Ida Clare, That’s Creative:

Hello Friends,

Writing is tough.  It is lonely difficult work on a good day.  Finishing a major creative writing project is a huge accomplishment.  Leah Lax has done what is difficult on many levels and may be The Next Big Thing.

The Next Big Thing is the name of the blog share that I am participating in where authors answer questions about a book they are writing.  This week Leah Lax is tagged to tell us about her story and how it came to be.  

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

Not From Here: new Houstonians and their journeys

Where did the idea come from for the book?

In 2006 I got a commission from the Houston Grand Opera to write a libretto for a new production based on the personal stories of Houstonian immigrants. I spent a year interviewing immigrants and refugees in Houston from all over the world. This book is based on that background work. Dr. Stephen Klineberg is contributing a forward for the book.

(“The Refuge,” with music by Christopher Theofanidis, premiered in 2007.)

What genre does your book fall under?

Non-fiction. Social interest.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

This book is teeming with astounding characters, so I’d have to choose about a hundred!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Not From Here presents, one story at a time, the human face of Houston’s incredible growth and transformation over the last quarter century.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

That remains to be seen.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

With terrific support from InPrint, the Houston Endowment and the Brown Foundation—one year, full time.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I don’t think anything like this has been written specifically about Houston’s populace. I have on my shelf a

collection of "narratives of undocumented lives” called Underground America (McSweeney’s, 2008).

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I knew as soon as I got the commission to write the opera that I would do this book. It just seemed so necessary.

What about your book might pique the reader's interest?

The immigration “issue” is so abstract in the political forum. This book makes it real. I don’t think anyone can read these stories and not be changed by the experience.

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Thank you so much Leah for your participation and congratulations on making the book happen.  I will look forward to seeing, Not From Here in print.  When that momentous day happens, I will let my readers know. 
Come back tomorrow for a big announcement!

Hugs,

If you would like to share this on social media there are Twitter and Facebook buttons hidden under the drop-down menu on the left side near the Search.  Click the word "More" at  the very top of this blog above the picture of yours truly.  Thanks for spreading the word.

The Next Big Thing

Hello Friends,

Ida Clare, I’m an author!

Today is a big day for me since I am announcing the publication of my first book, Embracing Your Inner-Nut; How to Replace Boredom and Stress with Fun which I hope to have available by the end of March. 

I am making this announcement via The Next Big Thing which is a blog share where writers talk about their upcoming books or current projects.

I‘d like to thank Lane Devereaux, my sweet and talented writer friend for inviting me to participate.  Lane’s book, The Requirements of Love is an in-the-trenches account of coping with grave health issues and ensuing family upheavals while adopting and raising an abused child with undiagnosed mental illness.  You can find her interview at her blog, Down Memory Lane.

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Here are my answers to the interview questions:

What is the working title of your book?

Embracing Your Inner-Nut; How to Replace Boredom and Stress with Fun

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I know this couple who affectionately refer to the Internet as the Inner-Nut.  Every time I would hear them say that, it would make me laugh.  I kept thinking about how we have an Inner-Child and an Inner-Critic, so why not an Inner-Nut?   

I set out to see if I had one and I discovered that, in fact, I do have an Inner-Nut.  My guess is that you do too unless some squirrel in your life snatched yours during a hard winter and buried it in the back yard.

My hope is that this book can help you with excavation.

What genre does your book fall under?

Since I am talking about nuttiness, I guess it would have to be humor.  I think the whole genre system needs some revamping, but that’s just my Inner-Snooty-Nosed-Elitist-Book-Critic talking.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Does she have to be female?  I wonder if George Clooney ever thought about playing a nutty woman in drag?  If I could be on the set while filming, and if I could know the directions to his trailer while he wasn’t filming, and if we could have some quality time together before he called Security, I would pick George.  

If not, Cathy Bates personifies a woman of a certain age who needs a break from all the seriousness in the world.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Sentence #1.  If you are bored, stressed, or in a rut, this book encourages you to get your nut on.

Sentence #2.  If you are bored, stressed or in a rut, this book is based on the old Almond Joy philosophy of life, only without the calories: “Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don’t.”

One of these one-sentence synopses was written by my Inner-SNEBC from above.  You pick which one.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Mr. Inner-SNEBC, would you like to take this one?

“Thank you Ida.  Ahem.  Since I’m here anyway whenever you write something I might as well answer for you.  No publisher in their right mind would touch this, so I suppose if you must publish, you will have to do it yourself.”

Thanks for sharing, Inner-Snooty-Nosed-Elitist-Book-Critic.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Long enough to want to give up.  I think writing is one of the loneliest journeys a person can embark upon.  That’s why I have to do something in my writing that entertains me or I want to quit and do something like organize the spices in my kitchen cabinet by expiration date. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

War and Peace 

War and Peace is a slightly longer book about people who really need to lighten up and embrace some fun and humor in their lives.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I like to tell people what to do.  How to Embrace Your Inner-Nut is just a way to do that and not get slapped.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There are pictures.

  

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That is all of my interview questions but stay tuned next Monday, February 11 for Leah Lax’s contribution to The Next Big Thing blog share.  Leah’s book, Not From Here: new Houstonians and their journeys is a result of the interviews with immigrants from around the world that she did when she was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera to write a libretto for a new production based on the personal stories of Houstonian immigrants.   

I am anxious to know more.  Please join me then.

Hugs,

P.S.  I am sorry for the formating of this post.  I cannot get Blogger to cooperate this morning. grrr.