Interview: Sandy Nathan, Author of The Angel & the Brown-eyed Boy - Page 6

I thought I’d be able to write one afternoon, a draft maybe—anything to give me relief from the creative pressure. Unfortunately, an extremely talkative fix-it person came and would not leave. Sayonara writing time.

Add to all that the fact that I was starting a blog tour and sheets with interview questions had been sent to me from various blogs, I was “a one-armed paper hanger with a fire on the stairs,” as my dad used to say. If I couldn’t write that scene, I felt like my head would blow up.

A few weeks later and back in California, I was able to write the scene. Bliss! It came out exactly the way I imagined it. Apparently, being dammed up for a while doesn’t hurt my prose, only me. The next new scene is forming, as I begin a three-month blog tour requiring a new post almost every day. See you later, writing time. This time, maybe my head will explode.

What are some ways that you like to relax?

I’ve been involved with horses since I was ten. Spending time on or around a horse is my relaxation. We live on a horse ranch. For almost twenty years, my family bred, birthed, raised, trained, and showed Peruvian Paso horses. We’re in retirement mode now, with only six horses on the ranch, down from our high of twenty-two. I hadn’t ridden for years due to old injuries, but my husband coaxed me into riding again about a year ago. (Coerced is a better word.)

The last year has been rough, because when I finally started riding again, I lost two horses. My dear Tecolote, the hero of my kids’ book Tecolote: The Little Horse That Could, died of heart failure. Another horse I rode has been retired because of health problems. The good news is that we just got a splendid, beautiful new horse for me.

I also like to walk with my dogs. I have two cocker spaniel mixes from the pound. The dogs and I make a couple of loops around our ranch every day. Gives me a chance to watch the hawks and birds and remember that I’ve got a body.

I like going out to dinner, spending time with friends, and visiting our place in Santa Fe.

What author/s do you think are overlooked in the writing/reading world today?

The thing about overlooked authors is that no one knows about them, including me. It’s hard to name them. Thousands of excellent independent authors are passed over because some readers think, “Independently produced books are junk.”

Article Author: April Pohren

April lives in Iowa and is the stay-at-home mom of two young children. An avid book lover since she was able to hold a book, she has fallen in love with blogging and book reviewing. Her own little piece of the world is at Cafe of Dreams where she …

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