Reading and Writing Addiction was able to catch up with Frieda Dryden, Author of Leonard's Wife for an interview. We are excited to share this interesting interview today with our readers.
RAWA: When did you
first discover that you were a writer?
FD: I probably knew as soon as I
could put pencil to paper. I wrote poems
and sent them to my great, great uncle R.J.C. Stead. He was a writer of poems and novels in
Canada. My grandfather published a small
rural newspaper. My father said I had
printer’s ink for blood. But I really began
writing seriously about twenty years ago.
My first novel was a fictionalized version of my memoires but my children
requested it not be published; too much information.
RAWA: What is your
favorite part of writing?
FD: Getting
the story that’s been forming in my head out on a piece of paper. Sometimes my head fills with a story and I
have to start typing to get it out. During
that time I’m pretty obsessed with the story.
I love when the story starts to materialize for me. I simply can’t type fast enough.
RAWA: What do you
think is the most challenging aspect of writing?
FD: Getting a publisher or agent
interested in me. You have a 97% chance
your submitted manuscript will hit their dreaded “Slush Pile”. Then there are
the hurdles I jumped learning how to publish electronically on Amazon Kindle or
Nook. But the hardest part for me has
been advertising and promoting my books.
It is an expensive undertaking when you are on a fixed income. I am technology ignorant; I don’t know an
Ipad from a corn pad. I’ve learned to
blog, develop a web page, and navigate Facebook; all of which have taken me kicking
and screaming into the twenty first century.
I’ve tried to follow Lew Hunter’s “P-ing” philosophy, practice, patience, perseverance; but
sometimes my patience wears rather thin.
RAWA: Tell us
about your latest release.
FD: My latest
release, Legacy of Taylor’s Mountain, is actually the fourth book in my
series. The Skeets family saga starts
with Leonard’s Wife and takes the reader through several years of the most
demented family imaginable. The last
book ties the other three together in a neat little bow.
RAWA: How did you
come up with the title of your book?
FD: Leonard is one of my main characters. The title came to me as I was writing the
book. That’s how all the titles come to
me.
RAWA: Who are some
of your favorite authors?
FD: Well
Stephen King of course, Dean Koontz, and Alex Kava are a few.
RAWA: What do you
think has influenced your writing style the most?
FD: Everyone
wants to know how a nice lady can come up with such dastardly stuff. I suspect there’s something twisted in me
that I wasn’t aware of until I started writing.
Of course reading Dean Koontz and Stephen King was probably a major
factor.
RAWA: As a writer
what is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
FD: Just
seeing the story that once bounced around in my head actually produced on paper
or electronically. To know others are
enjoying my work is very fulfilling.
RAWA: How did you
get published?
FD: I tried
the traditional method, but with so many authors out there trying to get
noticed, I found it very frustrating. I
finally decided to self-publish, and I’m glad I did. I’ve had some minimal success.
RAWA: Do you have
any advice for writers looking to get published?
FD: Advice? Not really.
I guess I’ve tried everything. I
started trying to get an agent fifteen years ago; didn’t happen. I guess I
would refer to Lew Hunter’s philosophy: “P-ing” Practice, Patience, &
Perserverance.
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