Ask the Author: Elizabeth Letts
Answered Questions (10)
Elizabeth Letts
Oh that's lovely! I'm so glad you got to meet Harry! What a once in a lifetime experience. I'm so happy that you have enjoyed my books and I very much appreciate the support.
Elizabeth Letts
Thank you for asking! Because I'm interested in the horse-human bond, I have a file of interesting stories about horses and people from the past. I came across Annie's story for the first time about ten years ago-- but I got a little bit of pushback when I first suggested telling her story. She's an older woman-- not too rich, not too healthy, not much money. Nothing special about her except that she wasn't ready to be written off by the world. You hear about older women actors having trouble finding roles, and in truth, it's the same for women in books-- you might read about movie stars, spies, the mistresses of Presidents... but when's the last time you read a book about an ordinary woman who just refuses to be taken for granted? That's why I was so delighted to be able to introduce this indomitable woman to the world.
Elizabeth Letts
Oh yes! I grew up around horses and riding and was a competitive equestrian, both hunter-jumper and three-day eventing. Still ride as often as I can.
Elizabeth Letts
If you are talking about Finding Dorothy, there are no photographs included, but you can find some on my website. www.elizabethletts.com
Elizabeth Letts
Non-fiction! I'm surprised at how often this gets mixed up.
Elizabeth Letts
Hi Cynthia, One of my favorite parts of being a reader is when I'm browsing in a bookstore or library and discover a book that seems as if it was placed there just for me. How lovely and serendipitous that you had such an experience with Finding Dorothy. It is a work of historical fiction, and so facts and fiction are blended-- you may want to wait until you've finished reading the book so as not to have any spoilers, but there is an author's note at the back that explains more about more sources and where I deviated from fact.
Elizabeth Letts
My number on piece of advice for aspiring writers is to be persistent. Pick a number of words or a length of time that you can REALISTICALLY spend writing and then stick to it every single day, whether you feel like it or not. Do not think about writing a whole book. Just think about the chunk you promised yourself you'd write, and do it. Slowly, over time, those short chunks will turn into longer chunks, and eventually something that resembles a first draft of a book.
Elizabeth Letts
When I first started writing, I had four young children underfoot and a full-time job as a certified nurse-midwife. I used to write whenever I had a minute, and so I got used to working in any kind of situation-- I didn't need any special rituals to bring on the muse. As I've gone along, I've noticed that sometimes I do feel blocked when I'm trying to write. My number one solution is just to keep working. Sometimes when I just force myself to put words on paper, I find that what I write is not as bad as I thought it was while I was writing it. My favorite writing quote is "it's easier to edit a bad page than a blank page." Get words on paper and you'll be able to slowly shape them into something better.
Elizabeth Letts
Thank you so much! If you are looking for another horse story, I'm working on it right now and hope to finish soon. In the meantime, there is my novel Finding Dorothy-- the true story behind the The Wizard of Oz.
Elizabeth Letts
No, I'm afraid not, although there are a lot of Letts people in Michigan.
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