Interview with Bonnie Geisert

Bonnie Geisert at SCBWI

First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.

Hey! Readers and fans are an author’s lifeblood. I’m happy to answer your questions.

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?

My English teacher--his first year--during my senior year in high school assigned weekly essays because he was astonished at the weakness of our writing skills. That’s when I first felt empowered by having someone read and respond to my writing. It was during my Children’s Literature class in college that I became enamored with books for young people and first thought about writing for children. I’m a late bloomer. My first novel was published 40 years after that class.

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

In 1990, I finished a version of PRAIRIE WINTER that I titled “One Prairie Winter”. I sent it out to three publishing companies and received three rejections. Then I put it in the back of a drawer. I wrote feature stories for a daily newspaper from 1991-95 because I remembered reading advice from Ernest Hemingway that said something like this, “If you want to write, write for a newspaper, but not for too long.” One day my husband, Arthur (We were married from 1963-2006) asked me to write the text for his picture book HAYSTACK because I knew all about that from my farm youth. That led to texts for the four SMALL TOWN USA BOOKS—PRAIRIE TOWN, RIVER TOWN, MOUNTAIN TOWN, DESERT TOWN. Then I became serious about my prairie novels because I had retired early from teaching to write them. PRAIRIE SUMMER (2002) and LESSONS (2005) came before PRAIRIE WINTER (2009).

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?

In PRAIRIE WINTER, twelve-year-old Rachel is delighted to board in town during a very severe winter so she can attend school and be with friends instead of on the farm doing hard winter chores. But all the freedom and fun in town can’t keep her from worrying about her pregnant mother, father, baby brother, and little sister alone on the farm with harsh blizzard after harsh blizzard--for there is no phone at home and no way to know if they are okay.

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

So far it’s “what” and that would be my childhood on a South Dakota farm during the 1950s. I prayed for dull moments! I think the mid-Twentieth century is an interesting time—it bridges pioneer days and modern technological times.

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

Right now, my family includes my grown son Noah, who lives in Denton, TX. My South Dakota family includes my four sisters and one brother mentioned in my prairie books. I’ve fictionalized the books and their names have been changed. My father and mother are deceased.

I also have a host of wild animals on this 13.61 forested acreage. They let me know that they were here first.

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

A cup of hot green tea with a piece of Persian Baklava made by Arlene Ehtessabian.

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

Drink a cup of coffee to get the blood circulating, dancercize to country love songs, drive to town to exchange witty repartee with a wonderful, diverse mix of people.

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

My hat collection.

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?

Blue—in various shades. Sometimes a bright happy blue, sometimes a calming, peaceful blue.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Snoopy. I’m old-fashioned.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

I’m a grown-up Linus from “Peanuts”.

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 would choose to stay right here in Galena, Illinois, during its heyday in the 1850s, when it was larger than Chicago. Galena was a port of entry and a booming, bustling mining river town with several steamboats crowding its harbor, loading and unloading all kinds of merchandise.

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

I don’t listen to music while writing because I need total concentration. I fell in love with Luciano Pavarotti when I heard him sing during news clips at the time of his death. I couldn’t get enough of his music. I would take long detours on the way home from town so I could listen to his whole CD, “The Essential Pavarotti”. The hilly curvy detour seemed to be in sinc with the crescendos of his voice, and the last piece coincided with arriving at home and delighting to the panoramic view from my place that includes the charming town of Galena.

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?

TV: Desperate Housewives and Two and a Half Men. “World Focus” on PTV for News.

Movies: Two I watch again and again: “Double Jeopardy”. It’s quite thrilling and it has such poetic justice for the villain. “Rob Roy”, which came out the same year as “Braveheart”, is a wonderful love story and a great drama that also has a deserving demise for a very evil villain.

I’m reading “How I Write: The Secret lives of Authors” edited by Dan Crowe, published by Rizzoli. I am amazed at the youth of the authors! Most of them are young enough to be my children and then some! I see that even Jane Smiley (One Thousand Acres), who according to “Horn Book” has published her first children’s novel, is six years younger than I am.

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

I rarely give advice, but since most of my teen readers are girls: I encourage you to develop your self-identify, become your own person, develop positive self-esteem, believe in yourself and your worthiness, surround yourself with people who support you. Do not let boyfriends dictate to or control you. About writing: if you want to write, write about something that really moves you and believe in what you write. Eventually, you will be successful.

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

I’m currently writing a love story for adults. I have submitted a picture book text to my publisher. I have another I’d like to write. I’m pondering another prairie novel, and I have written a novel with a spirit as the main character and hope to revise that.

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

My pleasure!