Welcome to the Tuesday Author Interview series. I love introducing readers to authors across genres, which makes Tuesday one of my favorite days of the week.
Today, I am pleased to welcome Linda DeFruscio, memoirist and author of the children’s book, Ginger and Moe and the Incredible Coincidence, which releases today, March 7, with Brown Publishers.
Linda DeFruscio is the founder and president of A & A Laser, Electrolysis & Skin Care Associates in Newtonville, MA. Her writing career began years ago, when she was invited to write a series of skincare articles for a national magazine. Linda’s fascinating memoir, Cornered: Dr. Richard J. Sharpe As I Knew Him, published in 2015 by Twilight Times Books, will be featured at a later time. So do check back with us.
Welcome, Linda. Tell us a little about Ginger and Moe.
Ginger and Moe is a true story, about two sibling cats that I adopted, only to find out later that I was allergic to cats. I was determined find them a new home with someone who, like me, would never want to see them separated. My commitment to these wonderful cats turned into a journey, for both them and me, that I could never have imagined.
How did you come up with the title?
Ginger and Moe and the Incredible Coincidence was a title I came up right away, on the very day I began to write the story. Ginger and Moe were the real names of my cats, and the story is about the coincidence that resulted in them finally finding a home after being nomads for a while. “Coincidence” is a hard concept for children to understand. My hope is that my book will illuminate the concept in a straightforward manner. It made sense to include the word in the title so parents buying the book will know what to expect.
What inspired you to write Ginger and Moe?
Ginger and Moe was a story that lived for years in my heart. I didn’t need boxes of notes to be able to write it. All I needed was a little time to reflect on the ways in which those cats touched and changed my life.
You are the narrator in your story. How easy was that for you?
Yes, I appear as the narrator in both Ginger and Moe and Cornered; in both cases I sacrificed anonymity in order to tell the truest story I could.
For Ginger and Moe and the Incredible Coincidence, this only required that I talk about my allergies.
What do you find is the most challenging aspect of writing?
Great thoughts sometimes find their way to me when I’m in an environment that is not conducive to writing them down. I have been known to scribble on Post-its, paper napkins, and even checkbook registers. I have also been known to run out of my office, ostensibly to use the ladies’ room but really to have a moment’s privacy to write down a thought before it slips away. The worst is when great thoughts come to me late at night. Since I have a day job, I need to get a good night’s sleep. But I know I will forget all about the great idea if I don’t get up and write it down right away. So I get up, which leads to challenges the next day.
What is your favorite part of writing?
I came to writing more or less by accident. Years ago a magazine publisher asked me if I would write some skincare articles for her. And, a doctor asked me to contribute an article to a publication called the Annals of Dermatology. I found, in both cases, that writing is an engaging process. If it requires research, so much the better. Now I’m working on my third book, and I’m collecting notes for a fourth book. I’m so glad I discovered writing. It has become my way of exploring the world.
Linda, what was the last book you read? What did you think of it?
No! Maybe? Yes! Living My Truth by Grace Anne Stevens may be one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read about what it means to be a woman. The ironic thing here is that Grace started out as a man. Another title I loved was Joan Heartwell’s memoir Hamster Island, which is about growing up dirt poor with two disabled siblings. You can see I gravitate towards memoirs, mostly about people overcoming great emotional obstacles. I also read a lot of spiritual books.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Besides Grace Stevens and Joan Heartwell, and off the top of my head, I enjoy Jennifer Boylan, Keith Ablow, and Jeanette Walls.
What authors or person(s) have influenced you as a writer and why?
Marissa Lynn is the magazine editor who, the first day we met in her office, asked me if I would like to try to write an article on skincare. I went home and poured everything I knew about skincare into a first draft. Then I took it in to show Marissa a few days later. She read it, and, to my horror, she ripped it up. She said, “I don’t want this!” I was stunned. I started to cry. “This isn’t how you write!” she continued. “This sounds like a text book. Tell me real stories about real people with real skin problems. Tell me what you know from experience, not what you studied in school.”
My inclination was to tell her nothing, other than that I wasn’t interested in working with her after all. But I took a minute to think it over and decided that would be a mistake. She was offering me an opportunity to reach many potential clients. She opened her drawer and took out a tape recorder. She said, “Take this and start talking. I’ll type it up later.” So I pulled myself together and told her a story about a man who had the beginnings of folliculitis barbae—a rare but serious bacterial infection of the deeper layers of the skin and subcutaneous tissues—and how we determined the cause of his infection and how we finally got rid of it. Marissa loved it. That was how it all began.
You experienced tough love from Marissa, which is often necessary to dig deep with a story. I’ve experienced similar tough love from editors, which I appreciated very much.
Do you have a favorite place to write? To read?
Because I have my own business and work long hours, I don’t have the option of writing whenever or wherever I want. I write notes, as I mentioned above, wherever I am, as I think of things. Most of them I never look at again. But sometimes I realize I have the makings for a manuscript.
Linda, can you share something personal that people may be surprised to know?
I am a yoga fanatic. I do yoga very early in the morning, as many mornings a week as possible. I am also a closet eater of candies and other sweets that I know are not good for me. My favorite indulgence is York Peppermint Patties. So, something healthy and something not, that’s one surprise about me—though there are others.
Did the writing process uncover surprises or learning experiences for you?
Yes! I learned so much about myself through the writing of both books. Loyalty is not something I ever gave much thought to before, but as it happens, it became a major theme in Cornered, and to a lesser degree, even in Ginger and Moe. I am a loyal person; I didn’t even know that before. And that’s just one example. Writing is a way of living; for all that it seems like such a passive activity, it results in lots of experiences and insights.
What do you hope readers will gain from your books?
As far as Ginger and Moe, I think there is a lot to learn in that little book. There are lessons on caring and commitment that might be valuable for parents as well as for the children they read to. And of course the big thing is that children reading the book will learn about the concept of coincidence, maybe for the first time. I’m especially hoping that teachers will see the value of using the book in the classroom. You can stand up and tell a roomful of little kids that a coincidence is “a remarkable concurrence of events without apparent casual connection,” (as one dictionary has it), or you can read them Ginger and Moe and let them see that the “remarkable event” at work in the book has a name. Which one do you think will ultimately be more memorable?
Experiential learning usually works like a charm. Looking back, what did you do right that helped you write and market these books?
I stuck with it. In these times it’s not enough to find a publisher and hope your book flies off the shelves. You’ve got to accept every interview invitation that comes along, every opportunity to talk about your work, and not just right after the launch date. You’ve got to keep at it. It’s been difficult for me, because I work so many hours. But I do as much as I can and I plan to continue to do so.
Any advice or tips for writers looking to get published?
Don’t give up. Go after your dream. Persevere. The rewards for me have been huge, even though Cornered is not a best seller and Ginger and Moe is barely out at this time. Not only did I accomplish what I set out to do, but in the process I discovered answers to questions that had plagued me for years.
Website and social media links?
Where can we find your books?
On Amazon and other online sites, on my website, and in libraries and stores.
What’s next for you?
I’m completing a wonderful book about individuals in the transgender community. Because I am an electrologist, and because I was introduced to people from the trans community early on, a great number of my clients are transgender. And because every transgender individual works with a variety of healthcare professionals, I know lots of people peripheral to the transition process. Over the last two years I worked with an assistant to interview several of my trans clients. Their stories are all different and all fascinating. Now I’m in the process of adding a preface and some back matter, and deciding on a title.
The book I’m just starting is about my sister, who suffers from MSA, or Multiple System Atrophy. As you might guess, this book will describe her personal journey, and mine as well, with the context of our relationship as sisters. Again, I have boxes of notes, some of which are my sister’s ideas and insights. I can’t wait to get started.
Both books sound wonderful and very close to your heart; not to mention timely. I wish you the best of luck with your books and your works in progress, Linda. I’ve enjoyed chatting with you.
About Eleanor:
Puerto Rican-born Eleanor Parker Sapia is the author of the award-winning historical novel, A Decent Woman, published by Scarlet River Press. Her debut novel, set in turn of the century Ponce, Puerto Rico, garnered an Honorable Mention for Best Historical Fiction, English at the 2016 International Latino Book Awards with Latino Literacy Now, and was selected as a Book of the Month by Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club in 2015. A writer, artist, and photographer, Eleanor currently lives in Berkeley County, West Virginia, where she is working on her second novel, The Laments of Forgotten Souls, set in 1920 Puerto Rico.
Eleanor’s book: http://amzn.to/1X0qFvK
Please visit Eleanor at her website:
www.eleanorparkersapia.com
The Writing Life Blog 