Thanks for being here today, Linda. Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?
I am the mother of two girls, I work part-time as an office manager and am involved in school and church. I’m on the Board of Directors of two nonprofits, one being the St. Louis Publisher’s Association. I’m also a semi-retired professional face painter. I keep busy.
When did you decide you wanted to become an author?
I’ve always enjoyed the art of everyday writing, such as letters (now email) for business or pleasure, and am a perfectionist when it comes to spelling and grammar. I never thought of writing anything serious until I took on the project of writing my mother’s memoir of growing up in Japan around WWII, which I thought would be a valuable educational resource for schools as well as a family heirloom.
Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?
I read everything I could get my hands on, even dictionaries and the World Book encyclopedia set. My dad would take my sister and me to the library on weekends and we’d each come back with a paper grocery sack full of books which we would read by the end of the week. I especially loved historical fiction, biographies, and animal stories.
Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.
Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl is the story of my mother’s life growing up near Tokyo around WWII. I grew up with my mom telling me stories of when she was a little girl in Japan, and I loved hearing about a different culture and a different time. When I got older and I wanted to write down those stories, she began talking about how she survived WWII and what the Occupation was like and how she met my dad, a U.S. serviceman. As I wrote, I realized that others outside our family might like to read this and so I began writing with school children in mind, although seniors who have lived through WWII have really enjoyed the book.
How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?
Article comments