Lucy Nel chats with Deanna Fugett : Part 4 of 4 Interviews

1. You're a wife and mommy of four. Please describe a day in the life of Deanna Fugett, the wife, mother and writer. 

Chaos. What more need I say? Actually, I think we have it under control for the most part. We do have four very active and needy kids. So we've had to learn to adjust with each passing year. My husband and I are not super strict, so we let the kids 'do their thing' and encourage independence and a helpful attitude around our house. 

I drop kids off at school in the morning, hubby's long gone by then, and go home. I usually throw in a load of laundry, do a load of dishes and then get to my writing. I hate cleaning, and only do it when I have too. Most of my day can be taken up just with dishes, laundry (I'm in charge of SIX people's laundry. It's never-ending!) and writing and just taking care of my family's needs in general. There's always SOMETHING I should be doing. It's just a matter of doing it. 

2. What inspired you to begin with your current WIP?

Well...I'm not sure exactly. Honestly one day I just sat at the computer and said, "I'm going to write a story today," and it just kind of happened. Two months later I had my first rough draft. 

But I can credit my mom for my love of reading which inspired my love of writing, which also comes from my elementary school teachers, Mrs. Bholson and Mrs. Olson. 

Mrs. Bholson fostered a love of writing in me at a young age (I went to a small school, so I had her 1st through 3rd grade) and then in 6th grade Mrs. Olson challenged us to write a book someday. I already knew I loved writing and had been told I was decent at it, so I made a promise to myself that someday I would write that book. And here I am. 

3. Favorite place and time to write? 

Anywhere, anytime. Seriously, whenever I get a free moment, like when my kids are in school. Which only happens Monday and Wednesday, that all four of them are gone. So those are the two main days I focus on writing, or at least attempt too. 

They all know it's important to me, and there are plenty of times I will be typing away with my kids, while my youngest takes a bath, or when my daughter wants me in her room while she plays dolls. I try to not lock myself away and always be available to them, no matter what. It's not always easy. Sometimes if I'm really inspired, it's frustrating to get that "Mommy!" right in the middle of a big scene. But I have to make my family my number one priority and put my work down. They will always come first. 

4. You write Speculative YA fiction, with some of most interesting character names I've seen. What one message do you wish to portray with your current WIP?

My message is simply this. Even in a dark, wicked world we have to put aside our fears and be brave. 

Actually, I have tons of mini messages weaving throughout the entire series, but those you'll have to discover for yourselves. 

5. Name some of the biggest challenges, victories you've faced in your writing journey?

Challenges, PUBLISHING. Holy moly, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to write a book. I had my nice little rose colored glasses on, thinking to myself. "Oh gee, this is going to be great. I'll write a best seller, give it to a publisher, they will love it and my life will be great." 

Oh my, how wrong I was. It's so much more complicated and difficult then I ever thought it would be. But I love it. And I'm not going to give up. Ever. I will make this dream happen.

Victories? Well, I guess my victory is the responses I have gotten from my story Ending Fear, which is the first in The Gliding Lands Series. People seem drawn to it. I'm not sure why, but it seems to hit a chord with a lot of folks so far. 

6. If you could have one quality of your main character, Fear, what would it be? 

Probably her ability to be passionate. She's a teen girl with lots of crazy hormones, she's kind of annoying sometimes, and she doesn't always think straight. But she's passionate about things. I never want to loose passion in my life. 

7. Do you have a favorite scripture?

My mom gave my the verse Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God," when I was very young. I was a peacemaker growing up. 

I know I've changed a lot since then, and now I like to stir things up a bit. I don't always keep the peace, as it were. Maybe I've become jaded in some aspects. But I'd like to think that I still have the ability and definitely the desire to be a peacemaker. 

You can also add the entire book of Psalms. It's my favorite book of the Bible and any time I am distressed I can always find God's love, promises and beauty within those words.

Thank you Lucy, for the interview, it was a pleasure!  

I have a secret.

I have a secret.

Yes, you heard me right. And here it is. I am not a book nerd.

I hear several gasps out there from many of you. See, people have assumed that because I am a writer that I am also an avid reader. And while I DO love and treasure books, this just isn’t true.

Reason being? I write so much I don’t make time for reading anymore like I should. And I say should because again and again I read on blogs and such, that in order to be a strong writer you need to be a strong reader. And I’m failing in this area, miserably.

I let people on social media see me as a huge book buff because that is what I’m ‘supposed’ to be. But I barely take the time to read. Let me rephrase that. I read constantly. But as far as fiction books go, it’s hard for me to do. There are many reasons why.

One, I’m trying desperately to build my social media platform, which requires me to be on Facebook and Twitter frequently. As writers, we all know, if we want to get traditionally published we have to get our names out there. Networking. We have to be noticed. We have to create a fan base before an agent will even bother to take notice of us. And that takes time, energy and effort. It’s obnoxious and exhausting at times. But it’s also fun. I LOVE commenting on friends posts and interacting.

Another secret (or not-so-secret) I’m an extrovert. 90% of writers are gasping right now, since I’m in the 10% of writers that aren’t introverts. Yeah, I love being around people, and since my job as a SAHM prevents me from doing that, I’m able to connect to others around me through social media. It’s a blessing and a curse.

Here’s the thing about reading. I am reading every day, all the time. It’s just not fiction. And I know this is important, but it always gets put on the back burner. Right now I’m currently reading two books, both of which I started weeks ago. The Gifting by Kate Ganshert, and Wisdom and Folly by Michele Harper. They are both excellent books that I’m enjoying very much, but I’m sooooo slooooow at reading at this point in my life.

It hasn’t always been that way. I used to gobble down books in my youth so fast I couldn’t keep up with myself. It was crazy. I literally fought with my friends in the library about who got to read what first. We LOVED books with a passion. It was a beautiful time in my life. Fiction, fiction everywhere. I would read silly little, easy stories like The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Kids/Twins. I would read the classics, The Little Princess and The Secret Garden. Occasionally I would even delve into actual smart literature like Number the Stars by award winning author Louis Lowry and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyal by award winning author Avi.

Once I hit the teen years, my reading tastes became more…well, not something I’m super proud of. I loved, loved, loved the Flowers in the Attic series. But they were also very naughty at times. (If only mom had known!) I read and reread those over and over. My reading obsession waned the further into my teen years I went. I developed new obsessions. Mainly music, exercise and boys. Yup. I was that girl. *hangs head in shame.

When I got married and started having babies at the sweet young age of eighteen, I quickly dug back into reading. Only this time, it was all non-fiction. I was determined to be the best wife and mommy I could be, and I tore up the pages trying to figure it all out.

This new life left little time for luxury reading (fiction/entertainment books). I read for pure learning purposes. I only briefly gave in to my need for a good entertaining book once in a great while. I remember picking up that first Christian romance. Ooo-la-la. I didn’t even know books like that existed! Then I had my ‘Amish phase’ and read every Beverly Lewis book under the sun. I found an author on a whim at the library who I fell deeply in love with. Right next to the Jane Austin books, Lynn Austin. An amazing Christian fiction writer of historical fiction. I HIGHLY recommend her books. I also found joy in reading about Jesus and Biblical times through Bodie and Brock Theone’s biblical historical books. My husband and I had a period where we whipped though their multiple series, sharing books and competing who could read through them faster.

Then life got busy. And I stopped reading. For a while. Once in a blue moon I would pick up a book and it would light a spark going off in my brain. Oh, I should read you. That would be good. Let’s try that sometime. But a lot of times I left it at that. Now, I have most of my books on my phone kindle. And there are a ton! My TBR list is enormous. And intimidating. And sometimes it’s so big I don’t even want to try. And to top that off, I recently learned that my library sells used YA books for only $0.50! So naturally since I write YA, and I should be taking the time to read YA, I go in frequently and clean out the shelves. It’s awesome. And they sit. In my house, in a pile. Unread. It’s kind of depressing. They sit there, mocking me. Taunting me.

I have another confession on top of that doozy. I didn’t know who Dr. Who was until recently.

Ok, so I write YA Speculative. I’ve immersed myself in “Spekkies” over the last year, trying to infiltrate their awesome world, delving deeper into the land of awesome nerdiness/geek culture. I have never enjoyed hard core Sci-Fi. Never have. Never will. Science bores the snot out of me. But I do enjoy Fantasy, dystopian and the occasional Faerie Tale Retelling. I always thought of myself as a huge nerd. But when I’m ‘around’ all these speculative writers, I realize, my nerdiness factor could use a major boost.

I have always been in love with Narnia. I hate LOTR. (PLEASE don’t hate me!!!) I couldn’t even get through the first few pages because it bored me so much. (My son, on the other hand, has read the entire series four times over, go figure.) I have always loved and adored everything Star Trek, I even had a Star Trek themed birthday party. I have never read Harry Potter (Ok, now you really hate me). I tried the first chapter and it just didn’t suck me in. And of course, I plan on taking my sons to the theater as soon as the new Star Wars movie comes out. But I don’t even know what it’s called.

So I like it all, but I’m not invested. 

I didn’t know who Dr. Who was (literally Dr. Who???), until my husband started watching it. (Sorry to rat you out there, honey!) I will never be a Whovian. It’s ok, and we’re still working through the series. But I’m not into creepy, scary, ugly looking creatures or aliens for that matter. I don’t understand most of it. I like it. But I’m not in love. 

I tried Firefly, the first episode, I had to struggle through the first fifteen minutes. It BORED me to death. I didn’t like it or connect to anything. Then six months later, when I realized I couldn’t possibly be a speculative author without seeing this sacred show, attempted to watch it again. This time, I started on the second episode. And I was hooked. I loved it so much. By the end of watching it on Netflix, I bought the whole season at Walmart. (I AIM TO MISBEHAVE -‘cause you know- Walmart. *hangs head in shame again) And my husband ordered the movie for me. I am now an official browncoat. But this stuff doesn’t come naturally to me. I have to work at it. I want to fit in. But I don’t want to be fake either.

So now you know. The truth is out. This Speculative YA writer is not obsessively shoveling down the books. She is not as big of a nerd as she needs to be to make it in this world of writerly-spekkie-awesomeness. But I’m working on it. One Tardis, one Serenity spaceship at a time. 

-Writer, Deanna Fugett