s hard to do. Getting a manuscript ready for a critique group and then, after I have passed it out, waiting the two weeks while everyone reads it is the demon that gnaws on my breastbone the most.

How did you first get involved in the “Ecotone” wiki about place blogs and place photos?

I just saw it on another web page and barged in. That’s the way wikis work.

Thank you Ellen for the questions!

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying “interview me.”

2. I will respond by asking you five questions — each person’s will be different.

3. You will update your journal or blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.