The Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews

Andy Christofferson - Pink Diamond Interview




Minnie met Andy on Twitter and after reading his blog, she began following him both on his blog as well as Facebook. (She does that a lot!) She then read an excerpt of his memoir with a silly grin on her face, remembering being young and flippant just like him and thought:

“This is relatable. I don’t know anyone who can’t see themselves in a story like this!”

So, we -- noticed I said "we"?  She has to run these interviews by me, you know -- WE  decided to contact Andy and ask him to grace us with his presence. He made our day when he agreed! Yay!!

Today, we’ll spend some time getting to know Andy and what makes him tick. Tomorrow, he’ll spend some time with you all without any of my meddling J


For those of you who don’t know Andy, let me introduce to you the wittiest and most down to earth doctor -- he’s got a Ph.D.—I’ve ever met, Andy Christofferson!!


Andy, welcome! Thank you for joining us!! Are you ready for the inquisition? Please get comfortable and we’ll begin.

Andy is the author of Peace Corpse: Misdaventures in Love and Africa.  It is a memoir of the time he spent in the Peace Corps, and is available on amazon.com in both papberback and ebook formats.


Let's begin.

1.     Tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to write this memoir about your experience with the Peace Corps.


For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer. Or a scientist. Or an explorer. So, after getting my bachelor’s degree in chemistry and joining the Peace Corps to go see the world (and hopefully do some good as well), I thought I could fulfill my third dream by writing about my experiences. I really wanted to write something that could make people laugh, but also hopefully shed a little light onto what the Peace Corps is all about, and describe some of the problems currently facing parts of Africa.


I took the liberty of checking you out on Amazon.com. Here are some of the comments you will find there:

A humorous trip through Africa with a love-sick volunteer! -- J Johns

I didn't know The Peace Corps could be funny -- citybookgirl

and

Unexpectedly Entertaining -- Fantasy_booklover

2.     Nice!! Do you have any other works in progress you’d like to share with us?

Unfortunately I have far more ideas than I have time. I’m currently working on a high fantasy series, an urban fantasy trilogy set in Beijing, and a follow-up to The Peace Corps. Among many other things.

3.  Well, you'll have to come back and tell us all about your projects!  Now, in the past, you have written about your feelings regarding some works published independently. What are your feelings now regarding indie publishing vs. traditional publishing?

Honestly? I think people should just do what works best for them. I self-published my book because all the agents I sent it to said there’s just no market for a Peace Corps memoir written by someone who isn’t famous for some other reason—no matter how funny it is. But I also have several research papers and two scientific book chapters traditionally published. I’m certainly not going to bash one method or the other since I do both.

4.  Minnie was asked the following question during an interview she did recently and we thought it was a great question, so I will ask it here: If we were to observe you in the act of writing, what would we see?

I probably shouldn’t go into too much detail, since I prefer to write in the nude, but....I’m kidding. To be honest it would just be me in front of the computer, a pile of notes to one side and a very large cup of coffee on the other.

5.  I think it would be realistic to consider that there are young folk back home in Montana who admire you: Andy the writer; Andy the adventurer; Andy the doctor. How do you feel about that and what advice would you give them?

My advice? Go for it. If you have a dream, pursue it. But be realistic. I got the PhD because I didn’t believe I could become a successful writer, and I don’t regret that decision because now I can support myself while I write in my spare time. Plus, the science degree is what has enabled me to travel the globe. America, Africa, England, Asia and now Australia. All for science.

Excellent advice! And, now for the fun part, Lipton-isms!

What are your favorite/least favorite curse words? I know! That’s two questions, but this is MY blog! Well, not really, but I'm doing the interview!

My favorite curse words are the ones in foreign languages that I can use in any situation because no one understands what I’m saying. I can swear in Swahili, Swedish, Afrikaans, Italian, Chinese, and a few other languages, and totally get away with it because no one knows what I’m saying. My least favorite curse words are the ones that apply to a specific subset of people, based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or whatever. I prefer to curse people out for things they did, not characteristics they have no control over.

Who or what do you most admire?

Aliens.

Um, ok... If you had to choose one superhuman power, what would it be and how would you use it for the better good? Again, this is my interview J

Aww, do I have to use it for good? I’d want the power to control people’s involuntary responses by giving them a command. I could command people to sneeze, fall asleep, lose control of their bowels, and so on. I don’t know how I could use this power for good, but I could certainly have a lot of fun with it.

Having travelled as you have which location would you choose as your favorite place in the world?

I don’t really have one favorite place for everything. Tanzania was my favorite place for the simplest life, Montana will always be home, England was a great place to explore Europe from, and I loved living and working with Chinese people in Beijing. And my new job here in Australia is probably the best job I've ever had.

When is your favorite time of day?

Evening. After the sun goes down I suddenly become more awake, alert, and creative. This isn’t so good when I have to get up early the next morning.

hear you!! What would friends say is your best trait?

Either my astounding, blinding brilliance, or my humility. Definitely one of those two. Or maybe my sense of humor.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ok, chocolate or vanilla?

Pomegranate.

Hey! That wasn't one o the choices, but I'll take it!  Moving along....

Words of Wisdom:


Do you have any words of wisdom that you could offer up to aspiring writers?



Yes....


Okay... Do you want to share?


Oh, you want me to write them here? 


Duh! Yes, please....


Ok. First of all, if you want to be a good writer, you have to write a lot. A LOT. All the time, as much as you can. Then, when you’ve gotten your writing as good as you can get it on your own, hire an editor. An editor will catch things you would never spot on your own, and in doing so will help you become an even better writer. Don’t argue with the editor, and don’t try to justify anything you did. That doesn’t mean you have to accept every suggestion the editor makes, but at least listen to what they have to say with an open mind.


And finally: keep writing. As soon as you finish one thing, write something else.  Always work on improving your craft.

Very nice!! That was fun! Thank you Andy!


And there you have it folks! 


Peace Corpse: Misadventures in Love and Africa is available at Amazon.com, and as I said before, it is available in two formats.  Below are the links:

Paperback

Ebook

Andy's Blog

Facebook

Twitter



This is Sinner Reems, signing off. Come visit with us tomorrow and see what Andy has to say about time management. Until next time my people!!


~~Sinner

No comments:

Post a Comment