Feathered Quill Book Reviews

 #AuthorInterview with William R. Waddell

Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Katie Specht is talking with William R. Waddell, author of Woven As One.

FQ: Tell our readers a little about yourself. Your background, your interests, and how this led to writing a book?

WADDELL: I grew up in a small midwestern town, went to college in New England, and gravitated back to the Upper South for law school. I had an incredibly rich life, centered on law practice, and the teaching of law. Along the way, my companion, lover, best friend and muse was my wife, Linda. After I lost her, when we were 80, I reflected on what was important to me in my journey, and she was the constant.

Author William R. Waddell

FQ: Have you always enjoyed writing or is it something you’ve discovered recently?

WADDELL: I have written throughout my life. Some of my earliest memories are of writing little stories or notes about this and that, sometimes to be given to someone, but sometimes just to be doing it. In seven years of higher education, of course, and in my career as advisor, advocate and teacher, I wrote constantly. I authored two professional books, one of which was, to some extent, more than just "legal" in nature. In later years, and presently, I came to enjoy creating more philosophical or political pieces.

FQ: Tell us a little about your book – a brief synopsis and what makes your book unique.

WADDELL: Woven As One is a memoir of my relationship with my late wife, Linda. About meeting her when we were 15 and losing her when we were 80. The book isn't, and doesn't pretend to be, a Shakespearean love poem. It's more of an accounting of how everyday shared experience, kindness and fun can add up, almost unexpectedly, to a profound love affair.

FQ: What was the impetus for writing your book?

WADDELL: Linda and I were not demonstrative people. Only those very close to us, and maybe not even they, knew what we meant to each other. Perhaps we even neglected to show it to each other as much as some. Even before I lost her, and certainly after, I found myself wanting to share, first with her and later with the world, the fabric we had created.

FQ: Please give our readers a little insight into your writing process. Do you set aside a certain time each day to write, only write when the desire to write surfaces, or something else?

WADDELL: I have sometimes needed discipline, i.e., setting aside time, etc. in other writings; some of course had actual deadlines. But Woven As One was a labor of love. I wrote when the spirit moved me, but it moved me pretty often.

FQ: What was the hardest part of writing your book? That first chapter, the last paragraph, or something else altogether?

WADDELL: It was hard to pick and choose from 65+ years’ worth of life those things that should be included. And re-living Linda's loss, even today, is emotionally hard.

FQ: The genre of your book is a memoir. Why this genre?

WADDELL: I have seen it characterized as memoir or family relationships or something else. I did not consciously try to fit it into a notch.

FQ: Which do you find easier, starting a story, or writing the conclusion?

WADDELL: This is a good question for a fiction writer, but not so much for me.

FQ: What is your all-time favorite book? Why? And did this book/author have any influence over your decision to become an author?

WADDELL: Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler. Genuinely original thinking, not just on a narrow topic, but on the sweep of history and societies. Still relevant and good reading after 55 years. So far above my pay grade that it would never occur to me to claim even to be influenced.

FQ: If you were to teach a class on the art of writing, what is the one item you would be sure to share with your students and how would you inspire them to get started?

WADDELL: Serious writing, whatever its "genre," is re-writing. There are those in the world who can produce a finished product in the first draft, a compelling and complete report on the first try. Some can even speak in paragraphs, paragraphs that are perfect and persuasive. God bless them. For the rest of us, reflection and revision are our friends. Don't be afraid of them. And remember, if you run into someone who is so rude as to criticize re-writes, throw the drafts away and claim you extemporized. No, kids, I didn't mean that. Lying is not good. Almost never.

For more information about Woven As One, please visit the author's website at: www.williamrwaddell.com/