AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lynda Walters (Non-Fiction Author)
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Voices of LGBTQ+: A Conversation Starter for Understanding, Supporting and Protecting Gay, Bi, Trans, and Queer People
Author: Lynda Wolters
Publisher: Mascot Books
Published: August 4, 2020
Genre: Non-Fiction
Summary:
Voices of LGBTQ+ will open your eyes to see people do not always fit the picture of “normal” we see on social media and television, yet they are no less human than you or I. These are your children, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, maybe even your parents. Voices of LGBTQ+ gives insight to:
• Homelessness
• Hate crimes
• Suicide
• Economic challenges
• Discrimination and lack of equality
• Religion and biblical conflicts
Before you avoid, reject, or shun people you do not understand, step back, and imagine what that would feel like and learn how your acceptance can make a difference.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW┈ Where were you born/grew up at? ┈
Walters: I was born in Grangeville, Idaho, and grew up in Nezperce, Idaho, a tiny, rural community of 400 people. I reside in Boise, Idaho with my husband and long-haired dachshund, Tucker "Bug." (I'm kinda stuck on Idaho)
┈ What was your inspiration for writing the book? ┈
Walters: The short answer is my son, Hunter, who is gay. The long, more accurate answer is I had a smidgeon of a taste of being marginalized as a cancer patient. As odd as that sounds when you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, people don't know what to say to you, don't know how to treat you or behave around you, say things that they don't know are hurtful and tend to avoid you because they are fearful of all of the above. It was my son, Hunter who told me that is what LGBTQ+ persons feel and deal with; it then became clear to me Voices of LGBTQ+ needed to be written.
┈ Describe yourself in 5 words or less! ┈
Walters: Kind, Loving, Understanding, Giving, Non-Judgmental
┈ Who is your hero and why? ┈
Walters: Collectively I would say my health care providers. Hero is a huge word and quite lofty, but if anyone deserves to wear the cape, it is the people who have put my life before theirs.
┈ What do you like most about writing? ┈
Walters: I love being able to make a positive and lasting effect on people with words, to help open their eyes to something they may not have otherwise known.
┈ Where is your ideal place to write and/or read? ┈
Walters: I'm old school, I write at my desk in my office; it keeps me focused on the task (if I'm outside or on the beach or anywhere else I tend to get sucked into what is happening in the world around me). I am only able to read in utter silence; I have been known to read an entire novel on the floor of my bathroom.
┈ What about this book are you most proud of? ┈
Walters: I am humbled beyond words that people, the vast majority who were strangers, entrusted their most vulnerable thoughts, feelings, and stories to me for safekeeping and to gently expose the same to the world.
┈ When did you first consider yourself a writer? ┈
Walters: I still wrestle to wrap my head around that, but when a stranger saw me at a football game and knew who I was because of my writing, and expressed how what they read made a lasting, effective change on them, was when I dipped my toe into the idea that I may actually be a writer.
┈ What would you like to say to aspiring/beginning writers in the community? ┈
Walters: Write what you know, or be really good at research. Everyone has a story and yes, every story has been told, but your story is unique to you and only you can tell it. Part two of that would be, it's okay to fail, failure is not a negative it is rung on the ladder of success.
What are your thoughts on this book?
