Paula Houseman, Author
Covers of her books
1.
What were your goals and
intentions in this series of books, and how well do you feel you achieved
them?
It’s a way of life and humor
is very much a part of that. And once I let the
idea weave its way through the stories, they all started to come together to
form chapters of a novel, Odyssey in a
Teacup. I carried the theme into the next book, Apoca[hot]lips, and it’s continuing in Book 3.
I feel I’ve achieved my objective
because couching ideas in humor is a non-aggressive way of getting a message
across. Whether or not the reader responds to it consciously, at the very
least, it will have planted a seed.
2.
What are some of the
references that you used while researching these books?
But probably my greatest
research came from my favourite book, Woman
Who Run With the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. And that wasn’t about
researching the book’s content, but allowing it to help me explore the contents
of my own depths.
3.
What do you think most
characterizes your writing?
Writers and readers
connect at the most fundamental level of humanness, beyond all the social
categories that can divide us. And that’s where I write from.
4.
What did you enjoy most
about writing these books?
And writing is the one
place I can always be all of me. I
love that it moves me. If I’m laughing or crying or raging as I write, I know
I’m on the right track. If my writing isn’t stirring my passions, I can’t
expect it to stir the reader’s.
5.
What was the hardest part of
writing these books?
I guess the part that I
did find hard came after I’d finished
the books—checking through the editor’s comments, and then scanning the manuscripts
after they’d been formatted for ebook and for paperback to see if it everything
was correct. Both are laborious and require a lot of focus. And then, there’s
the necessity of promoting the books, when I’d rather just be writing.
6.
Where did your love of
books/storytelling/reading/writing/etc. come from?
I had plenty to say and I
wanted it to be heard. It just wasn’t what my family wanted to hear. Being
hamstrung made for a difficult childhood and adolescence. Reading allowed me to
escape into the alternative realities books offered. Writing has allowed me to create
alternative realities. More than that, though, it’s allowed me to be heard as
an individual, and as a woman.
7.
How did you become involved
with the subject or theme of your books?
And then, as providence
would have it, I was drawn to a sociology course at university that also promoted
the archetypal approach. The main text was Care
of the Soul, by archetypal psychologist Thomas Moore. In it, he exposes
what he calls the ‘salvational fantasy’: Our desire to be saved from our shadow
side, which makes us turn to magic bullet solutions—whether that’s a person,
vitamin, exercise or diet regimen, or therapeutic modality.
At first, I hated what Moore
had to say because I realized I was
hostage to this fantasy. I wanted my wild woman back, but I also wanted to be
rescued from the darkness where she resides! Like most people, I’d understood
the idea of bettering myself meant heroically wiping out ‘undesirable’
aspects—negative thoughts and feelings and impulses. But these things are
innate; you can’t erase them. And it’s unhealthy to deny them a place in our psyches
and lives.
When I started to embrace
this archetypal model that holds a place for everything, life became easier. I
got that ‘rising above’ stuff isn’t a sign of bravery; diving into it is. Discovering
that my story was much more comprehensive than a fairytale-like framework
helped me become accepting of all of
it. And once I did that, the aspects I’d been ashamed of didn’t have to clamor
for attention as much.
8.
How long have you been
writing?
9.
What inspires you?
10. What do you like to read in your free time?
11. What projects are you working on at the present?
12. What makes your books stand out from the crowd?
13. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
14. What question do you wish that someone would ask about your
books, but nobody has?
Links:
Paula Houseman, Author |
| Covers of her books |
1.
What were your goals and
intentions in this series of books, and how well do you feel you achieved
them?
I had something to say. I
have a viewpoint that’s outside of mainstream thinking—a mode of being that’s helped
me through difficulties. And I wanted to get it out there. Initially, I
intended to just blog about it, believing it had nothing to do with the book I
was writing, which was a collection of unrelated, humorous short stories. But
it had everything to do with it!
It’s a way of life and humor
is very much a part of that. And once I let the
idea weave its way through the stories, they all started to come together to
form chapters of a novel, Odyssey in a
Teacup. I carried the theme into the next book, Apoca[hot]lips, and it’s continuing in Book 3.
I feel I’ve achieved my objective
because couching ideas in humor is a non-aggressive way of getting a message
across. Whether or not the reader responds to it consciously, at the very
least, it will have planted a seed.
2.
What are some of the
references that you used while researching these books?
I googled a lot! Still,
when it came to important facts like laws and rules and procedures and timelines,
I didn’t want to misrepresent the truth. So I called the relevant organisations
and asked the necessary questions.
But probably my greatest
research came from my favourite book, Woman
Who Run With the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. And that wasn’t about
researching the book’s content, but allowing it to help me explore the contents
of my own depths.
3.
What do you think most
characterizes your writing?
I’ve been told my writing
is very real. It’s bawdy, for sure! But the colorful words and double
entendres aren’t there for shock value. They’re not forced. It’s earthy humor—a
sacred one.
Writers and readers
connect at the most fundamental level of humanness, beyond all the social
categories that can divide us. And that’s where I write from.
4.
What did you enjoy most
about writing these books?
I’m not a plotter; I’m a
pantser—I fly by the seat of my pants. So I didn’t feel bound by a specific
plan. I let the characters and the story lead me. And that made the experience
mysterious and much more interesting. I just never knew where I was going to be
taken, or end up. So, I was the reader as much as I was the writer.
And writing is the one
place I can always be all of me. I
love that it moves me. If I’m laughing or crying or raging as I write, I know
I’m on the right track. If my writing isn’t stirring my passions, I can’t
expect it to stir the reader’s.
5.
What was the hardest part of
writing these books?
I didn’t find writing the
books hard. And that might be because I’m not attached to any writing formula
that’s at the risk of not working. I know the creative process is messy, but I
trust it. Even being taken into some dark places isn’t what I’d call hard.
Challenging, maybe. It’s probably akin to wading through raw sewage at times,
but I’ve been there so often, I know that under it all, there’s that warming
and inspiring sacred obscenity ... the ‘holy shit’!
I guess the part that I
did find hard came after I’d finished
the books—checking through the editor’s comments, and then scanning the manuscripts
after they’d been formatted for ebook and for paperback to see if it everything
was correct. Both are laborious and require a lot of focus. And then, there’s
the necessity of promoting the books, when I’d rather just be writing.
6.
Where did your love of
books/storytelling/reading/writing/etc. come from?
As a baby boomer, I grew
up at a time when the catchphrase ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ still
held sway. ‘Children’ really just meant girls. Women. But I was pretty feisty,
and I was in trouble a lot because I’d laugh at inappropriate times and I had
an up-yours attitude!
I had plenty to say and I
wanted it to be heard. It just wasn’t what my family wanted to hear. Being
hamstrung made for a difficult childhood and adolescence. Reading allowed me to
escape into the alternative realities books offered. Writing has allowed me to create
alternative realities. More than that, though, it’s allowed me to be heard as
an individual, and as a woman.
7.
How did you become involved
with the subject or theme of your books?
It was about twelve years
ago. I’d read Estés from time to time and I found her views uplifting. She
shows us that folk tales contain fragments of what you find in the uncut, no-holds-barred
ancient myths. And that we don’t just read or tell stories, we live them.
It raised questions for me,
not least, if there are only remnants of the original stories in our current
ones, then what’s missing from my whole story and my life?
Reading Estés’s book
reminded me that it was the wild aspect of me that had gone underground—the ‘Wild
Woman archetype’, she calls it. So it answered my question ... but only to a
point.
And then, as providence
would have it, I was drawn to a sociology course at university that also promoted
the archetypal approach. The main text was Care
of the Soul, by archetypal psychologist Thomas Moore. In it, he exposes
what he calls the ‘salvational fantasy’: Our desire to be saved from our shadow
side, which makes us turn to magic bullet solutions—whether that’s a person,
vitamin, exercise or diet regimen, or therapeutic modality.
At first, I hated what Moore
had to say because I realized I was
hostage to this fantasy. I wanted my wild woman back, but I also wanted to be
rescued from the darkness where she resides! Like most people, I’d understood
the idea of bettering myself meant heroically wiping out ‘undesirable’
aspects—negative thoughts and feelings and impulses. But these things are
innate; you can’t erase them. And it’s unhealthy to deny them a place in our psyches
and lives.
When I started to embrace
this archetypal model that holds a place for everything, life became easier. I
got that ‘rising above’ stuff isn’t a sign of bravery; diving into it is. Discovering
that my story was much more comprehensive than a fairytale-like framework
helped me become accepting of all of
it. And once I did that, the aspects I’d been ashamed of didn’t have to clamor
for attention as much.
8.
How long have you been
writing?
It began with journal writing
twenty-five years ago. Both my parents had died within seventeen months of each
other, and apart from the grief, I was left with an avalanche of feelings over
having had aspects of me tamped down. I needed to find a safe space to let
loose without fear of being judged or shamed. Writing gave me that. And the
audience of one grew to include others when I started university. I still had a
lot to say, and it was very well-received. It evolved from there: submitting the
odd poem to the university’s student publication; joining an online writing
community; and then writing my books.
9.
What inspires you?
With my first book, I
didn’t have to look past my own childhood and adolescence for inspiration. But
the more I unearth the innate comedy in the tragedy, the more I understand just
how absurd life is. And it’s that ridiculousness that inspires me!
10. What do you like to read in your free time?
Mystery | thriller |
suspense novels. I love whoddunits, particularly, Sandra Brown’s books. She
combines mystery with romance and sex.
11. What projects are you working on at the present?
I’m writing Book 3 in the
series. But I also have to commit time and energy to promoting the other books,
and to blogging (which I don’t do often enough).
12. What makes your books stand out from the crowd?
Without having read the many
thousands of books in my genre, it looks like a difficult question to answer.
But I think it’s actually quite simple. When I write, I’m being uniquely me;
I’m expressing my essence through that particular medium. It doesn’t make me
better or worse than any other writer. Just different. In the words of Dr
Seuss, ‘There is no one alive who is Youer than You.’ So, because no one can be
Me-er than Me, that’s what sets my books apart from the rest!
13. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A couple of years after I
started university, I realized what I most loved about the whole experience was
essay writing. And I was fortunate in that I had very encouraging tutors &
lecturers who applauded my unconventional take on things. It inspired me to
become more daring in my essays. But then in my final honours year, I came up
against a brick wall. I had to deal with traditionalists, who were scathing in
their criticism of my thesis—both my approach and my ideas. In the end, I tried
to take on the establishment, but even those who commended my paper and supported
me were made to back down. It was disheartening. But it was a turning point.
From then on, I decided no one was going to shut me up again! I finished my
first book a couple of years later,
and I also started blogging.
14. What question do you wish that someone would ask about your
books, but nobody has?
There’s no one question that
comes to mind. But I’d like to think my books raise questions in the readers
about themselves—ones they might not
have considered. Like what I asked myself all those years ago: What’s missing from my whole story and my
life?
Links:
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