Friendly Friday - Kathi Oram Peterson

Kathi Oram Peterson is the mother of three, grandmother of two and wife of one. She loves to write and sandwiches writing her novels between fulfilling her church callings; taking her grandkids to the park; and walking her Yorkie, Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

Author of The Forgotten Warrior, An Angel on Main Street, and soon to be released The Stone Traveler.

Why Do I Write?

I have so many reasons. But I’m going to share five main ones.

1) It’s a good way to vent frustration.

2) I can lie without it counting against me.

3) I can live many different lives.

4) I like to control worlds.

5) I have to.

Not the list you were expecting, is it? Let me explain. It won’t take long and maybe you feel the same way I do.

1) It’s a good way to vent frustration.

Okay many, many years ago in a land far, far away I used to have a gig that was nine-to-five and actually paid money. Due to force reduction they laid me off. I’d never, ever been laid off, and I was so upset (and yes very crushed that I wasn’t one of the chosen few they kept on) that I went home and wrote a book where I made some of my old supervisors ugly, villains, and yep, I even offed some of them. It was an excellent way to vent frustration, stay out of jail, and incase you were wondering…NO they wouldn’t recognize themselves.

2) I can lie without it counting against me.

I think you probably know where I’m going with this, but just in case…writers of fiction make up stories—we lie. We create characters that don’t exist. Put them in towns that don’t exist. And we fabricate scenarios where people fall in love, or go exploring, or run for their lives, none of these situations really exist because we’re lying. (Well, maybe I should speak for myself, but remember fiction is only make-believe.)

3) I can live many different lives.

This is cool. Let me tell you what I’ve done so far. I’ve traveled back in time to scenes in the Book of Mormon. Oh yeah, I’ve met Helaman (The Forgotten Warrior), Moroni (Sequel to The Forgotten Warrior), and even the Savior (The Stone Traveler). I’ve found a dead man fishing the Snake River (River Whispers 2011), gone on cattle drives, became clairvoyant, chased ghosts, and scuba dived into another dimension. And there is still so much to do, other places to explore, other lives to live.

4) I like to control worlds.

I set the scene. It can be the middle of winter, summer, spring or fall. It can be in the mountains, at the sea or in the artic. My characters can be smart, dumb, skinny, hefty, beautiful, homely, grumpy or happy and come for anywhere I want them to. I’ve had an Irish protagonist, a native American, a young man, a young woman, an eleven year-old boy, and a five year-old girl. I can have people fall in love, get in a fight, be nice or mean, be honest or lie. I am in control. HOWEVER, (you knew there was a catch) once the parameters of my world are set I must remain faithful and true to the limits that go with them.

5) I have to…write.

Writing gives me purpose. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning and most days it puts a smile on my face. A while back I quit writing for a time, and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t happy. My house was clean, garden tilled, meals ready on time, but something was missing. That was when I realized, I have to write to be happy.

So, those are the five main reasons why I write.

What about you? Why do you write?

The Stone Traveler

(Due out in November 2010)

Find Kathi on the web:
www.Kathiswritingnook.com
www.KathiOramPeterson.com

***Thanks for being my guest today, Kathi. I can't wait to read your new book.

My guest next week will be Jaime Theler.