INTRODUCING
CASSONDRA WINDWALKER
I'm going to ask some Cassondra-specific
questions. Answer when convenient!
First one:
You're currently collaborating with another
author. Is this your first time doing this?
It is! We have absolutely no idea what
we're doing, so this should be both fun
and terrifying. It's also somewhat
experimental in its construct, because of
course, we don't like to do easy things.
Basically we're Frankensteining this and
actually hoping to create a monster
rather than a man.
I love monsters!
You mentioned you are a slow stitcher. When
you slowly stitch, what are you stitching?
I'm supposed to be working on my
second of two terribly dreadful quilts.
I've also been known to cross-stitch,
embroider, and sew the occasional
period costume by hand. Mostly because
the mysteries of the sewing machine are
beyond my ken.
AWESOME!
Period costumes? What for?
Ahem... <slightly embarrassed
cough>... ever heard of the SCA? Society
for Creative Anachronism? Those weird
medieval fair people. I may have been
one in a previous incarnation.
Okay, last question:
You live in one of the most incredible fishing
places in the world [Anchor Point, Alaska].
Sooooo... do ya fish?
Nope! I mean, I have, when dragged
along by well-meaning friends, but left to
my own devices, I'd much rather sit and
listen to the sound of the water.
I get it, sister!
Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Are you kidding? Thank YOU for interviewing
me. I hope your blog is wildly successful. I have
steadfastly avoided one myself. I'm too lazy! Haha.
STANDARD TWEEP TATTLER INTERVIEW
1) Where do you live?
Anchor Point, Alaska, on the Kenai Peninsula. About fifteen minutes north of Homer, the halibut fishing capital of the world!
2) What is the first thing you remember writing?
I've never been asked this before! I'm actually not sure. I started writing poetry at a very young age. I can say with finality, though, that it was certainly terrible.
3) Why do you write?
Writing is not a choice for me. I only know how to frame reality in language, which is its own sort of weakness. I am continually trying to learn new languages to comprehend larger frames - not human languages, which all share the same square, but the languages of animals, of the wind, of the stars, of the spirit.
4) Have you published any of your work?
Yes. I have been fortunate to publish numerous short stories, essays, and poems in literary journals and art books. Two of my novels, Parable of Pronouns and Bury The Lead, were both published in 2018. My first full-length work of poetry, The Almost-Children, was published in April 2019, and my murder mystery Preacher Sam will be released in September 2019 as the first in a series.
5) What are you currently writing?
I'm currently working on a near-future dystopia featuring librarians, reporters, park rangers, and construction workers as heroes. In about another week, I'll be moving onto a collaboration with author SevenJane. That will be a literary fiction novel addressing the issues of missing and murdered indigenous women.
6) Are you currently querying?
Yes. I feel my career is running away from me, and I'm actively seeking an agent to represent me. I'm also looking for homes for various short stories and poems on my own.
7) Finish this sentence (three lines or less):
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT…
" typed Snoopy. I huddled deeper into my blankets and munched my bowl of chocolate and peanut butter. This better end good.
8) Which activities do you like to participate in, in the Twitter writing community (VSS365, etc.)?
It's probably a weakness, but I LOVE the writing hashtag games. #vss365, #hangtenstories #SeduceMe Sunday, #SaidSunday, #lovelines, #Twisted2sday, #TrickyTues, #2waytues, #Btr2sday, #1linewed, #feellines, #thurds, #FriDare, #FridayKiss, #1stFri, #SlapDashSat, #wordinsense. There are many more, but these are as far as I've dared to go. So far.
9) Do you have any formal training/education for writing?
I'm not sure how to answer this. I had terrific English teachers in public school. My college degree, Letters, based most of its grades on papers rather than tests. But I've never taken a creative writing course. I do love the art of grammar and keep a special place in my heart for sentence diagrams.
10) Do the people in your life know that you write?
Yes.
11) Tell me about the people in your life. Family? Pets?
My husband is a professional electrical engineer, a reader, and my biggest cheerleader. We have three children - all as grown as they will ever be, a blue heeler who is basically useless as a dog but who makes a great beta reader, and numerous ghost pets. We're both lucky to have terrific parents and siblings and nieces and nephews who absolutely delight us.
12) Where do you wish your writing to take you?
The New YorkTimes bestseller list, obviously. Wouldn't mind a Man Booker Prize or Nobel. At the very least, to sink unforgettably into the heart of just one reader.
13) What did you expect when you joined the Twitter writing community? Did it turn out as expected?
I VERY reluctantly signed up for Twitter as the merest obligation to my publishing company at the time. My only experience with Twitter prior to that had been news accounts of the president's tweets. I was beyond charmed to find so many incredibly talented and generous artists sharing their words and works online, and I've been blessed to connect personally with many readers there as well. Twitter turned out to be the 1920s expatriate salon I've been missing all my life. I'm convinced I'll eventually bump into Hemingway and Fitzgerald there.
14) Where do you write?
Mostly at my window-festooned desk looking out on the Alaska muskeg. But occasionally at the Two Sisters Bakery or Alice's Champagne Palace as well. I'll write anywhere.
15) How much time do you dedicate to writing, weekly?
I write several hours, most days.
16) Do you have other talents?
We have not yet established that I have *any* talents. But I can drink most people under the table. I'm an excellent cook and baker. I'm a terrible woodcarver, a terrible bowler, and a terrible pool-player. I like to walk 5-K's that you're supposed to run. And I can read faster than anyone I know. Do those count? Oh, I'm also a slow and painful hand-stitcher.
17) CHOOSE ONE:
-
I do not mind when other writers ask for advice.
- I’d rather keep to myself!I don't mind giving advice at all, but I also don't take any. So I don't expect anyone to take mine.
Cassondra Windwalker graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA of Letters. She lived in Indiana and Colorado before pausing in her present location on the southern coast of Alaska. After pursuing careers in bookselling and law enforcement, she resigned her post to write full time. Her poetry, short stories, and essays have been published in numerous literary journals and art books. In addition, she has published two novels and a full-length work of poetry. Her latest book, a murder mystery titled Preacher Sam, will be released September 2019 by Black Spot Books.Instagram: Cassondra WindwalkerFacebook: www.facebook.com/CassondraWindwalkerWritesTwitter: @WindwalkerWriteAmazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Cassondra-Windwalker/e/B009NP5XRI/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
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