PPWC 2014 Q&A - Evangeline Denmark

Evangeline Denmark, Author

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author?

When I realized, once and for all, that I truly could not sing and had no future as a rock star. Just kidding, kind of.

I can’t narrow it down to one moment because there are several that have been key in my journey, but I’ll share one of them. When I was in high school, I wrote, memorized, and performed a dramatic monologue about an Irish immigrant for a competition. I won first place and received a lot of pats on the back for my work, but it wasn’t the glory of winning that stirred me. My addiction for creating characters and living in their worlds began with that experience. The sheer love of the creative process has kept me going through the hard stuff every writer faces.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

I can’t work without my laptop and some quiet space. When it’s crunch time, chocolate-covered espresso beans are my go-to vice.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Jane Eyre

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

I attended a conference that made a big deal about being “fragrance-free,” meaning perfume or cologne wasn’t allowed. They even had reminders flashing on screens during meals that read “Such and Such is a fragrance-free conference.” Well, as we all know, artificial fragrances are designed to mask natural ones. I got on a crowded elevator with some fellow attendees and since we were so tightly packed together, I thought a joke would make things more comfortable. So I said in my best flight attendant voice, “We’d like to remind you that Such and Such is a fragrance-free conference.” Nobody laughed. Wrong conference for me.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Elastigirl/Helen Parr in The Incredibles. I’m a mom with lots of things to juggle. It can feel like being a writer is my secret identity, especially when I try to act normal around non-writers. I can also lecture with the best of them.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

If you choose to walk this road, do it because you love writing. No other reason will see you through.

About the Author: Evangeline Denmark has storytelling on her heart and in her blood. The daughter of best-selling novelist, Donita K. Paul, Evangeline grew up living and breathing good stories. She has co-authored two children’s books, The Dragon and the Turtle (Waterbrook, 2010) and The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari (Waterbrook, 2011) and also writes YA and adult fiction. You can find Evangeline online at www.evangelinedenmark.com and www.dragonandturtle.com.