Ghost Words And Other Echoes

Adina, tell us a bit about you, the woman behind your writing:

I was born in a town by the Black Sea in what is today Romania, the same town the Roman poet Ovid lived his last years and died. I remember being a lonely and rather peculiar child, so I found refuge in books from a very early age. As I remember, besides being extremely weird, imaginary friends and all, I hated going to sleep at night. I was absolutely convinced that everything remotely interesting in the world must happen after I go to sleep. Even today I don't sleep most nights, instead I wander around the house trying to look busy and efficient. Intellectually efficient at least as I usually write my stories at night...

If we were to look for Adina Pelle when she isn't writing, where might we find her?

I love to cook, so most likely you'd find me in the kitchen.

Are there other writers/artists/musicians in the family?

No, not really. My father was greatly disappointed I chose liberal arts as my education rather than an exact science. His dream was for me to become an engineer.

Tell us about Adina Pelle, the Author, a bit about when, why, and how you began writing, your inspirations and so forth:

I embarked on this road mostly by mistake: out of sheer boredom and some selfish therapeutic need to stare at my thoughts on paper or relive memories long buried away in my middle-aged cortex. This way I thought, I spared my husband or my therapist the agony of listening to my ramblings and trying to fix me.

I stared for a couple of minutes at a blank page and soon, I managed to put some order in the chaos of my thoughts. I was flabbergasted with the result. I wrote a short essay on the art of living and I could not get enough of the sight of my own words, orderly and rather coherently lined up against the white screen of my lap top.

From that point on the monster I created needed to be fed. I had not envisioned the journey I was embarking on, the fantastic landscapes reveling outside my comfort zone or the six degrees of separation in the connections that would and did eventually change my life.

Adina, here's your chance to shamelessly self-promote, by telling us about your books and other publishing accomplishments:

I have won several writing contests on various websites and besides Ghost Words and Other Echoes I have several stories printed in Second Wind Publishing Mystery in the Wind anthology and Writing Room short stories collection.

And please tell us all about any forthcoming book releases and/or writing projects:

While Ghost Words is being released in a paperback edition, my friend and editor Ken Coffman and I were talking about a joint collection of short stories for 2011.

Adina, who are your favorite Authors and why?

I grew up with the classics: Chekhov, Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Hugo, Balzac, Flaubert, etc. but from contemporary writers I am a big fan of Philip Roth. (Portnoy's Complaint, The human stain, etc)

What author(s), if any, do you feel have influenced your writing?

Definitely Chekhov.

And what are you currently reading?

I am re-reading a collection of plays by George Bernard Shaw.

Adina, are you a member of any writer organizations? Take writing courses? If so, please list and describe:

Other than the amateur forums like Gather, Fanstory, Authonomy, not really.

Do you share your writing online? List website addresses and writing forums, and so forth:

Yes I do, I post regularly on Gather and Fanstory.

And, of course, I just know you have some wonderful writing advice for up and comer writers that you'll gladly share:

It is a tough road to travel. I am aware of it and I am fully expecting disappointment alongside success, but the way I see it, any disappointment, any amount of it at any point in time is preferable to a life of error.

Favorite writer resources to recommend, share:

Ezine.com is a nice place to get inspiration and research articles as well as Helium.com.

Adina, what are your thoughts on book reviews and writing critiques, as directly related to your own publications?

When I first started writing, I very timidly posted random thoughts, short essays, and biographical short stories on various websites. I was extremely curious at the type of response I would get and my curiosity was satisfied two folds over. (I believe that is the saying, I will have to look it up).

A book is read or not based on the sensations it manages to induce. I can only hope to maintain an uncompromised thought process and delivery.

If there's something I haven't asked and you'd like to share, please do so:

I don't think so, besides, I am not going anywhere. I'll be around for a while, I hope.

I thank you so much for this opportunity. People have many ways of trying and eventually failing to make a connection but a common literary universe is wonderful, because it is not subject to limitations, it is a free expression of the mind... The more rewarding and positive the impact on the intellect, literature becomes not only a divine drug but also a catalyst amongst people.

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