My first time around with Gay Ingram

It has been a busy summer with fishing and all the fun promos I have hosted, but it is time for the Lazy boy to get some use as they are starting to get dusty.
That is why when the lovely and prestigious author Gay Ingram texted me about coming over for a beverage and chat about her work, I welcomed her with much enthusiasm.

I just hoped that Gay would be okay with my little shed gang.

Welcome, Gay Ingram have a seat. I know you probably heard that I had only milk crates to sit on but have since acquired these Lazy Boy recliners. I hope they are more comfortable. Would you like a drink?

 Hey, we use tree trunks as seats around our place so a milk crate will do just fine…for a little while, at least until my bum gets sore. I will never pass up a cup of coffee, black please.

 

Thank you for coming Gay though I have known you for years, this yahoos are unfamiliar with you, share a little about yourself.

 

Well I camp out on some acres in the piney woods of east Texas. My great husband and I have been there thirty-plus years. We’ve been married over fifty years so that gives you a ballpark of how old I am. I have one living son who lives fairly close by but I don’t see him as often as I’d like. My two granddaughters recently moved from Oregon to Arkansas which made me very happy because that’s quite a bit closer and perhaps I’ll get to see my two greats, Josh and Lexi more often.

 

I have seen Second Time Around (on) http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Ingram/e/B008VS6AJI and I would love to pick it up, but before I do, could you tell me a little about it?

 Well, it’s about a recently widowed woman who has an accidental meeting with a man who she suspects is her first love of twenty-five years previously. The hitch is that he supposedly was killed in a train wreck on his way to propose.

 

Wow, Second Time Around sounds intriguing, is there a particular part of the story that you really enjoyed writing?

 I really enjoyed doing the research. I set the story in Dallas, Texas in the 50’s because I lived there at the time. Then I found a forum online where folks were posting their memories of Dallas in that time period which really gave my remembrances a kick-start.

 

The shed is pleasantly quiet until Jack belches and shouts out his favourite question.  

 Hey dude, tell us who your favourite characters are!

 Hmmmm, favorite characters. Well, I really connect with authors rather than their characters. Madelyn L’Emgle is one of my favorites and so is Terry Brooks. I recently discovered Deborah Macomber and am really enjoying reading her stuff.

 

Sorry about that, but Jack's question brought another question to light, If Second Time Around were to be optioned for a movie, who do you see playing your main characters?

 

What an interesting question. I’ve always envisioned Susan Sarandon playing Dolly Summers. Not sure who I’d choose for the role of Douglas, maybe Richard Gere.

 

They will be perfect, Gay I could really see Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere playing those parts. I was wondering, as a person who writes on the side, during my down time, my writing process starts with forming the story in my head before I put pen to paper, what is your writing process like?

 

It seems, with my fiction writing of course, my stories always begin with a character who insinuates himself/herself in my thoughts. I spend a lot of time interacting with them subconsciously and as they reveal more of themselves, their particular time period and situation begin to develop.

I don't know how I missed it, but a bundle of promotion posters lay rolled up in the middle of the shed floor. Terrance did not see them as he was heading to the cooler for another beer and tripped over them, spilling whatever contents was left in the beer bottle in his hand over Gay.

 

If I had a hole, I crawl in it. This embarrassment did not stop the yahoo from asking his tired question.   

All of this sounds fascinating but I heard writing is a hell of a lot of work, why do you do it, what do you get out of it?

Oops! Careful there, Terrance. That’s going to clash with my perfume I’m afraid.

As to why do I write, well, let me tell you. I just can’t keep from doing it. After Second Time Around was published I went over two years without writing any kind of fiction. Oh, I did my hand-writing three pages every morning a la Julia Cameron’s recommendation, which I urge every writer to do.

I had a personal blog going for a while until it ran out of steam. And I post a blog on Venture Galleries.com every week where I feature some historical facts about not-well-known cities across the US. I’m also the editor of Write With Pen, the monthly newsletter for one of the writing groups I belong to: North East Texas Writers Organization, or NETWO for short.

But I just lost any enthusiasm for writing fiction of any sort even though I had two unfinished manuscripts collecting dust on the shelf. But recently I picked up one and am beginning to work on it a bit. I found out if I don’t write it’s like something is missing in my life.

 

Thanks for the awkward segue, Terrance, now go over with the rest of the b'ys and let me and Gay have our yarn. Terrance asked you why you like to write, now I want to ask you, is there anything about writing you don't like?

 

Not the writing per se. I enjoy the research necessary because I tend to set my stories in a particular time frame and I’m a stickler for getting it historically correct. I enjoy revision because it usually reads better afterwards. I even like the editing part. In fact, I have an editing service and have done some for a few other writers. What gives me the willies is all the promotion and marketing being required of authors these days to sell their books.

 When you write, what is it that you hope your readers take away from your story?

 My stories are about ordinary people who are thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The take-away I strive to deliver is that we as humans are stronger than we realize and that there is always hope to overcome.

 Do you have any other stories you are currently writing or are planning to write?

 Oh goody! I was hoping you’d ask that. I’m real excited about my latest work, Morgana’s Revenge, which has a release date of Oct. 1^st.  It’s about a young woman who loses her parents in a home fire then goes looking for answers. She goes undercover as a tutor to three precocious children…there are two men vying for her attention…lots of intrigue…and it was a pleasure to write.

 

Thanks a million for answering all my questions…and the others, Gay Ingram it has been a real pleasure. As I said before, I have seen Second Time Around online at http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Ingram/e/B008VS6AJI  is there anywhere else your book is available and what formats?

 

All of my books are available in both print and digital through Amazon. Just check out my Author Page to check them out.

 

It was a pleasure having you here and you are most welcome to come back anytime. Is there anything else you like to add before you go?

 

Just want to say I’ve really enjoyed our visit…even the beer stains Terrance left with me.