Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: Every morning when I wake up.

Q: How and when did you make this dream a reality?
A: The short answer: I write. The long answer: Baby steps. In 2001, I started writing a humorous “Bombeckesque” column for my local weekly newspaper, and it now runs in several small town papers across northern and central Illinois. In 2005, we moved (temporarily) to France. Readers loved the tales of our adventures abroad. I took a creative writing class (in English). I started submitting, and my short stories and poetry were published. Each step was a confidence builder.

When we moved back to Illinois, I wanted to give writing a chance as a career, not a joyful hobby. I’m now a fulltime freelance writer/ghostwriter, living a dream. My first book, When Life Stinks, It’s Time to Wash the Gym Clothes, was published in October 2007. My husband (known as The Man of the Place) always said I lived in a world of make-believe; the writing life gives me the best of both worlds, the real one and the land of imagination.

Q: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far in your writing career?
A: Ancora Imparo. I’m still learning. (Michelangelo). Never give up. (Winston Churchill). If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. (Barney).

Q: What are you working on right now?
A: Learning how to promote my book, When Life Stinks, It’s Time to Wash the Gym Clothes. I tell the stories of our lives, with a light touch and a deep soul. What first endeared me to readers was “being real.” This anecdote didn’t make the cut to be in the book, but I wrote when my two sons were younger: We had a sports-free night, just mom and boys. We walked to town for ice cream and then to the playground. They invited me to swing with them. “Look, three swings, Mommy! You take the one in the middle.” I was elated, and mentally logging the Memorable Mommy Moment, when my older son continued, “Yeah, it has the widest seat, and you have the widest butt.”

Q: Name some authors or books that have influenced your writing life in a positive way.
A: Mark Twain, Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, Anne Lamott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, Strunk and White, songwriters, my guys.

Q: What have you recently read or what are you reading right now that you would consider an outstanding work?
A: I’m in a re-reading phase. All Quiet on the Western Front. Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Calvin and Hobbes. I’m also behind: I’m just getting started on The Kite Runner; the opening paragraph is an outstanding work in itself. I also am a recovering magazine junkie.

Q: What excites or ignites your soul?
A: Feedback from readers. Hearing my boys say, “My mom’s a writer.” Reading, watching movies, listening to music, laughing, making people laugh – these feed my soul. (And can I say great sex?) Writing excites my soul. I believe Isaac Asimov gets credit for saying: “I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.”

Kelly Epperson is a columnist, freelance writer, ghostwriter, and speaker. She has overcome her fear of public speaking, and gives program presentations to audiences of all sizes and all ages (preschoolers to retired folks and everything in between). Topics range from “Life as the Expat Wife” and “France: Off the Beaten Tourist Path” to “How to Write a Love Letter”! Her first book, When Life Stinks, It’s Time to Wash the Gym Clothes was published in October 2007, and won its first award in December 2007. When Life Stinks has hopes of becoming a series. Kelly tackles life issues — kids, life in France, dog hair — with a light touch, but readers will tell you that she “feels things deeply.” Kelly is working on controlling her nerves for her radio interview with Nan Russell’s Work Matters on webtalkradio.net on February 22. She tries to live by her own philosophy: Life is short. Do a happy dance in the kitchen. She can be reached at kel_epperson@yahoo.com and www.kellyepperson.com.

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