When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

As a child I read a lot, from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, through Nancy Drew, and onto the classics.  And I always assumed I’d be a writer, even when I really wasn’t yet.  I had a college English teacher who gave me an X on a short story I wrote.  He didn’t think an A was good enough.  I was thrilled. I’ve worked in advertising, radio and television, but writing as a future author didn’t come for a long time.

How and when did you make this dream a reality?

It was after my children were grown that I began to think of writing for publication. I began the slow, discouraging process of finding an agent.  A process, I might add, I liken to strangling a baby in its crib.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far in your writing career?

I’ll quote Winston Churchill on the Battle of Britain:  “Never give up, never give up, never give up!”

What are you working on right now?

I’ve spent a lot of time on marketing Blue Turquoise, White Shell.  I love this book and want it read.  I have To a Certain Degree almost ready to submit to the publisher, and I’m working on The Fall from Paradise Valley.

Name some authors or books that have influenced your writing in a positive way.

I’m always nonplussed when asked that question.  I read so widely in a variety of genres, and I take something from everything.  Even junk.  You really can learn from bad stuff.

What have you recently read or are reading right now that you would consider an outstanding work?

I’m reading John Updike’s Terrorist.  It’s not my favorite Updike book, but one does read in awe of his eye for the smallest detail.  I just finished a stunning work, Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky, a book that stayed hidden for sixty-four years.  It begins in Paris and tells the story of the Nazi occupation of France in 1940.

What excites or ignites your soul?

When I see one of my books in published form for the first time.  Not as good as a real baby, but in the neighborhood.

Virginia Nosky, prize-winning author, poet and screenwriter, has lived in Arizona for over twenty-five years. Indian cultures have figured in several of her books. The state, its cities, mountains and mesas appear prominently in her work; although it is the desert, she finds most interesting—its topography and climate.  “The desert is a violent place; it bites and scratches, its searing heat and fierce storms kill.  To go out at night in the summer, one feels its brooding presence, like the sea.” Virginia lives in Paradise Valley with her husband Richard and golden retriever Steerforth. Visit her at http://www.virginianosky.com/.

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