Heya gang,
I have been asked to introduce
another writer today who is borrowing the flat while I am away touring the
blogosphere, a writer who though sharing the queer spectrum with me holds
radically different views and speaks with a voice different to mine.
I don’t
wear my politics or group affiliations quite as strongly on my sleeve as she
does and don’t generally subscribe to the views she holds about group-think, but
this is what free expression is about -- the right of people to hold views that
you disagree with and even championing their right to hold those views.
Though
in this blog, I will comment on others views in relation to mine, I wont cast
aspersions on their character for doing so. To this end, I am lending Ms Aya my
place in the sphere to discuss not only her work, but her social politics as
well…
So without further ado I give you Aya Walksfar.
What inspired you to write this book?
My murder mystery novella, Dead Men and Cats, actually grew
from several different insights that were born from various opportunities I had
to experience some unique situations.
One of the things I’ve had the pleasure of doing in my life
is to act as a speaker for the Seattle police in a diversity training
situation. Though this was years ago, I still recall how misinformed some of
those young officers were about lesbians and gays. Some of them grew up in
areas where anti-lesbian/gay sentiments prevailed.
It was my experiences with them, as well as my experiences
in the lesbian community, that made the reality of hate crimes very clear to
me, and how sometimes law enforcement--being comprised of real, live humans--can
be impacted and, in some ways, hindered in dealing with hate crimes.
But it isn’t only the mainstream community who has members
with anti-lesbian/gay sentiments. Growing up in the mainstream society, young
lesbians/gays often have no role models (until relatively recently), and at
times grow up hating themselves, denying their own sexuality and creating
issues for themselves that can have long term, negative effects. I wanted to
show how one young man deals with this internal conflict.
The fourth ingredient that helped create this book was my
admiration of strong women. When I speak of strong women I am talking about
women who are faced with difficult, and, sometimes frightening, situations but
they persevere in spite of everything.
The two main characters in Dead Men and Cats are Megan
Albright and Janie Sampson, a lesbian couple. In most ways, these women are
ordinary: Janie owns a riding stable, Megan is a paramedic. They live together
in a long term, monogamous relationship in a small community. How they deal
with discovering a dead man and a live calico kitten in an old rowboat, and the
violent events subsequent to that, is what marks them as strong women.
It was from these insights that Dead Men and Cats grew.
For those who would like to read my novella, Dead Men and
Cats, it is available at http://www.amazon.com/author/ayawalksfar
Folks can get to know me better by visiting my blog at
http://www.ayawalksfar.com
or chat with me on facebook,
http://www.facebook.com/ayawalksfar and http://www.facebook.com/AyaWalksfarAuthor.
I can also be reached through twitter
@ayawalksfar.
Or shoot me an email at : ayawalksfar@gmail.com
Born in a rougher section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (and
there were several of those when I was growing up, though I hear Pittsburgh has
cleaned up very nicely over the past couple of decades. I haven’t been back in
years.) I soon learned how to make myself invisible. If you tend to be on the
smaller side, this is a very good talent to cultivate. As a result, I got to
observe people in their myriad of attitudes and emotions. They fascinated me.
In self-defense against loneliness, I learned to read very
young, and to write. My first story was written in pencil on those tablets for
little kids with the huge spaces between lines. It was a story about a lost
dog. Do you ever forget your first?
Ever since that day, I have been creating alternate
realities.
Fortunately, my life has been anything except traditional,
and therefore, I have never run out of stories to tell. I lived on the road for
several years, have worked non-traditional jobs (and a very few traditional
jobs), and have walked many dark roads and city streets.
Currently, I live on a 12 acre wildlife/wild bird/indigenous
plant habitat that my wife of 25 years and I have created. During a single
year, we host over 68 different species of birds, and many different animals.
When I am not either reading or writing, I love to hike,
take photographs, work with my German Shepherds and Papillons, tend the land,
horseback ride, travel, learn new things, and since I recently acquired a
motorcycle, learn how to ride a bike. I am having a great deal of fun
perfecting that skill! Whenever I have the opportunity, I also search for the
perfect chocolate. There are many good chocolates in the world, but I am
convinced that there is a “perfect one.” Have to eat a lot of chocolates while
I am researching!
