The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster by Scott Wilbanks

(Miriam and I have that in common!) But you have to make the plans, because that’s how you keep all the important things in mind. My life is a stream of logistics and detailed plans that usually get tossed out the window within five minutes of setting them into motion.

Dropping one thing, then grabbing it and setting down something else. Balance means you’re constantly tottering this way or that, nearly falling off the tightrope on side and then the other. What I’ve learned over the past 15 years of balancing parenthood, disability advocacy, marriage, and writing is that balance is not static. I also write music for Catholic worship, and I’m deeply involved in the community of pastoral musicians at the national level. I am a mother of four, and one of those is a daughter with Down syndrome. It’s like sharpshooting in an earthquake! (Like my analogy?) This is not a business for the faint of heart! How do you balance writing and the rest of life? What one person loves, another person hates, and sometimes the same person will react differently from one day to the next. What the hardest thing about being a writer? Scott Wilbanks (The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster)-just enchanting. Louise Miller (The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living)-Love, love, love these quirky characters and small towns! Susanna Kearsley-I can’t put her books down! Harry Potter-magical (pun sort of intended), and a wonder of multi-book plotting. Station Eleven-who would have guessed you could use the words “lyrical” and “hopeful” to describe dystopian sci-fi?

Obviously, I was kind of late in deciding to do this seriously! What are some of your favorite novels (or your favorite novelists) and why? I didn’t realize I was writing novels until I was in college and finally took the time to find out how long a novel is-and it wasn’t until I was married that I got serious about learning to craft stories. I literally cannot remember a time when I wasn’t writing. The first stories I wrote were fanfic about Annie, written in the back of the bus after school when I was in the second or third grade.

I can’t imagine “deciding” to write! I just… do. Describe your decision to become a writer. How was that possible? I knew I had the kernel of an incredible story, but it took several years and many iterations before I was able to draw Miriam’s story out of that single, poignant image. But it wasn’t a nightmare-in fact, it was a breathtakingly beautiful moment. I woke up early one morning from a vivid, emotional dream in which I was standing in a beautiful place at the end of a long journey, looking at the place where my family had died. Let’s dive into the interview! What inspired your latest story?

Kathleen’s novel Song for the Road is available now. I’m so excited to welcome author Kathleen Basi to the blog today.

The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster by Scott Wilbanks