Writers at the Table: Meet Ted Johnson

For well over a year, I’ve been leading a creative writing class at a senior living center near my home, listening to a great group of folks tell their stories. I’ve grown fond of these writers. They are creative and kind and willing. And today, I’m honored to feature one of those writers here.

IMG_0726Ted Johnson was the first person to show up on my inaugural day of leading the class. He couldn’t have known how nervous I felt, nor how grateful I was to see him there–with pen and paper and a smile. Ted has an easy way about him, always has a kind word for others, and brings to the table some great stories. I met him for coffee this week so that I could take his picture, and I reminded him of the importance in this work, in the stories he sets to paper. We forget, sometimes, the power of memory, of the connections we make when we share those memories with others. Enjoy reading this essay by Ted Johnson. 

My Mother

By Ted Johnson

At 87 years old my mother still lived alone in her apartment in Minneapolis and apparently loved it. My sister was living in Billings and I in Milwaukee, and we worried about her—a lot. She had given up her car a couple years before with little fanfare, and I could only hope that I would be that mature when my time came.

I drove to Minneapolis to see her and to assure myself that all was well. We had been trying to get her to move to Milwaukee for years, but she was adamant, unyielding. “It wouldn’t feel right,” she said. “Anytime I’d turn on TV to get the news, I’d see a face I’d never seen before. I’m used to all these local people and I’d miss them. Bill Adams has been the weatherman on WCCO for twenty years. It wouldn’t seem right to go to bed at night without listening to Bill.”

“Are you watching a lot of TV these days?” I asked.

“No,” she said, her tone indicating that she sensed some criticism in my question. “I don’t watch a lot of TV. We play bridge. We play sheepshead and work jigsaw puzzles. We have coffee parties at each others apartments. I’m not watching TV all the time.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to criticize, and I don’t feel there is anything wrong with watching a lot of TV. In fact,” I told her, “Your  generation hit it just right. Just about the time your kids were ready to leave the nest, television came in to its own to help you fill your spare time.”

She took a deep breath. She didn’t like that. I’d seen this measured and controlled exasperation many times before.

“You know”, she said, “I wouldn’t worry so much about my generation not having a full and rewarding life. I honestly think we have seen more changes than any other generation that has lived on this planet.”

She went on to remind me that she was born in a small mining town in northern Minnesota where they used candles and kerosene lamps for light. That even after Edison invented the electric light bulb, they didn’t see it for three or four years. “For transportation,” she said, “we had the dependable horse and buggy. Cars were not available to us until about 1903, when I was 10 years old.” Henry Ford’s Model T was the first car she remembered.

“We went through World War I and not long after that we suffered through the greatest Depression the world had ever seen. Shortly after that we went through the biggest War the world had ever seen. 50 million people world-wide were killed in some manner,” she said. Every family in the United States had some relative of theirs in the service in World War II, she told me. “After the War, our generation came back and built this country into the strongest and richest country in the world.”

She took another breath.

“And to cap it all off we sent a man to the moon.”

“That,” she said, “should keep you from worrying about whether my life is exciting enough.”

And, that’s the way my mother set me straight.

 

Q&A with Amy Sue Nathan, Author of The Glass Wives

“Evie had not cornered the market on loss, and she knew it. There were many ways for a life to be rerouted.”  ~ From The Glass Wives

We make plans. We have routines. We know exactly how life is supposed to unfold. But, in an instant, those plans crumble or shift under some unpredictable force.

Glass Wives_final coverSuch is the case for Evie Glass in Amy Sue Nathan’s debut novel, The Glass Wives. When Evie’s ex-husband dies suddenly, she sets out to do whatever it takes to walk her kids through grief and get their lives back to some sort of normal.

But, normal is relative, and every opportunity Evie sees as a chance to settle back into life is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Nicole, her ex-husband’s young wife and the reason Evie’s marriage fell apart in the first place. Nicole and her young baby show up at Evie’s doorstep, sending Evie on a journey through her own grief and shaking up every idea she had of family.

I’m honored to host Amy Sue Nathan today for an author Q&A. At the end of the interview, leave your name in the comments for a chance to win a copy of The Glass Wives. Random.org will choose the winner on Tuesday, September 17th.

Welcome, Amy!

CC: In the Glass Wives, no one expects Nicole, the widow of Evie’s ex-husband, and her baby to show up on Evie’s door step looking for help. But when she does, Evie is forced to confront her prescribed ideas of “normal” and “family.” We, as humans, are so resistant to change. Was it difficult to buck any set notions of family you might have had as you began writing this story? Or, did you find, as the characters’ lives unfolded, that the story itself helped soften those perceptions?

ASN: I struggled with my own perception of family when I divorced. No matter what anyone said, actions spoke louder than words and I was treated differently by friends. So in a way, I wrote The Glass Wives as a reminder to myself, and perhaps a P.S. to others, that there are many ways to be a family and one way is not better than any other. And that single moms like being included.

CC: In the essay at the end of your book, “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger (and Will Certainly Make Its Way into Your Novel),” you admit that the seed for The Glass Wives has roots in real life experience. Did you worry about backlash from friends or family or question loss of privacy as you got closer to publication?

ASN: A little bit. Then my daughter read the novel and was so aware of how it was fiction, that I stopped caring what anyone else thought.  She obviously realized where the idea sparked, and she playfully called me on a few things I snagged from real life.  Obviously she knew there was no one living in our basement, so the whole “this is your life” was kind of off the table.

CC: Your penned work ranges from blogs, like Writer Unboxed and Beyond the Margins, to short stories to your column on parenting, The View from Here. How did this myriad of literary direction ultimately guide you towards the publication of your debut novel?

ASN: I always wrote non-fiction until I started writing The Glass Wives. I think that everything before the novel just bolstered my confidence in my ability to get it done, no matter the outcome. I started writing again in 2006 after a long hiatus, so the fact that I was able to freelance and get published in non-fiction paved the way for the moxie it took to believe I could write a novel, find an agent, and get published. Had it not happened, my plan was to write another novel and start again. I wanted the traditional route.

CC: What are you reading these days? 

ASN: Right now I’m reading The Widow Waltz by Sally Koslow.

CC: What advice would you offer for other writers on the road to publication?

ASN: Have confidence. Seek guidance. Be humble. Have confidence. Also, give yourself a break if (and when) you need it. Of course, don’t give up. Did I mention, have confidence?

AmyNathanMediumFileAmy Sue Nathan lives and writes near Chicago, where she hosts the popular blog Women’s Fiction Writers. She has published articles in The Huffington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times Online, among many others. Amy is the proud mom of a son and a daughter in college, and a willing servant to two rambunctious rescued dogs. Visit her website, follow her on Twitter, or subscribe to her author page on Facebook

Don’t forget to drop your name in the comments for a chance to win your own copy of The Glass Wives. Random.org will choose the winner on Tuesday, September 17th.

In Case You Don’t Hear From Me

… It’s because I’m getting ready for this:

http://saltcaywritersretreat.com/about-the-salt-cay-writers-retreat/You might think “getting ready” means sit-ups and squats and tanning salons. And, based on my natural skin tone and the number of blueberry muffins I eat in a year, that would be a good idea. But, sit-ups hurt and squats threaten my sciatica and I don’t tan. Indoors or out. Call me Scottish, call me Irish, call me Freckles and Burn. Besides, that island holds more than beautiful skies, clear waters, and walks on white sand (though, that would certainly be enough).

In late October, it serves as the hub for the Salt Cay Writers Retreat, a retreat I am lucky enough to attend. What this means is

  1. I’m in shock. I never imagined I’d be attending a week-long writing retreat, or a writing retreat with such amazing faculty on the agenda, or a retreat to the Bahamas (!). This means so much to me as a writer, but as a Mother and a Wife with a day job, it presents plenty of challenges. I owe lots of thanks to some key folks. If you don’t know who you are, just wait until your name shows up on the acknowledgements page in that novel I plan to finish.
  2. Speaking of said novel, I’ve got to get my manuscript in better order. When I silently prayed a while back for a real kick in the butt, I had no idea….

So, I’ll be cracking away at a rewrite for the next month or so, but I won’t be lagging behind on blog posts. There’s a ton in store for you, including a few book giveaways:

  • September 11th: Q&A and giveaway with Amy Sue Nathan
    author of The Glass Wives.
  • October 2nd: Q&A with Stevan Allred,
    author of the short story collection, A Simplified Map of the Real World.
  • October 16th: Guest post by Trish Ryan,
    author of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
  • October 23rd: Q&A and giveaway with Susanna Daniel,
    author of Sea Creatures.

There’s more, but those are the biggies. I’m excited to spotlight each one of these authors, and their books.

In the meantime, I could use all the good vibes you can send my way as I tackle this manuscript and prepare to break in my passport.

Me, with a passport. That really is funny.

Tell me, what’s kicking you into gear this fall?