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MEET THE AUTHOR
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Interview with Nadene R. Carter, Interview by Parker Owens Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? It started with poetry. At a young age I enjoyed reading poetry and in school, we were required to memorize quite a number of poems, some of which I still remember. I wrote my first poem when I was about ten years old and even reading it today, I think it isn’t too bad for a first attempt. However, the problem with me and poetry is that I have to be in a certain frame of mind to access the necessary language. I can’t always conjure up that place I need to be to write poetry. Later as a teenage, I read Little Women. Jo became my hero. The desire to someday write a novel was imprinted at that time. What do you see as the influences on your writing? One of my grade school teachers, Beth West, drilled us on the fundamentals of English. Many students who learned the basics from her went on to careers that required a strong grasp of the English language. Another defining event was when I discovered the town library near my elementary school (they didn’t have a school library at that time). An important part of this equation was Clevonia Ramey, the librarian. After I finished reading a book, I then took it back to check out another. Instead of simply doing her librarian duties, Mrs. Ramey asked me questions about the book I’d just read, none of which could be answered with a simple yes or no. They were probing questions about the characters and about the events in the book that made me think about the story on several levels. Soon, I began to anticipate the librarian’s questions and to read accordingly. Today, that’s called reading like a writer. My interest in the mystery genre first came from reading the Nancy Drew series and The Boxcar Children. My all time favorite novel is To Kill a Mockingbird. Today, my reading of choice is suspense, but across a widely diverse range of authors: Mary Higgins Clark, Marilyn Harris, Diane Mott Davidson, Tami Hoag, Patricia Cornwell, and Jodi Picoult. What are your current projects? My second novel, Echoes of Silence, is American historical fiction about the Japanese internment during World War II. Inside the pages of this book, the history of the last two years before the war ended are woven into the story of an honorable group of Japanese-American families who chose to work in the sugar beet fields of eastern Oregon rather than sit out the war in the Minidoka, Idaho internment camp. Another element of this story is a family of German descent who befriends this group of Japanese. I’m also working on a nonfiction writers’ craft book. I go about constructing a novel a little differently from other writers. I’m hoping it may provide beginning and experienced authors insight into another approach to writing. Can you share a little about your current book with us? The idea for A Cobweb on the Soul was created in F2K, the beginning writing class at Writers’ Village University. To be more accurate, the sequel to Cobweb was born in F2K. However, I felt that Abby Carlson, my protagonist, needed more sleuthing experience before she took on the tasks she would face in that story. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Yes. When I was writing A Cobweb on the Soul, I became stuck. No matter what I did to move forward with the story, I was blocked. I remember the panic and despair I felt. What if I’d written all I had to say? What if I couldn’t complete the story? What I’ve learned over the years is to listen to the stuckness. Every time this has happened to me, I eventually come to understand that I’ve taken the story in a wrong direction. Getting stuck still happens, but I recognize it for what it is. It may take me some time to figure out where I’ve gone wrong, but at least now I don’t experience the panic. I can stand away from the project and examine the structure until I find the flaw. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? That’s a hard question because I admire so many writers. As I’ve said before, my all time favorite is To Kill a Mockingbird. The thing that I find fascinating about that work by Harper Lee is the layers of symbolism that run through the story. I can relate to the characters and the theme of that story. It’s a classic and well worth analyzing if one aspires to be a writer of fiction. I’ve come across other authors over the years that I wanted to learn from. I’ve studied and taken apart their novels, and outlined them to study the structure and learn why a particular book held my interest. I find John Irving’s work fascinating. I was captivated by Jean Auel’s book, Clan of the Cave Bear as well as other books in that series. She has a real talent for world building and for drawing you into that world. I enjoy Elizabeth George’s work and have come to enjoy a recently discovered author, Jodi Picoult. Where do you hope to take your writing in the future? My goals are to complete a novel or nonfiction book every year, to continue editing for other authors, and to teach a writing class. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? I’ve always enjoyed living inside the pages of a book. As a youth, I read everything I could get my hands on. For me, writing is simply an extension of that reading enjoyment. I think many readers have a secret desire to be a writer. The characters I create become as real to me as walking, breathing people. I know them so well that I instinctively know how they will and will not react in a given situation. I’d say that getting to know my characters is probably the part I enjoy the most about writing. The way I create characters is one of the things that is different in the way I go about my writing. What was the idea that inspired you to write A Cobweb on the Soul and why would anyone want to read it? I started casting about for an idea that would challenge Abby Carlson and give her the experience she needed for the second book in the series (my original F2K idea). One day I was watching the MSNBC TV News Channel, and along the bottom marquee I read, "Skeleton of an infant found in the attic of an old house." That excited my writer’s imagination. I had been thinking about creating a story about a serial killer, but I felt "serial killer" had been done to death. As my mind played with this idea, I had one of those ‘Ah-ha’ moments where I envisioned a type of serial killer story that had never been written before. I began planning and plotting the story in 2000. Late in 2004, ePress-online accepted Cobweb for publication. If you had never experienced publication, would you have kept writing? Yes, I think I would have. I enjoy running "What if?" scenarios in my mind. When an idea piques my curiosity, I simply must put it to paper and start playing with it. Some people work crossword puzzles to pass the time. I enjoy playing with ideas to see where they take me. Contact her at: nrc1940@yahoo.com A
COBWEB ON THE SOUL
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