Ta dah!
As an author of books, articles, a blog, and more, I love a good, old fashioned interview. Nothing compares to coming out of the closet to be heard or seen talking about your writing. After all, writers are generally tucked away in a room, out of sight and out of mind. So, when we finally get an opportunity to talk about what we're actually doing in solitary confinement for hours on end, well, it can make us momentarily giddy.
Although enjoyable experiences, my interviews largely served as a great way to market my books and help create my brand. The titles were always mentioned as well as links provided for the purchase of my books. One interview in particular was an exception to the rule. I served as an associate writer for the National Association of Baby Boomer Women. Officially, I was the travel expert. In order to introduce me to their huge readership, Anne Holmes interviewed me. It was the most detailed interview I've ever experienced. (read Meet Teresa Roberts on the NABBW) She wrote the following introductory paragraph before leading into the interview.
"A very worldly welcome to Teresa Roberts, a Baby Boomer in traveling shoes, who is NABBW’s newest Associate. We’ve just named her our National Association of Baby Boomer Women “Living Abroad” expert, as her expertise in finding creative paths to achieve goals. In Teresa’s case, her goal was to leave behind her 27-year career as an elementary school teacher and principal and find an affordable way to travel the world."
I went on to publish many articles about longterm travel, travel advice, and my own personal adventures on the NABBW website. It was a wonderful period of collaboration.
Interviews come in different shapes and sizes, however
I've been interviewed most often by receiving a series of questions in an email that I agreed to answer in writing. Even though I'm still hidden from sight while answering the questions, it's pretty gratifying. I can get carried away when writing about myself and my work. Writers tend to be self involved to a greater or lesser degree. We live inside our heads for so much of our lives that we forget who else is out there. I've often said that when I'm in that head zone, I even forget I have a body. Here's one of my favorite interviews conducted by John Bardo the creator of the website JetSetCitizen. He discovered me online and asked for an interview. Feel free to read Expert House-Sitting Advice from Author Teresa Roberts. John and his wife were teaching English in Japan and eventually became digital nomads.
Although most of my interviews centered around my travel expertise, especially international house sitting, I was occasionally asked for advice about writing. This interview done by the Travel writer's Exchange focused on — you guessed it — how to become a travel writer. Check out Can You Become a Travel Writer at Any Age?
A recorded interview, although perhaps less common, is very gratifying.
Sometimes, you get to see the questions in advance and sometimes it's more spontaneous, but both are fun. I've done podcasts and radio interviews. I really love to share my work in this manner. It's probably my favorite kind of interview. Here's a great interview that I did with Julia Meek on our local public radio station. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article, you can listen to the entire interview. It was conducted on site in an actual studio at the radio station. I had so much fun doing it. Go ahead, give it a listen. Fort Wayne Resident Finds Creative Paths to Freedom as Travel Adventurer.
A third type of interview is one that takes place in front of the camera.
Some authors are performers as well.
I've only done a few of those. The camera was located on my computer not in a television station. Once the interview was recorded, I could go back and watch it. Of course, I can't help but critique not just my answers to the questions but how I look on camera which can be intimidating. A few years ago, I was interviewed by Margaret Manning, the founder of Sixty and Me. I happened to be in Los Angeles helping my daughter move into her new apartment. There was literally no furniture in her place at the time. I had to sit on the floor to do the interview. It's obvious that I wasn't physically comfortable as I did a little wriggling around from time to time, but the interview was loads of fun. It was especially gratifying because during the interview, Margaret was sitting at her desk in England while I was sitting on the floor in California. I've never gotten use to how connected the world has become thanks to the Internet. You can watch the entire interview by following the link. Travel Tips for Women
Of course, I've shifted away from travel blogging for the most part and have even retired my website, Creative Paths to Freedom. I still travel but rarely house sit these days. For the past six years, I've kept an apartment in Spain where I spend a part of every winter instead. It's a convenient location as I can use it it as a base and travel to other European countries from there. The last 16 years of my life have been a creative evolutionary process. Writing has been central to it all, but I've morphed into different versions of myself, allowing myself to change while merely living. I now write about writing.
Happy trails ...
