{"id":1207,"date":"2012-12-19T04:34:11","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T04:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dsavannah.com\/blog\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2019-04-14T00:33:01","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T04:33:01","slug":"the-questions-stephens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dsavannah.com\/blog\/index.php\/the-questions-stephens\/","title":{"rendered":"The Questions with Elise Stephens: writer"},"content":{"rendered":"

This edition of The Questions<\/a> is being posted later than Elise and I had planned. Totally my fault \u2013 you probably hadn\u2019t noticed, but I hadn\u2019t been blogging. Again. Mostly because of editing. And not sleeping. And cleaning my muddy dog. And all the million and one things that have to be done so civilization doesn\u2019t crash around my ears. And she chose this day for it to run, so here you go.<\/p>\n

I met Elise in an online writers\u2019 group, and figured out pretty quickly that we\u2019re kindred spirits. Like me, Elise struggles with depression. And she writes beautifully about it on her blog<\/a>. She also writes about, well, writing, and inspiration, relationships, and family. She hosts a lovely series called “Because I Knew You”<\/a>. Go read it.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, enjoy\u2026<\/p>\n

The Questions<\/h2>\n

3. If you could trade places with anyone for a week, living or dead, who would it be and why?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019d love to trade places with a musical theater actress, such as Idina Menzel when she performed Elphaba in Wicked<\/em>. I love singing, acting, and generally being on stage. I couldn\u2019t manage the show-biz lifestyle long-term, but a week of it would be marvelous.<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: I also love theater, but I learned pretty early that my talents did not lie on<\/em> the stage. In high school, I single-handedly {well, footedly, actually} ruined the Shipoopi dance in our production of The Music Man<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

8. Your favorite book growing up? Your favorite book now?<\/h3>\n

I loved My Father\u2019s Dragon<\/em><\/a> by Ruth Stiles Gannett as a very little girl. The story of adventure and magical creatures and rescuing a frightened little animal was very dear to my heart, plus, my daddy read it to me. I still have adventure and fantasy themes in my writing, not to mention characters wrestling through all sorts of emotions toward parental figures (for the record, I love both my parents very fiercely). A favorite book now is Anansi Boys<\/em><\/a> by Neil Gaiman. It\u2019s full of magic, humor, family bonding and fighting and wrestling for identity, and it\u2019s totally an adventure story. I haven\u2019t changed much.<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: I love me some Neil Gaiman<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

13. Are you a morning person or a night owl?<\/h3>\n

I wake up with the sun and spend the rest of the time chasing it. I love the mornings, do my best work in the mornings, am more cheerful in the mornings, etc. I used to fantasize about being the writer who toils into the night over a work of pure genius. The truth is that at night, I\u2019ll more likely be snuggled into my bed, preparing to rise at the crack of dawn to harness my energy.<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: While you\u2019re snuggled down, I\u2019m wide awake. And me and mornings don\u2019t get along. Otherwise, we\u2019re still kindred spirits. Right?)<\/p>\n

22. Would you rather be lost in the forest, the desert, the ocean, or deep space?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019d prefer a forest because this is the place with my highest chance of survival. I\u2019d probably climb a tree and tie myself to it, to keep safe at night. I\u2019ve taken survival classes, and I know that if you have two sweatshirts and you\u2019re cold, best thing to do is wear one, and cover your head with the other. I\u2019ve never really had a chance to test it!<\/p>\n

23. Where is your heart home and why?<\/h3>\n

I am most at home when I feel safe and clean. Safety comes from being surrounded by people who love me and who can listen to my emotions without bristling, taking offense, or feeling the need to fix me. Cleanliness means I don\u2019t have to constantly wash my hands or check before I sit anywhere. As much as I wish I wasn\u2019t this picky, I can\u2019t relax in a dirty or messy room. I\u2019m such a happier, brighter person in a clean house.<\/p>\n

39. What super power do you wish you had?<\/h3>\n

I want to be able to alter the moods of people in a room. I could soothe arguments, inspire a crowd for a good cause, or evoke emotions during an important speech. I\u2019ll add the caveat that this wouldn\u2019t override anyone\u2019s free will, but it would give me the ability to be very compelling.<\/p>\n

6. What do you want on your tombstone?<\/h3>\n

\u2018She loved and lived without fear.\u2019<\/strong><\/span> So much is wrong with the world because of an absence of love, and I don\u2019t just mean the love that makes you kiss your cute niece on the forehead because she\u2019s adorable. There\u2019s courage that needs to accompany a powerful, practical love. I am by no means a fearless person, though I\u2019m striving to be a loving one, even if that means having the conversations that I\u2019d rather run away from. Perfect love casts out fear. I believe that. Hopefully, I can earn that tombstone saying on my tombstone. It\u2019s something to aspire to!<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: Definitely! I aspire to that as well.)<\/p>\n

About Elise\u2019s book, Moonlight and Oranges<\/em>:<\/h2>\n

\"MoonlightLorona Connelly is ready for a change from her carefully planned, bookish life. When sparks fly at a costume party, she embraces a chance for romance with the handsome Kestrin Feather. However, she quickly realizes that even love and destiny may not be enough to overcome the reality of an overprotective mother-in-law and Kestrin\u2019s long, tarnished history of relationships. When Lorona\u2019s curiosity leads her to Kestrin\u2019s journal, doubt plagues them both with insecurities and threatens the relationship. Can true love overcome the odds, or was their whirlwind romance just a frivolous crush?<\/p>\n

And a bonus:<\/strong><\/span>
\nA short story, in which two heroines from fiction meet each other. It was one heck of a dark night.<\/p>\n

Elise teamed up with Marni Mann, author of Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales<\/em><\/a>, on “Evening Intersection”, in which their heroines meet each other!<\/p>\n

dSavannah note<\/span>: It\u2019s a fabulous story!<\/p>\n

About Elise:<\/h2>\n

\"EliseElise Stephens blogs about relationships, life, and practical approaches to creativity at her website, elisestephens.com<\/a>. She lives in Seattle with her husband James. Her first novel, Moonlight and Oranges<\/em><\/a>, was a quarter-finalist for the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. When she\u2019s not writing, she loves live theater, swing dancing, eating tiramisu, singing, and painting. She also regularly craves Dilettante\u2019s chocolate-covered fruit medleys, in case you\u2019d like to know how to bribe her.<\/p>\n

Find Elise:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n