Today I am delighted to talk to Tanya J. Peterson about her latest novel.
My Life in a
Nutshell: A Novel is the
story of one man's struggles with debilitating anxiety. Brian Cunningham has
isolated himself to such a degree that his human contact is barely more than an
hour a day. While lonely, he feels powerless to change his life. Unexpectedly,
his safe little world is invaded by one Abigail Harris, a seven-year-old girl
who, for the last five years, has bounced from foster home to foster home. She
has come to live with an aunt and uncle she has never known. Unsure if she can
trust her new environment, she turns to Brian. Neither one quite knows how to
live in the world. Can they possibly help each other?
Hello Tanya and thank you so much for coming on the blog today to talk about yourself and your writing.First of all, can you tell us a little about you?
Hmmm. I’m thinking about this, and I keep coming back to one word: strange! I have a blue beta fish that no one in my house would name, so I named him RedFish. I love the show Phineas and Ferb because I’m pretty sure that Dr. Doofenschmirtz is my soul mate. I tend to get myself into trouble by going against the grain and speaking up for the underdog. I love to camp and hike and kayak. Family time is amazing. I mask social anxiety by talking too much, and then I worry about it for days afterward. I’ve been a teacher, a counselor, a support group facilitator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (US). I have bipolar 1 disorder. I’m a proud mom of two wonderful adolescents and a happy wife of my husband.
Well, you may call yourself strange, but I think you
sound fascinating and it's no wonder that you became a writer. What did you
want to be when you were a child? Did you always know you wanted to
write?
I’ve always loved writing! But after one
person scoffed at a story I was writing about forest animals when I was in
second grade, my creative writing days were over (yeah, I was a bit too
sensitive, I think). I’ve also always wanted to help people and to make a
difference in the world. For the longest time, I wanted to be a doctor. For
different reasons, I became a teacher. But I really wanted to be a counselor,
so I became one. Then I ended up spending some time in a behavioural health
hospital (after a traumatic brain injury in a car accident) and receiving a
(very accurate) diagnosis of bipolar 1 disorder. So many passions and
experiences of mine have come together into novel writing, and I feel like I’m
finally doing what I’ve wanted to do my whole life: write and do something to
help people.
You definitely sound very brave and determined, and
very passionate about your work and your writing. Where do you get your ideas
for your stories, and for My Life in a Nutshell more specifically?
My novels always address certain themes or
concepts around mental illness/mental health. I want to use characters that
people bond with to show what certain aspects of mental illness are truly like
(as opposed to what is stereotyped on the news, in films, etc.). With each
book, I pick something specific, create a character (and then the other
characters) to reach out to readers, and then I build the story. With My Life in a Nutshell, I wanted
to show what certain anxiety disorders are like because anxiety is so common
and so misunderstood. I wanted to put people inside the mind of someone who
lives with debilitating anxiety.
Do you have a writing routine?
Sort of. I write or do some
writing-related tasks every day. I think I’m the most creative in the mornings,
so I try to do actual writing then. However, that’s a bit hard when my youngest
child doesn’t go to school until 9:00. Additionally, I’m also a columnist for a
mental health website (healthyplace.com),
so I have to work on my articles in addition to my novels. It doesn’t work for
me to have a rigid schedule. As long as I start my day with coffee, drink tea,
water, and Sobe LifeWater throughout the day, I’m good.
What is the one thing you absolutely need to write?
Quiet! (And no distractions)
So do I! Unfortunately I don't get enough of it. Can
you describe your writing space?
I actually don’t have a single space. I
move about the house to various places that feel inspiring (and that varies
from day to day). Part of that is indeed for inspiration. Part of that, though,
is because my actual space (my desk in my office) can be described thus:
Captain ADHD meets the Tasmanian Devil.
I wish I had a special writing space with a lovely and
inspiring view, or even a 'writing shed' in my tiny garden...
In three words - What kind of man is Brain Cunningham
, your hero?
Caring, sensitive, anxious
And finally, what are you working on at the moment?
I’m nearly 200 pages into my latest novel, which of course is mental-health-themed! It’s about a man and his family who are struggling to adjust to his new diagnosis of…
Thank you so much Marie! I’ve enjoyed your interview, and I’m happy that you and your readers have taken the time to get to know me and my writing!
It was a pleasure talking to you Tanya. Thank you for coming on the
blog.
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Tanya J. Peterson holds a Bachelor of Science in secondary
education, Master of Science in counseling, and is a Nationally Certified
Counselor. She has been a teacher and a counselor in various settings,
including a traditional high school and an alternative school for homeless and
runaway adolescents, and she has volunteered her services in both schools and
communities. Peterson is an active volunteer with the National Alliance on
Mental Illness (NAMI), and she is a regular columnist for the
Anxiety-Schmanxiety blog on HealthyPlace.com.
She draws on her education, experience, and personal background
with bipolar 1 disorder and anxiety to write stories about the psychological
aspect of the human condition, specifically mental illness and the impact it
has on human beings. Her goal is to change the way the world thinks about
mental illness and the people who live with it.
Peterson believes that fiction is a powerful vehicle for teaching
fact. Further, she knows that people empathize with characters in novels, and
commonly they transfer their empathy to real-life human beings. To that end,
she has published Leave of Absence, My Life in a Nutshell, and
the YA novel Losing Elizabeth. Additionally, she has published Challenge!,
a short story about a person who finds the confidence to overcome criticism and
achieve a goal, and a book review of Linley and Joseph’s Positive Therapy:
A Meta-Theory for Positive Psychological Practice that appeared in Counseling Today, the
national publication of the American Counseling Association.
Peterson has also been interviewed on numerous radio shows, given
presentations on mental illness and book readings nationwide, spoken on mental
illness at the 2013 national conference of the Mothers of Incarcerated Sons
Society, Inc., and has been quoted in various articles about mental health and
mental illness.
BUY
LINKS AND AUTHOR LINKS
Tanya J.
Peterson, MS, NCC
Mental Health Novelist, Writer, & Speaker
FACEBOOK
- https://www.facebook.com/TanyaJPetersonMental Health Novelist, Writer, & Speaker
Twitter - https://twitter.com/tanyajpeterson1
AMAZON UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Life-Nutshell-Tanya-Peterson-ebook/dp/B00KOEXTKK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1402155632&sr=8-4&keywords=tANYA+J+PETERSON
AMAZON.COM - http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Nutshell-Tanya-Peterson-ebook/dp/B00KOEXTKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402155716&sr=8-1&keywords=TANYA+J+PETERSON
Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-life-in-a-nutshell-tanya-j-peterson/1119633899?ean=2940149500956
