Welcome Catherine, and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. I know my, and no doubt your, readers will enjoy learning more about you.
I’ve been to your website and I appreciate how informative it is. In perusing the website, you mentioned, very eloquently too I might add, that your library card was your passport, and the books you read were your adventures. How old were you when you started reading so voraciously? What was is that prompted your keen interest in books?
I started reading in the first grade, and by the fourth grade I had read every Nancy Drew I could find in the library. My mother had been a school teacher, so TV, which was in its infancy, was forbidden during the week. In the evenings, books were my adventures, and I usually read several each week. I fancied myself after Pippi Longstocking! To this day, I am an avid reader, choosing to read over watching TV.
*chuckle* I, too, was a Nancy Drew, and Pippi Longstocking fan.
Catherine, after college, you state that you took your love of books to the classroom. How did that come about? What did you teach? In your twenty-five years of working with students, I imagine there were many memorable moments. Do you have a favorite?
My majors in were English and Communication Arts. I decided to pick up a teaching credential so I could find a job, which I did. I started teaching second grade, and fell in love with opening up the world of books to hungry students. I earned my Masters Degree in Education, and became a Reading Specialist.
I taught elementary school for fifteen years, and college level English for ten. My favorite grade was third. The students still love their teachers, and they still love school. My favorite time of the day was DEAR: drop everything and read. We would all read for fifteen minutes after lunch. I found it relaxing and I used this time as a role model for my students. I had discovered that many of my students lived in homes where there were no books and their parents didn’t read. One of my favorite experiences was putting on the Christmas play with my first graders—complete with costumes!
With your intense love of books Catherine, when was it that you actually sat down and began writing your own?
After I left the school district and went to the college level, I found I had more time. I completed The Artist Way program and my first book, “Reaching the Summit,” came out of it. I created a studio off my bedroom and developed the practice of writing. (Around my own children’s sports schedules).
Catherine, you have a new book out: “The Divorce Ranch.” From what I’ve read, it seems to have the makings of a very fun story. What was it that inspired this specific book?
I read an article in the paper several years ago about the divorce ranches and started researching. I discovered that I live up the mountain from where two of the most famous ones once were. I picked the thirties because the social conditions were similar to what we have now: recession/depression, war abroad, economic hard times, etc.
Women were discovering their voices. Gambling was beginning in this state, and Nevada figured out a way to weather the Great Depression by creating the divorce culture. They shortened the length of time to six weeks and one did not have to prove cause. You just had to stay here for six weeks, have someone verify that you were indeed here for six weeks, and promise to make Nevada your home. (Most people had their return tickets in their suitcases). Thus, people came from all over the world to divorce their partner. Divorce gave Nevada a unique identity, a cosmopolitan glamour, a splash of sin, and the whiff of celebrity.
This has been a great Q & A Catherine, and I guess my final question would simply be: do you have any words of wisdom for the author who is just beginning his/her own writing journey?
First, one must be an avid reader. Reading opens up so many worlds. One must see the words “dance across the page.”
Then one must develop the self-discipline to actually write—sitting down at your desk and writing. I feel the writing process is important, and when I taught college English I always instructed my students in this process.
First, you must have your “shitty” first draft. (Anne Lamott) The first draft is the frame of the story. When I finish the first draft, I put it away for awhile, then I take it out and then I re-read it, take notes, etc.
The second step is to re-write it. This is where people get hung up. Re-writing is not revision. It’s not using Word to “move” words around. It’s re-writing. I print out the pages and delete it off my computer so I’m not tempted.
Next is Revision. (Make it better). Proofing, then Publication. I also think you need a fair reader, and avoid critics who just want to rip you apart because they are too scared to even try.
Also, it’s important to remember that writing is a journey, and I have found it’s a journey to my own truth.
Catherine MacDonald