This week’s interview is with Author Gabriel Constans. I chuckled at more than one of his answers and his non-answer to #14 has piqued my curiosity.
Gabriel, good luck with your screenplays and I really do hope you win an award for one of them some day. Thanks again for participating!
About Writing/Books/Being an Author
1. Do you remember the first book you read that had an impact on you – in what way and what was the name of that book?
The book was “Autobiography of a Yogi”. It changed the way I looked at the world and what is possible.
2. When did you first realize you wanted to write?
In high school, when I began writing articles and editing an alternative paper.
3. Who is/are your favourite author(s)?
Isabelle Allende, James Baldwin, Sarah Waters, Alice Walker, Chitra Divakaruna, Alexander McCall Smith, Nora Zeale Hurston, Pat Conroy, Barbara Kingslover, Wallace Stegner, etc.
4. What is your favourite thing about writing? What is your least favourite thing writing?
Favorite thing about writing is being able to describe a scene in my head well enough for others to grasp it themselves and make them think, feel and/or question. Least favorite aspect of writing is knowing when to stop editing and get on with it.
5. Where do your ideas come from?
Personal experiences, friends, family, history, world evenings, personal relationships, other books, stories and movies, and primarily my imagination.
6. I’ve often found that creative people have more than one talent, what is yours?
I enjoy playing the ukulele, though I’m not sure how much “talent” is involved.
7. If you could jump inside of a book for one day (as an observer) what book would it be?
That’s a great question. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Nora Zeale Hurston.
8. When you create characters are they completely made up or do they resemble or remind you of people you know?
My characters resemble, or remind me of, different people I have, and/or do know, or have heard about. Having met hundreds of individuals and their families, with hospice, in hospital, private counseling, and survivors of various forms of trauma, has provided a plethora of possibilities.
9. Have you ever created a character “out of thin air” only to run into someone in real life that reminds you of that character either in personality or their features?
Not that I can recall. Usually, it is the other way around.
10. How do you come up with titles for your books?
I really enjoy coming up with titles for books (and other things). It takes time to get just the right one, which must include a clear relation to the content and/or theme of the book, and that is catchy and grabs the attention of possible readers.
11. What are you working on now and can you tell us about it?
I have three screenplays either produced, in development, and or production, with four others I’m working on getting optioned and/or picked up for production.
12. Have you won any awards for your writing/books and if so what?
My wife gave me the award of “most persistent and steadfast”. I hope she was talking about my writing.
A Little More Personal
13. What is one thing you haven’t done but would like to do?
Win an Academy Award, Indie Spirit Award, and/or Golden Globe, for one of my screenplays.
14. Can you tell us about an embarrassing/funny moment?
I can, but will I? I think not.
15. Have you ever experienced something weird you could not explain?
Well, I can’t explain life, and it’s pretty weird.
16. Are you superstitious? Do you have any rituals for good luck?
Not really. I do have to have everything around me cleaned and put away though before I sit down to write.
17. What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
A gentleman never tells.
18. Do you have a favourite vacation spot? Where?
Mendocino, California and Killarney, Ireland.
19. What makes you happy?
Loving. Making love. Being loved. Other people’s happiness and pleasure. Chocolate and stories.
20. If you aren’t writing (or doing anything associated with writing), what are you doing?
Playing music, working in the garden, reading, meeting friends, or watching movies.
21. Have you ever met anyone famous – who?
Joan Baez, Bell Hooks, and Eve Ensler.
Check out Gabriel Constans’ books here: http://www.gogabriel.com/books.html
EXPRESSIONS 