What’s
your name, and where are you from?
My
name is Eileen Rhoadarmer. I was born on the east coast, but have lived in
Colorado since my memories began.
How long
have you been writing?
According
to my mother, I was writing so many stories using unintelligible, invented
spelling when I was four years old; she thought it prudent to teach me to spell
the words "once upon a time." Writing has been with me, off and on,
ever since, although there were many other career paths I considered, including
actress, astronomer, and volcanologist. I decided to focus on writing in 2005,
but it wasn't until two years ago that I really got serious
about it.
What
genre(s) do you write?
My
primary emphasis is on sociological science fiction, though I've dabbled in
mainstream, mystery, and even horror. I may also be delving into picture books
in the near future.
What’s
your current WIP? Can you tell us about it?
I'm
juggling a few projects at the moment. The big one is my first novel, of which
I'm mired deep in the editing process. It takes place in the near future, where
low orbit has turned into another Vegas. My protagonist is one of the few real
astronauts left, but she gets framed for the destruction of her own ship. As
she struggles to clear her name, she uncovers a conspiracy with
Earth-shattering consequences.
I'm
also trying to produce—and submit—more stories this year, so I'm presently
writing a short about a young woman who moves in with her infirm grandfather
only to discover that he's messing about with time travel, and I'm editing a
story about a little girl who uncovers the real truth about
Santa Claus.
What’s
your current day job? How does it help or hinder your writing?
I
used to work at the box office for the largest performing arts complex in the
country, and that job had so many sporadic periods of down time that it really
helped my writing (or my homework, as the case often was.) I wish I'd been
taking my writing more seriously back then, because I could have gotten so much
more done.
These
days, I am a stay-at-home mom to two wonderful boys, ages 9 months and 3 years.
While they sometimes give me inspiration and encouragement, they definitely
hinder my hands-on writing time. Often they just have to come first. Those
(daily) instances can range from the amusing—when my son wanted help putting
toilet paper tubes on his hands so he could run gleefully through the house; to
the mildly annoying, such as allowing my son to climb onto my lap while I tried
to steal a few extra minutes of writing time, only to discover that his pants
were soaked because his pull-up leaked; to the traumatic—when my son woke up
wheezing from a nap after an earlier choking episode, and the necessary trip to
the ER revealed that he'd aspirated a piece of carrot during lunch. If I hadn't
already written on that particular day, my streak of daily writing would have
been over.
Who is
your favorite author?
I
really admire Connie Willis. I love the style of her books, and the content,
and the humor. She writes a lot like the way I try to write. Mercedes Lackey
played a big part in my youth, but I feel that I've outgrown her.
Favorite
book?
Sheesh,
pick one? By Connie Willis, I would probably say Light Raid. I really enjoyed the romance and adventure in that one.
It's been a long time, but 1984 by
George Orwell really struck a chord in my youth, and it still impacts me from
time to time. Other books I've read over and over throughout the years are The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy
series by Douglas Adams, the Harry Potter
books (particularly the first four, I read them every few months back in
college,) and it may sound silly, but the Tom
Corbett series by Carey Rockwell. Those last are very corny science fiction
from the 1950s, given to me by my dad when my interest in science fiction was
just beginning to blossom. I knew how silly (and sexist) they were right from
the start, but they were just so much fun! Even now, if I'm looking for
something simple and amusing to read, I'll pull one of them off the
shelf. They're like candy for my brain—easy to digest and so much fun, not
to mention bringing back comfortable feelings of childhood.
What
other hobbies or activities do you do outside of writing?
I've
found a love for gardening in the last few years, and though it's been more
difficult with littles running around, I still enjoy planting, maintaining, and
eating food from my own backyard. I enjoy scrapbooking, though I haven't had
time to do much since my oldest was born. I also enjoy counted cross stitch,
though ditto the scrapbooking—it took me 14 months to make my oldest son's
Christmas stocking, and I'm still working on my younger son's—and have been for
more than two years. Acting, juggling, and fencing are other things I've
enjoyed at one time or another.
What is
something unique about yourself?
I
once fenced a bout against an Olympic fencer, and actually scored two points on
him (he scored 15 on me.) Fencing is one of the many things I wish I had time
(and money) for these days, and is something I hope to return to, one day.
Do you
have a blog, Twitter, and/or Web site we can link to?
My
blog is http://sciencefictionmommy.blogspot.com. You
can like me on facebook from there as well. I try to blog in (somewhat) equal
parts about writing and being a parent/life in general.
Want people to know who you are? Email me at CNHolmberg (at) gmail.com for a Someday Stars interview!
Nice to meet you, Eileen. Woot, scoring two points is way better than none at all! And popping over to your blog to follow you! :D
ReplyDeleteCharlie, thanks for the introduction...so inspiring finding other authors or similar backgrounds!
Thanks for commenting, Jack! Yeah, everybody counted their progress in points scored against that guy. My coach's coach only made it to like 9 or so. Nice to meet you, too.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear about you, Eileen! I'm in your boat, but with girls wanting me to change their princess costumes every five minutes or serenading me with nonsensical lyrics at the tops of their lungs. The party gets even more fun when the neighborhood kids all come over. Which is every day. For HOURS.
ReplyDeleteIt's also nice to get acquainted with someone who's not focused on fantasy. Horror, huh? Hopefully not in the kids' picture books! Lol, I can see it now: "The 4-Year-Old's Guide to Steven King". Good luck, and keep striving for that elusive balance!