Driving
Backwards On a One-Way Street
What inspired you to write a humorous book, Driving Backwards On a
One-Way Street?
My first book, HOW THE (BLEEP) DID I GET THIS OLD? was the
inspiration to put together this second book. In addition, a number of loyal
followers suggested it might be time for another book.
How does it build on your previous book?
It doesn’t really build on my previous book. It is more like an extension -- a spinoff of my first book. It is seventy-one short, funny, memoir stories that spotlight the humor I extract from ordinary days. While they are all true, they are sprinkled with healthy portions of exaggeration.
Laverne, what is your newest book about?
Like my first book, it is about finding humor in the aging process
which includes deteriorating body parts, sagging boobs, arthritic joint pain,
hearing loss, cataracts, knee and hip replacements, pace-makers, pill-box
rituals, retirement, and hair sprouting from strange new places.
You say you are a “Savvy Senior.” Why?
I am feisty, playful, and young at heart. I rarely think about my
age, and I am not afraid to jump into life with both feet. Even though my
mother told me to never speak to strangers, a pleasurable hobby of mine is
eavesdropping on conversations I overhear while seated in restaurants and
standing in lines. And, often, my nosiness
leads to interacting with the strangers I’ve been snooping on. I’ve learned
that all I need do is smile and confess what I’ve been doing, and people
laugh and are happy to interact and offer further insight into
themselves.
How does humor help people understand your viewpoints?
Humor is the common denominator. My personal, often
laugh-out-loud, stories help people recognize and accept that they are members
of a worldwide club, called AGING. If only subliminally, this causes them to
feel less isolated and frightened. With Humor at the helm, they become
comfortable in the knowledge that they are not going through this scary
transition alone.
Tell us three things we will feel, learn, or enjoy about your
book.
1.
While reading this book a smile, and constant bouts of laughter will remain
with you until the last page.
2.
It’s imperative that you always be cognizant of your surroundings, or you will
miss so much of what life has to offer.
3.
Being able to extract humor from even the mundane is the key to a happy life.
What advice
do you have for struggling writers?
Struggling writers often believe there is a mysterious
set of rules they must follow to become a “real” writer. They are also under
the misconception that they are not officially a writer unless they’ve had
something published. Neither of those statements is true. If you write, you are
a writer. Whether or not your work has yet been accepted for publication
doesn’t change that. You are still a writer.
Every writer works differently. Some require the discipline of
setting a time for themselves to sit before the computer and write every day –
for two to four hours or several thousand words. That is terrific if it works
for you. But, I am not disciplined. I do sit at my computer every day, where I
drop in on Facebook, check my e-mail, read the news and, eventually hope to
produce some creative writing. But my muse has been known to spend a great deal
of time in Bermuda; so, I wait patiently, knowing that when she returns I have
a shot at being prolific.
Until such time, I have an IDEA folder on my computer’s desktop.
It is there that I store random sentences, ideas, paragraphs, thoughts, and
observations, with a goal of one day being able to select and build on one or
more of them if my muse happens to be on vacation.
I believe that writers can benefit from being part of a Writing
Critique Group. The group should consist of between four and six people with
different levels and experience. They should meet once or twice a month to
evaluate each other’s progress. This only works if critiquing is done with
kindness and valid suggestions; never with malice.
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