Past Featured Author
Lynda Blankenship
Ohio, USA
Hobbies/Interests
I love to travel. I think Americans really need to get out of this country and have a look around the world. Hear what other nations think of us. I enjoy staying long enough in a place to begin feeling like I am at home, making friends, knowing where to buy my fresh flowers and where I can find a great meal. I love it when the local people say to me, "You don't seem like an American." I learn to say please and thank you in every nation I visit.
Most Embarrassing Moment
I am a hard person to embarrass. I find most mistakes just funny, but sometimes my friendly nature can get me into trouble in foreign countries. I was in Naples, Italy in a train station with a dear friend when an ancient looking street dog approached us. He looked filthy and starving and so I removed the remains of my lunch sandwich, from a container, and offered it to the hungry animal. My friend said, "Don't feed that thing." I looked at him and said, "Why not?" as I bent down and offered the leftovers to the dog. The dog gulped the food down and immediately threw up all over my friends's shoe. I laughed, but he didn't.
Most Memorable Moment
I think that might be when I first saw the logo for WordShack Publishing. Ben Bernstein, my partner and I had been discussing this project, but when I saw the logo, I truly believed it would happen.
Advice to Other Amateur Authors
When I give a seminar on writing, I like to ask writers to think of how the invention of the camera has changed writing. Melville was writing to an audience ewho had never seen a whale, or the ocean, or a ship for that matter. He needed long descriptions and lots of adjectives. Today, if you say to a 6 year old the word MOON, they can tell you what it looks like. We frequently lose the power of a sentence with too many words. Edit and keep writing. Also, always read your work outloud, if you stumble over a word or a sentence - so will your reader.
And More…
I love WordShack, I love meeting new authors and being able to share their work with the world. I can think of nothing I would rather do than encourage people to write. The world is so full of words and yet so few people listen.