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Read some interviews from past editions:
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S.J. Stewart
June, 2008
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Zelda Benjamin
April, 2008
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Shirley Marks
December, 2007
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Donna Wright
December, 2007
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Carolyn Brown
August, 2007
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Roni Denholtz
June, 2007
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Tara Randel
April, 2007
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Sydell Voeller
February, 2007
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Sheila Robins
December, 2006
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Ann Holt
October, 2006
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Cynthia Danielewski
July, 2006
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Jane McBride Choate
March, 2006
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Kathryn Meyer Griffith
January, 2006
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Mel Taylor
November, 2005
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Kathleen Fuller
September, 2005
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Tracey J. Lyons
July, 2005
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Ludima Gus Burton
May, 2005
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Holly Jacobs
March, 2005
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Sandra D. Bricker
January, 2005
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Kathryn Quick
November, 2004
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Cheri Jetton
September, 2004
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Heather S. Webber
July, 2004
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Karl Fieldhouse
May, 2004
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Shelley Galloway
March, 2004
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Kathy Carmichael
November, 2003
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Dorothy P. O'Neill
July, 2003
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Joani Ascher
May, 2003
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Patricia DeGroot
March, 2003
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Nancy J. Parra
January, 2003
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Barbara Meyers
November, 2002
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Christine Bush
September, 2002
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Debby Mayne
July, 2002
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Jean C. Gordon
May, 2002
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Charles E. Friend
March, 2002
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Norma Seely
January, 2002
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Glen Ebisch
November, 2001
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Gina Cresse
September, 2001
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John Paxson
July, 2001
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Terri Alcock
May, 2001
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Clifford Blair
March, 2001
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Amanda Harte
January, 2001
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Kent Conwell
November, 2000
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Carolyn Brown
September, 2000
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Annette Mahon
July, 2000
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Marjorie McGinley
May, 2000
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Jack Lewis
March, 2000
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Amanda Harte
January, 2000
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Joyce and Jim Lavene
November, 1999
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Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
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Sherry Lynn Ferguson
August, 2008
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Author! Author!: January, 2004
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Click on images to learn more about these books.
An Interview with
Ilsa
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How long have you been writing and how long did it take to get published?
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I attended elementary school in Austria, and I remember writing weekly themes from the first grade on. I loved to write them. Then, after coming to the United States, I had to switch to English and didn’t write anything except term papers for a long time. Believe me, it takes many, many years to make a second language your own. I remember reading my first English novel with a dictionary beside me--a habit that persists to this day, though I don’t find many words anymore that I need to look up. When I do, I am delighted.
What can I say? Writers love words. About fifteen years ago I tried writing fiction again. Five years later my first romance was published. I’ve been writing ever since.
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Have you ever used real people as characters?
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No. At least not in their entire persona. But I have used unusual traits or mannerisms. However, several of the cats I’ve shared my life with over the years, have appeared in my stories.
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Where do you get ideas for plots?
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From everywhere. Most writers I know, play the “what if” game, the game of watching people and making up stories about them. Sometimes a house catches my fancy and its imagined history becomes the plot. Sometimes a line from a popular song, snatches from an overheard conversation, a headline, trigger an idea for a plot.
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How do you name your characters?
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As T. S. Eliot wrote, “The naming of Cats is a difficult matter”. The same holds true for characters. I spend a long time naming them. I give them an ethnic background, look up the meaning of their names, determine whether they were popular at the time of the story and say them out loud to hear the rhythm of the words.
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What is the hardest part of writing?
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Finding the time. I’m still working as a school librarian, have a family, a house, a garden, pets, etc. etc. etc. So, often it’s a toss-up whether I exercise that day or write. Not surprisingly, writing usually wins!
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Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
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Yes, a romance triggered by seeing a young woman sipping a latté on the steps of the Chicago Art Institute. And a mystery set in the beautiful Appalachian mountains.
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Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
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Read, read, read. To become a writer, you must first be an avid reader. Read everything, but especially the sort of stories you want to write. Learn to dust yourself off and get up after receiving a rejection and start another story.
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What do you do for fun -- other than writing?
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Read. I always carry at least one book with me. Who knows? I might be stuck in traffic or have to wait at the dentist’s. I also like to garden, to cook, and to travel.
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