Q&A with D.J. Glawson (Diana)
Please welcome D.J Glawson to our Featured Author Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. Enjoy!
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About D.J. Glawson (Diana)
Self-described word nerd (Thank you Gabriela Pereira of DIY MFA for that description), devoted animal lover, and book fanatic, Ms Glawson was raised in Idaho, but thanks to the military lifestyle, has lived in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Chicago (Yes, Chicago is a separate state, maybe country), Florida, and Georgia.
She studied writing in the Writer’s Digest School from 1993 to 1994 and was rated in the top five percent of her instructor, Robert Gover’s students.
She has taken courses through Author’s Guild and written blogs for Capper’s Farmer, Grit, and Mother Earth News, and has a very infrequent blog on her website.
Ms. Glawson has lived among those on the streets and uses those experiences to embed realism into her stories.
She has worked as an illustrator, doing catalog set-up and design, as a merchandiser, and in varying management roles.
She has also worked as a bartender, a waitress, a housekeeper, and an electrician, and has laid shingles on roofs.
She draws heavily from these experiences to flesh out her characters, making them as believable and flawed as possible.
Perfect heroines and heroes only live in comic books.
On to Our Interview!
Q. Tell us who you are and what inspires you to write
A. I’m retired (technically) and love to read and write.
The writing bug hit me when I was about twelve, but was told dreams don’t pay the rent, so I’m doing it now.
My novels are set in the 1970’s and 1980’s, or earlier.
I have worked in several different fields and use those experiences to flesh out my characters.
I like women who fight the norm and stand up for themselves, but are still vulnerable in some way.
Their male counterparts have to be as strong as they are to keep up.
Q. How did you get to this place in your life? Share your story!
A. I was raised by a mother who had been born in 1906 and was blind.
My father died when I was three so I learned to do whatever needed to be done without anyone’s help.
Along the way I discovered men don’t like that, and a lot of men can’t handle that strong a woman, hence my characters being who they are.
I guess by being so self-reliant, if someone told me I couldn’t do it, I did it, just to prove them wrong.
It hasn’t been easy, either.
I’ve lived on the streets and had to take care of myself.
Q. What are you most passionate about?
A. People being honest about themselves.
To themselves and to others.
Don’t say one thing and do another.
Use the intuition you were given, but do not put yourself above anyone else.
Acceptance is the biggest part of love and we need that love to help others which ultimately helps us.
And do what you are good at.
Don’t try to be someone you aren’t.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process, routine, and/or rituals around your writing?
A. When I get an idea I write a page or two, sometimes more to get a feel for it.
Then I save it and leave it alone.
Sometimes for months.
If it doesn’t come back to me, it isn’t meant to be written.
When it does, I start writing.
I usually write about five thousand words (give or take) and then sit down and let it tell me where it’s going.
I do a loose outline, and when I say loose, I mean loose.
It gets changed frequently and drastically.
Then I begin the process of writing again.
Once the first draft is done, I print it off and set it aside again.
I do all my editing and most of the rewriting by hand.
It slows my brain down enough to think about what I’m writing.
A routine — not so much.
I just write.
I have to force myself away from my writing some days.
I design and print t-shirts, quilt, cross-stitch, and in the summer I do yardwork.
Those activities help me think about what I’m working on when I’m writing.
Q. What are a few challenges you faced in creating, marketing, or publishing your creative work? And your solutions to them.
A. Biggest challenges?
Probably money to be honest.
My income is limited and it takes money to have your books edited and have the cover designs done.
I’m a graphics designer, but t-shirts and catalog layout and printing are totally different than creating a book cover.
Editing was also a challenge.
Growing up doing everything myself, it’s hard to back down and say I don’t know how to do that.
The solutions have been hard at times.
I’ve had to back down and trust others to do their jobs, and I’ve had to reevaluate how I make my decisions about who to trust.
I can be very naive and tend to trust whoever says they are an expert at whatever it is.
And I’ve had to learn patience in the publishing process.
Patience in getting to know people and learning whether they are a good fit for my genre and my writing, or whether they really do know what they are doing.
I hate to say it, but there are some who aren’t honest.
Q. What do you wish you had known before you started writing fiction?
A. There is so much I didn’t know.
I wish I would have known how much I didn’t know.
How much it would take to get the book done.
How much it would cost, financially, and mentally and emotionally.
I wish I would have known there are as many bad people in this industry as there are scammers on the internet.
But I’m also glad I didn’t because then I wouldn’t have learned what I have.
I wouldn’t have grown into the person I am.
Writing is a growth industry in itself.
We grow emotionally and we mature, and grow stronger because of the things we go through.
It is ever evolving so we aren’t allowed the luxury of getting comfortable with what we know before we have to step into the unknown once again.
There is no such thing as finally reaching a goal internally, because when we do, the next one is in front of us, teasing us, mocking us.
It’s that shiny object syndrome all toddlers have.
We are forever toddlers in that respect.
Q. What’s next for you in your creative work?
A. Oooh — good question.
For me, keep writing.
I’m 72 years old and have finally found what makes me happy.
I have six books in this series written, a seventh started, one stand-alone written and two started, so I plan on continuing what I started.
I do need to start doing in person events.
I’m still not too comfortable with that thought.
Zoom in front of people I know, or other writers, is a totally different animal than being in front of people who you don’t know, or have anything in common with, who are going to ask you questions about your books or your writing.
A year ago, I wouldn’t even have said yes to this.
I would have been afraid of what to say.
Q. Is there anything else you wished I’d asked? Please share!
A. I would just like to encourage people to ditch the fear and do it.
If you want to write a book, go for it.
The worst thing that can happen is you discover you don’t like it after all.
But you won’t know if you don’t try.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it.
To Disappear by D.J. Glawson
Orphaned at eleven Amanda Granger grew up navigating the streets of Chicago where predators lurked in plain sight and violence against women was ignored by those meant to protect them.
After a childhood marked by trauma, Amanda escapes to Salt Lake City, but her past follows her and Amanda is sold into the high-stakes world of two and three thousand dollar a night call girls.
Now, she has to find a way out before she becomes just another statistic on the ten o’clock news.
And she has to learn to trust.
But, in this world, trust is a luxury.
Haunted by betrayal and determined to escape, Amanda forms fragile alliances and discovers the power of compassion — for herself and for others whose choices have been shaped by their circumstances.
She also finds hope, resilience, and courage.
Connect with D.J. Glawson
Site Link: https://djglawsonauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DJGlawson
LinkedIn: D.Glawson
Instagram: @djglawson
