Once again, it’s time for our monthly blog hop with the Insecure Writers Support Group. Thanks to the awesome co-hosts for the February 6 posting: Raimey Gallant, Natalie Aguirre, CV Grehan, and Michelle Wallace! Pop over to the IWSG website to check out the abundant resources for writers. http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

This month’s IWSG Day Question: Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have?

Does cooking count? I love trying new recipes and creating my own. In my younger years, I did some acting, but that’s too time-consuming for my current writer self. I used to sew clothing, but that takes up too much writing time. I do play guitar and uke several times a week with hubs, and I’ve enjoyed belly dance since my twenties.

Here I am at twenty-six, posing in my wig and homemade costume in front of a photographer friend’s bed sheet. Wish I could tell you belly dancing has kept my middle that trim. It hasn’t.

Creative outlets I’d like to try or have dabbled in: drawing, painting in watercolors, learning to knit, guitar and ukulele lessons to move my skills beyond mere strumming, singing lessons. For my WIP, I’m taking a pottery class so I can write convincingly about the hero’s work.

Creative cross-training is beneficial for writers; it nudges our muses from their well-worn paths and into new territory. Artists of every stripe fascinate me, and I enjoy sampling their work, both as an audience member and as a dabbler in new art forms.

Speaking of fascinating, artistic people, meet author PJ Colando.

PJ was born and raised in the Midwest, yet unabashedly aspired for adventure elsewhere, following her parents’ model. She lives in southern California with her family, hobbies, and pets.

PJ writes comedy and satire with a literary bent. She is the author of three previous novels, with short stories, personal essays, and articles published in journals, magazines, and anthologies. Follow her boomer humor blog on www.pjcolando.com.

Pleased to meet you, PJ! Tell us about Tell us about your inspiration for this story.

Three years ago, a half-billion lottery was in play in the Midwest, where our families live and, thus, the cast of characters of my Faith, Family, Frenzy! Series. My husband and I contemplated how much money was ‘enough’ to win – and what we would do with the $$$$$$$$$, during an afternoon walk in sunny CA…

Why, we’d travel, of course! So, the working title of The Winner’s Circle was Cash to Dash. (first book in the series was Stashes–shoot me, I like alliteration and rhyme.)

What do you love about the genre you write in?

I love my self-titled genre “loose with the truth” because I can weave tidbits and remembrances of my rural upbringing and embellish as my imagination elects. Another author and I coined our predilection to improve on our white bread early lives, pitched to middle-aged women who have time and inclination to read: ‘Boomer Chick Lit.’

I crave interaction with book clubs, so if you all know any, I’ll learn to Skype!

How has your life experience shaped your writing?

I’m a retired speech-language pathologist and an active listener, so I have a well-honed ‘dialogue ear.’ I’ve written thousands of clinical reports – and some of them contained fabulous fiction! Today I never use people’s lines or incidents without permission, but most often they seem excited that I will share with the world. I am having a blast in my encore career.

Which authors have inspired you?

I admire the lyric, poetic prose of Pat Conroy and James Lee Burke. I wanted to be Fannie Flagg when I swerved into creative writing. When she headlined a local readers/writers conference, I sat near the front – and when she confessed that, while she was trained to be a well-mannered young lady who never ever said an unkind word, she carried on constant commentary in her head. She mined that inner cynicism and snark when she wrote. Bless her heart.

I deeply admire JoJo Moyes and Jennifer Egan. My favorite novel ever is All the Light We Cannot See.

Let’s take a look at PJ’s latest release:

Life in rural small town can dull the senses. A trio of gal pals—mired in middle age, Middle America, and other people’s problems—long to escape.

When Bonnie wins the Boffo Lotto, her circle of friends urge her to lawyer up, invest, and sequester herself.

But secrets are inconceivable in small towns, so Bonnie and Carl invite close friends to witness their Vegas wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii with endless vagabond beyond. The sky’s the limit!

The allure of travel is fun for a while—hilarious, in fact. But when the husbands are jailed, wanderlust is no longer a romp and things get complicated when you’re halfway round the world, untethered from all you know and love.

Life has its consequences… and there’s no place like home.

BUY LINKS

1. Hardcover version of The Winner’s Circle https://www.amazon.com/Winners-Circle-Faith-Family-Frenzy/dp/1947392360/

2. Kindle version of TWC  https://www.amazon.com/Winners-Circle-Faith-Family-Frenzy-ebook/dp/B07MTS8GTL/

3. Paperback version https://www.amazon.com/Winners-Circle-Faith-Family-Frenzy/dp/1947392352/