Won’t You Be My Neighbor—Kelley Gerschke

Kelley being creative!

Welcome everyone :) It's time for another "Won't You Be My Neighbor." I'm so excited to present Kelley Lynn! She is a talented author, SOOO nice and she's a freaking engineer!!! Talk about overly gifted :)

I've got on my Mr. Rogers sweater (Pink today...Mr. Rogers wore pink, right?) so I'm ready to go.

Kelley: I don’t remember if Mr. Rodgers wore pink…even if he didn’t this is your program not his. Move over Mr. Rodgers!! :)

I’m super excited to be here!! Isn’t technology great? I’m answering this from a hotel lobby in Philly since I’m on a business trip for that engineering job. It’s good to know I’ve got you fooled into thinking I’m overly gifted. I’m still wondering if I’m even remotely gifted ;) I figure it I throw myself into a number of things I’ve got to wind up good at at least one of them! (Fingers crossed its writing.)

Angie: You are super gifted!!! I love technology too. I'm writing back from my iPhone waiting in the Jr. High parking lot.

That brings me to my first question...What is one talent you wish you had, and why?

Kelley: Oh boy. There are so many things I'd love to have a talent for. I think I'd have to go with cooking. Right now it is literally dangerous for me to be in a kitchen. I've melted plastic bags to glass 9 by 13 pans and have scars on my knuckles from sticking my hand in the oven without mitts. Not to mention nothing I cook tastes good. So then it’s like, why bother? Haha.

Angie: Hehehe :) Cooking is a lost art! I wish you lived by me, I would teach you to cook. I'm actually a pretty good cook, but I hate it!

My three kids are so picky they've sucked the life out of cooking for me. I can make perfect chicken enchiladas and they will ask for cold cereal?!? YOU SUCK KIDS! (Did that sound bitter? Yes? *sigh* I guess I am)

Kelley: Where do you live? I'll move there... :)

Haha. You're only slightly bitter. Someday they'll appreciate your fantastic cooking abilities. Force them to learn too! That way they won't end up like me...

Angie: I went on a six month cooking strike! Seriously! But it didn't help :( 

Okay, no more about me. I have another question for you. I know you are superwoman! You run half marathons and play soccer. I want to know...How is writing like playing sports? (Did you see how I "pitched" you a metaphor opportunity?) 

Kelley:  That was well done. Thanks for the metaphor.

Writing is like sports because we all have our strengths and weaknesses and rely on others to accomplish our goals. Let's take soccer for example. Usually there are those on your team that are better at offense, others specialize in defense and the rest run around the midfield. (Then of course there's the goalie. VERY specialized.) Each position needs some skills more than others.

So how is this like writing? We all have our strengths. Some of us are better with dialog, some with action, some with character development. It’s funny but when I started on this writing journey I through it was a solo endeavor. WRONG! Writing with the intention to share our work is anything but solo. We need help from other writers, beta readers, CPs. The whole journey needs a team to reach a goal (or get a goal, in the analogy of a soccer team. :))

Angie: Oh, that was beautifully delivered!!! I love a great metaphor. 

Kelley: Oh thanks! I stole it from the guy next to me on the airplane. ;)

Angie: Whatever you stole it from the guy on the airplane. "Excuse me, sir? Do you have a writing metaphor I can borrow?"

You are SO right! I've learned so much in the last year and most of it has been from other writers. Do you feel like you learn more from critiquing or being critiqued?

Kelley:  Hmmm... This is a very good question. I definitely learn from both. But I learn more from critiquing, I think. There's something about analyzing someone else's work. Determining what you like and why. What you don't like and why. Plus my CP's work (including yours, my dear :)) is SO good, I learn an incredible amount about writing an engaging story.

Angie: I completely agree about learning from critiquing. Pacing, internalization, world building, and characterization are all things I've learned from reading other authors :)

I feel like we need a fun question. If you were a candy bar what kind would you be and why?

Kelley: I would be a Nut Roll. How can you go wrong with peanuts and caramel?
Plus it’s like a hidden gem. Not everyone knows how wonderful they are. AND its sort of a joke we've got going with a few writers about how
amazing Nut Rolls are. I want to be that amazing :)

Haha. How ridiculous is this answer??

Angie: I love Nut Rolls. I knew there was a reason I loved you, beyond the obvious.

Here's a question I'm curious about...You live in Wisconsin (my sister lives in Milwaukee, btw :), do you have a supportive group of writers where you live? Where do you meet most of your CP's or other writers you are close too?

Kelley: Your sister lives in Wisconsin! She must be SO COOL! ;) ;) Does she write?

I actually don't know any writers in my area. Most of my friends and family don't even read. (My sister says if I get published she'll wait till the movie comes out...haha)

I found my betas and CPs in a number of ways, but all online. My first CP, Theresa, I found through the website, Ladies Who Critique. She is an amazing writer and very good at critiquing. I actually found another four CPs through Cassie's call for CPs. I answered the call and she hooked me up with Jade, Jen and Hope. I also found Leigh, but for the life of me I can't remember how our relationship began. I think she was searching and I was searching and the stars aligned and we found each other. :) Again, all these ladies are fantastic and 'specialize' in different areas of writing. AND they don't mind telling me what they think which is one of the most important aspects of CPs/Beta Readers.

Which brings me to YOU, my dear. You realized that our stories were similar and offered to give mine a look. Brilliant as you are you found my plot holes, inconsistencies and lack of tension. Each one of you is vitally important to the success of my work. (We're kinda all like that soccer team we talked about earlier ;))

Angie: You are sweet to think I am helpful. We sound like a soccer team :) Can I play the position that moves the least? You know the position that sits on the field and counts blades of grass? (I guess I've been to too many 5 year olds soccer games :)

Here in Utah I am within a super short car ride of tons of writers and bloggers. And even though I'm neighbors with a few, we also met online. The online writing community is amazing!

Kelley:  The online community is amazing! I wish I were closer to all you wonderful, talented people, but alas, I just have to sit longingly behind a computer screen, wishing for the day when you all sign six figure deals and can fly me out to meet you at your incredibly popular book signing ;)

Angie: I would love for us all to get mega deals. Then maybe we could all fly somewhere fun like Hawaii :) I bet Cassie would be a blast in Hawaii!

Okay time for the infamous pageant question. Are you ready? Can you tell me who these people are: John Boehner, Ben Bernake, and Mahmoud Ahmajdinejad?............

I'm just kidding. Although I have asked a variation of this question in SOOO many interviews. If you know you can impress us all (but we will never really know if you googled them or not :)

Real question...What is the best advice your parents have ever given you? And did you realize it at the time?

Kelley: Haha. I actually know who the first two are. I do try and keep up with the news and have it on in my house as I'm doing things. So I know John Boehner is the Speaker of the House and Ben Bernake is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. I did have to google Mr. Ahmajdinejad, the President of Iran. :)

I think the best advice I've ever gotten was from my mother who lives by the philosophy, 'Live your life with no regrets.' I think at the time I realized it was important and have made it my mantra as well. When faced with a tough decision this is what I ask myself. Will I regret doing it? Will I regret not doing it? If the answer is yes, I do the opposite. I realize we all make mistakes. (In my case MANY mistakes). But mistakes aren't the same as regrets. I don't want to look back on my life with any regrets.

So far so good ;)

Angie: That is EXCELLENT advice. I think with the exception of breaking the law and poor moral decisions, most people regret what they don't do. I think writers are really brave. We open ourselves up to the world. We tell people who we are deep inside by what we write, and we do that knowing that some people will reject us.

Kelley: I completely agree. As writers we are really brave. Because though we might not realize it, there is so much of ourselves in our work. We might think we're writing about characters completely opposite ourselves and events we've never experienced, but we're in there. We have to be in order to put in a believable voice and compelling fiction.

And yes, people will judge us but it’s so much better than not writing and not sharing. Because far more people will be touched and encouraged in a positive way than those who aren't. We write for those people.

Hmmm...was that too deep? Haha

Angie: No, that is the perfect amount of deep :) 

Thanks for stopping by today Kelley! You were awesome. Next time I come visit my sister (she is a book lover and one of my best Alpha readers) we can go out and get custard!

Kelley: Saweet! That sounds awesome. Yes, we'll have to get custard for sure!

Thanks SO MUCH for having me. This was a lot of fun!

Angie: So much fun :) Thanks Kelley!

And thanks to everyone for sticking around for the whole interview. I need to be more concise. I can be super long winded.