Hi there, fellow book dragons! Today, I'd like to introduce you to Terry Squire Stone, author of the wonderful autobiographical piece called Broken at Birth. If you enjoy true stories, powerful revelations and family sagas, I can highly recommend this book.
About the author:
I was born in 1947 on a military base in Mississippi, grew up and lived in Los Angeles for 50 years. I’ve done everything at least once (some more than once), got married, had a child, and retired to Greece in 2004.
What got you into writing your own stories?
Those are the only ones I have, my own stories. I guess the fear of my death finally pushed me to write the novel that everybody said I must write. So I did, and I’m very proud that I did. So proud, I think I'll write another one. If I can before I die.
What genre do you write?
I don’t think in terms of genres. I just scribble down whatever pops in my head, personal stuff, newspaper editorials, observations, a few short stories, letters to the editor, advertising copy, and snarky comments. Then, one day I wrote a book about a significant even in my life, so now, I guess, I'm really a writer.
Tell us about your WIP.
Okay, my next book is going to be another life experience that I've again been encouraged to write. “Oh, you must write this, you must must write all that down!” So, yes, it will be another story about me. The setting for this story takes place 10 years before Broken at Birth. It explains my marriage at 17 to a Greek who, after 3 years, wanted me to “learn to be a proper Greek housewife. So, in September of 1967 he put me on an airplane to Europe. Arrangements were made to pick up a new car in Germany and drive alone through Europe to Athens, Greece. The flight and drive took 8 days through Germany, Austria, old Yugoslavia, and Serbia to Greece where I lived with my new mother-in-law in a Romanian refugee camp near downtown Athens. I lived with my new in-laws for 6 months.
It was a breathtaking experience of new people, culture, sounds, and smells. It was a time and place where I felt free to sang and dance, where I lusted, but lost, and where I eventually found myself. Unfortunately, I failed the part about learning to be a proper Greek housewife. Maybe that will be a third book!
How would you describe your writing style:
If nothing else, honest.
What comes more easily, plot or characters:
Since I don't write fiction, the plot and characters are all done for me. Best of all I like writing dialogue. I guess that's when you can really crawl into the minds of those around you; mother, sister, husband, boyfriend, or even the waitress pouring your coffee. You know these people and what they say, you can muck around with what you see in their feelings and attitudes as opposed to what they say. That's the fun part.
Do you cross over genres or do you only stick to one:
I have written editorials, short stories, therapy stories, newspaper articles, and funny letters to the DMV. Geez, don't we all? I guess I write about what I see and the way I see it.
What’s your “writer’s den” like:
I have a room that's all mine, my hideaway, my safe place with a door to keep out the distractions. It’s filled with me; my computer, my sewing, my art, my games, my creations, my inventions. Right outside that room I have my other life, the one with the support of a wonderful husband, my cats, and the tranquil beauty of Greece. When I open the door the love and support comes flooding in to give me the courage to go back in the room, close the door, and write some more.
How do you get into the flow for writing? Do you have any rituals?
Isn't that the great mystery of life? How to start. Whether the page, the canvas, the 4 yards of velvet, the new year’s resolution, or the promises to yourself, and life itself — how do we ever get anything done?
What is your personally most significant achievement as a writer, and why?
Hey, I wrote a book. A whole book. Beginning middle and end and people tell me it's damn good. That’s amazing!
What would be the greatest achievement for you to aim for as a writer if anything were possible?
Another book? A movie deal?
What are you most grateful for as a writer?
I'm grateful for how much writing Broken at Birth has helped me learn how to live with myself.
Do you have a day job? What is it?
I’m retired but my days are full with all of life’s normal trappings.
As for jobs, I’ve had many; I started out addressing envelopes at 16. I’ve been a receptionist, insurance analyst, and then the job of a life time: production artist (that’s the person who takes a graphic designer’s ideas and makes them ready for printing. This job was producing record album art, movies posters, assisting at photo shoots and going to Hollywood parties. I even won a Grammy as part of the team who produced marketing for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I partnered with my husband in our graphic design firm, I was an actor’s manager, did movie extra work, worked for an LA City Councilman, was director of a Pacifica radio station’s archives, sold the advertising on the back of supermarket receipts, and was a waitress for one day.
Has a real-life experience informed your writing? Share the scene it inspired.
I guess the real answer to this is the experience I present in Broken at Birth. There must be a reason it took 30 years to get it to print. It was emotionally difficult, and if it hadn’t been for my husband - and a year of COVID lockdowns - it would probably still be half-done. Our next story, while quite different in its emotional intensity, is also a personal journey toward understanding who I was then, as well as who I am today.
Do you read the same genre you write? Why, or why not?
Sometimes I’ll read things like Water for Elephants or The Glass Castle, but mostly I love history. It can be the history of anything, as long as it’s real history. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Victorian literature which gives me a lot of perspective on our current times.
Do you read fellow indie authors' works? Why or why not?
I don’t, but it’s mostly about taking the time to simply read a book. My husband and I are both passed our mid-70s and the old eyes get tired pretty quickly these days. Plugging in our earbuds and putting on an audio book seems to be the best we can do in that regard. Plus, we seem to keep ourselves quite busy with multiple goals and obligations during the day.
Is there an author who inspires you?
Arundhati Roy, Katherine Anne Porter, and P.G. Wodehouse come to mind.
Give us three fun facts about yourself.
I’ve parachuted from an airplane, tried hang gliding, grew my own pot for 15 years, was the queen of the L.A. area contradances, ran for political office on two continents, and I love to sing.
What's one of your funniest experiences?
When my grandmother, in a moment of confusion said, “I must have a head in my hole!”
What is something about you that few people know?
That I hurt.
Do you have any hobbies?
Lots, but they seem to come and go like baby butterflies. I’ve done stained glass, sculpture, made soap and candles, and I love sewing. I experimented with paint pouring but that got messy. I used to bake bread almost every day but I had to cut back on carbs. Now, my big hobby is downloading and making ‘print-and-play’ board games.
What's your favorite holiday?
Vernal Equinox.
What's your favorite season?
No surprise here, spring.
Do you have pets?
I’ve always had cats. I’ve never been a dog person. Dogs are too needy. But then I met a man who loves dogs... and me. Today we live in an apartment with a dog and 3 cats.
Featured book: Broken at Birth.
Why would you like to feature Broken at Birth?
I think the positive feedback and reviews we’ve received tells us this story can be helpful to people who may have grown up and endured a similar childhood. Maybe my story can help someone else understand where that abuse might have come from, that it wasn’t their fault.
What's your favorite quote from Broken at Birth?
At the end of “The Russian Lesson” where we meet Johann, my great grandfather, there’s an exchange between young Leni (Gram) and Mutti (her mother) that I think is a significant metaphor for the entire book. In that scene, as a way to pull Leni away from her angry father, Mutti tells Johann that she needs Leni for a bit of fitting adjustments on her new dress before church on Sunday. As they walk away and down the hall, Leni looks up at her mother and says, “I thought my dress was all finished, Momma.” Then, Mutti replies softly, “It is, my darling. It is.”
This, I believe, is the story’s first example of the love Leni’s mother had for her. A love that, in the long run, became hijacked, and didn’t transcend down and through to my mother and to me.
Who was your favorite character to write and why?
Gram. How can she not be? Without her there was no story.
What was your favorite scene to write and why?
I think it’s “The Car Wash” scene because I got to see my emotional state present itself.
What was the spark that started Broken at Birth?
Over the years other people who would hear a bit of the incident and tell me, “put it down on paper” or “you should write a book.” Then, in 2020, my husband locked me, and himself, in a room until it was done.
What was the most interesting random fact you researched for Broken at Birth?
Wow, my husband did so much of the research on the history around my Grandmother’s time in New York, the background on her father in Germany, the Broadway dancing in the 1920s, it’s hard to find just one. He says that the various history around the illegal speakeasies and the activity in the nightclubs were probably the most interesting. Learning about Texas Guinan, discovering and learning about some of the personalities Gram met in those days, such as Barbara Stanwyck and Ruby Keeler. He had fun doing it.
What's the message you worked into Broken at Birth?
Secrets need to be told, truth needs to be built into each of us. Tell your truth, and maybe what you’re carrying isn’t really yours, but belongs to someone else and you’re just been lugging it around because nobody else wants to help. And, just maybe, you’ll learn it’s not your fault after all.
One of our reviewers said it quite well, I think; “This book addressed some societal issues like the importance of the presence of both parents in a child's life and upbringing. Most of the problems these women encountered were due to their lack of a father figure. It also raised awareness of rape, physical assault, gender discrimination, and child abuse. This book may give the courage to victims of these incidents to speak out.
Get to know more about Terry Squire Stone here.
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