Interview with Donna Sundblad

www.theinkslinger.net

Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

When I was in school, I enjoyed writing. Even in second grade when we had to write sentences using our spelling words, I tried to make them into s story. In eighth grade I was chosen to write about six poems dealing with people who had been elected as class clown, mostly likely to succeed and others. In my junior year in High School I had an English teacher who planted the seed. I wanted to be a writer. That seemed such an impossible dream. I was married at age eighteen and had two kids by the time I was 20. But guess what? The dream didn't die. I still wrote poetry, some family memoir-type stories. I finally decided to tackle a novel. The first was a fan fiction novel. I didn't realize that the market for such stories is very limited. The second novel I wrote is still unpublished. While working on this novel I realized I no longer "wanted to be" a writer, but I was a writer. I remember the moment clearly. I was driving across a causeway to the island where I worked. My mind was on my main character, the setting, and his predicament. Going to work was the last thing I wanted to do. I was thinking, "I want to be a writer." I looked out at the azure Gulf of Mexico and, for the first time, realized "I am a writer!"

Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

First of all, when I decided to take writing seriously I found an online writing community where I could improve my craft. Writer's Village University offered classes and peer feedback. Today, I'm a lifetime member, so if you decide to check it out, you can find me there using the name Birdie. It was through relationships there that I learned about a small press, epress-online. They published books as ebooks and trade paperback, which I found an attractive plus.

I worked on short stories and gradually had stories and articles accepted for publication to build my resume. Having clips helps to write an effective query and/or cover letter. I saw epress-online was looking for books on the craft of writing, and I sent them a proposal for my book Pumping Your Muse. I didn't know if they'd want it because it isn't an academic approach to writing, but based on creative exercises designed to help draw out connected scenes and characters and builds a rough outline for a novel. I developed these exercises as I wrote my first published fantasy, Windwalker. To my surprise, they liked the idea, and the challenge was on. I had to write the book.

Writing an entire book with a deadline is challenging. I broke down the word count and set monthly and weekly goals to reach it. I lived in Florida at the time and that was the hurricane season that was sooo active. In fact, hurricane Charley hit my neighborhood. When we evacuated, for hurricane Ivan, I brought my laptop with me. I finished my manuscript on time! Epress-online has been my publisher ever since. They published that first book plus two of my fantasy novels. I've also talked to them about a sequel to Beyond the Fifth Gate and they are interested. Now I just need to get it written. It is in process.

Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?

That's a good question. I have two books in the pipeline. The first is a sequel to my book, Beyond the Fifth Gate. This story line holds all kinds of possibilities, because it involves five different worlds all connected by mystical gateways. In the first book of the Fifth Gate Series, Elita and all the young people in her world on Haldis are taken captive by an insectoid race and forced to live as slaves. They aren't allowed to talk to each other, but of course they find ways around that. When the conjunction of the planets shows in dawn's sky, she is selected as the chosen. During the planetary alignment she must watch for Kamali's light and follow it through the first gate. It's a quest of faith. Once through the gate, there's no turning back. The catch is, she has to make it through all five gates during the alignment. Once the planets are out of alignment quest is over whether she's made it through all five gates or not. These portals between worlds close for 50 years and if she doesn't make it back home she'll be trapped in an alien world with no way home.

I tell you this, because the sequel takes place in the in the first 20 years following the story in Beyond the Fifth Gate. We meet Elita's son who is more the intellectual type with interest in the sciences. He is short on the faith that helped his mother through the original challenge for freedom. It's this very science that accidentally opens a rift between the worlds and carries him into an adventure that takes advantage of his scientific knowledge but requires an element of faith as he is thrust into a civil war among the insectoid race. A war that he learns reaches into the worlds where humans are held against their will.

What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

The exercises in Pumping Your Muse are probably the biggest inspiration. They encourage me to look for ideas and inspiration in ways I otherwise would not consider. For example, the first world in Beyond the Fifth Gate was discovered in a drainage ditch while I was on a walk. I followed a writing exercise where I imagined I was one inch tall. The landscape turned into a mountainous terrain and the culvert became the cave where Elita first met the star guide Kamali.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

I married my high school sweetheart and we'll be married 40 years this year. My husband couldn't be more supportive. He gives me the space I need to create, and gives me feedback when I ask for it. He even attends the local writers' guild with me and has started writing his own book.

My children are grown, and my daughter is always the first to read my books following editing. I remember the first time she read one of my manuscripts. She said, "This is like a real book!" I'll never forget that validation.

I actually bounce ideas off my grandkids, or read them a scene to watch their reaction. If they are emotionally engaged, I keep it. In fact, I have the first draft of a book written that was inspired while on a walk with my grandson following a light rain. We walked around puddles, and I said, "What do you think would happen if you stepped into that puddle and found yourself falling up?" From there we bantered ideas back and forth, and the birth of a new world and character took place.

Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

I enjoy a wide range of foods, and which comfort food I reach for depends on my mood. In the past, I'd say my favorites included chips, cookies, and frozen grapes. But I've learned not to reach for food for comfort too often because I can really put the weight on as a full time writer sitting at the computer.

What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

I make my husband's lunch, have a cup of coffee and read the Bible.

If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

That we have a ton of boxes that haven't been unpacked since we moved here three years ago, but we do open the boxes from time to time when we need something. The boxes are all numbered and we have a reference list so we know what is in each box.

Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?

I'd be yellow. It's a bright happy color, warm like the sun.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

I can't say I have a favorite. It's more like I enjoy cartoon characters with relationships. Even if they are love/hate relationships. That's what makes them interesting I grew up watching the Flintstones and Jetsons, and today enjoy The Simpsons. The shenanigans of the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote are fun, too. Those writers have had to come up with new ways to blow Wile E. Coyote up, throw him off a cliff, and have something land on him, while keeping it fresh and even making us laugh.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

I guess out of the characters I listed above, I'd say I'm most like Marge Simpson. She's a caring mom, loving wife, and an independent woman.

If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?

I'd love to visit the old west in the late 1800s—like Tombstone, Arizona. I have a book written in that time period in which a rather self-centered young woman gets transported from the present back to that time and place…haven't read that manuscript in years. It might be worth revisiting and finishing that story. Being able to visit that timeframe sure would make short order on the research!

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

Sometimes I listen to rock classics—probably most often, and other times I listen to classical or jazz. What determines which music I listen to is what I'm doing and my mood. When I'm writing, I listen to music for about half the day, but eventually have to turn it off when it interrupts my concentration.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

I enjoy NCIS, American Idol, Eureka, and Dollhouse. I tend to hang out on the Sci-fi channel, and do enjoy a regular dose of Star Trek TNG. Movies, there really have been some good ones, among some of my favorites, Star Trek movies, especially the most recent ones, The new Star Trek movie is excellent and I think it has given birth to a whole new generation of Trekkies. Other older movies worth watching again include: The Matrix, Enemy Mine, The Last Starfighter, Galaxy Quest, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade…there really are a lot of good movies.

You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Take time to read. I grew up labeled a "slow reader" and I didn't read unless I had to. Once I got older I learned the more I read, the more I liked to read. I'm still not a fast reader but I'm always reading a book or two or three. It's a great way to expand your horizons and develop your creativity.

One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

I've got all kinds of things in the works. Currently, I think the next novel to finish will be the sequel to Beyond the Fifth Gate. The working title is Lost Cantos.

Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!