Featured Interview With Jenice McAlevy
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Jenice McAlevy grew up in Southern California. She graduated from LA County Medical Center School of Nursing and returned to college to earn a BA in Psychology from CSULB. A Registered Nurse for 35 years, she worked in Hospice for over 15 years.
After a three-plus year stint in Nebraska, she honed the short story format out of desperation to stay connected with friends. A series of unpublished short stories for her granddaughter helped cement her love of the short story genre.
Plus, she’s a bit ADD. That might have had something to do with it. Maybe. Perhaps. No, it definitely had something to do with it.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Was there ever a time where books were not as essential as bedtime snacks? My mother took me to libraries and bookstores and I fell in love with the smells, the colors and the stories. At eight, I got in trouble for reading by nightlight. My mother heard the pages turning under the covers. I read entire bookshelves of Cherry Ames, fairy tales of every country and version, and stories of Clara Barton–nurse.
By 8th grade I had pen pals and just kept writing. One pen pal and I exchanged 5-10 page letters about things dear to a teen’s heart. She was also an artist, so I was often in receipt of fabulously decorated letters that arrived in overstuffed envelopes.
When my husband and I moved to Nebraska to take care of his ancient mother I felt the 1500 mile distance acutely. I began what would now be considered a blog: Letters From Nebraska. They chronicled my transformation from a complete city gal into one that lived in the midwest. My three and 1/2 years there impacted my life in many ways: the people were REAL, there was weather, I saw snakes, I finally got to have a huge garden, I discovered the internet, I played piano for churches, and curled up with local women on Saturday morning for a chai or coffee. It afforded me with rich images that I could easily tap into when writing. At the beginning I commented on the nice deer on the edge of our property. By the time I left they were simply “the damn rodents.”
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m currently deep into the world of Diana Gabaldon-book 6 of 8. “The Stand” by Stephen King and “Heidi” are the two books that I’ve re-read the most. “The Stand” and it’s good vs. evil themes combined with a plot that just kept giving…ah. And “Heidi?” My dad was German, what can I say?Brandon Sanderson’s “Mistborn”, Brent Weeks’ books. Christopher Moore’s books, Orson Scott Card. Isaac Asimov, everything Anne McCaffrey wrote. I loved the Pern Series. And, of course, Patrick Rothfuss and Robin Hobb.
I enjoy a good fantasy, but that takes many forms. “Dialogue with Death” by Eknath Easwaran changed my life. And “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl haunted my thoughts with prison images for decades.
I like books that provide me with new metaphors: whether it’s a physical super-power or a sci-fi quality.
This very partial list excludes all the books on “higher consciousness” stuff. ..that’s a whole other story.
My husband assures me that I have a “rich interior life.”
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Thought-Spoke Diary and Four Other Stories.
I was attending a writing workshop with a small group of folks in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. Jane Brunette hosted “writing from the soul” sessions with us. She’d provide us with a prompt and we’d write without judgement or critique for 20 minutes or so. Towards the end of the day she gave us the prompt “bitten by the madness,” and my pen hit the paper and wouldn’t stop.
I saw the main character, felt her craziness, could see where she lived, who was in her life, what she thought and what others thought of her. It was as if I was dropped into her world of young adult schizophrenia.
I pictured one of the coasts of Sylvan Lake in South Dakota but the rest was completely fabricated. I could see how the small town nurtured her, and supported her despite her differences. I could see how some city-slicker might wish her harm. Oh, there’s blood, but not gore.
There are 4 other short stories: Bucky’s Redemption is about an alcoholic who finds sobriety through the “Bikers for Jesus.”
Sumára tells the stories of three bad boy kings a few hundred years apart.
Maria, Orphan Gardener speaks about the affects parental death on a 9 year old. Modern tale.
And, Shifting Sands, 1972. San Felipe Mexico is the backdrop for a missing Gringo.
I wrote them during the rainy season. I woke in the morning and wrote late into the evenings. Then we edited the heck out of it.
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