Featured Interview With Vicki Tapia
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Growing up in a small town on the plains of eastern Montana, I was anxious to see the world (i.e., move away). After college, I left for 8 years, living in Michigan and then Washington, eventually realizing there’s no place like home, happily returning to Montana in the 1980’s. I’m the mother of three grown children, and proud nana of seven grandsons and a granddaughter. My husband, Mini-Schnauzer and I live in south central Montana, where I enjoy writing, reading, photography, travel and long walks under the “Big Sky” of Montana.
For over 30 years, my passion was teaching, working with thousands of women and babies as a breastfeeding educator. During my career, I spoke at numerous Lactation Conferences, both nationally and internationally and co-wrote many lactation articles and case studies, which have appeared in different lactation journals, as well as being referenced in books.
I’ve written one full-length book, Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia and this summer I was nominated as 2015 Best Woman Writer for the High Plains Book Awards, which encompasses entries from 7 western states and 3 Canadian provinces.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Probably around the time that I was 10 or 11, I began to devour mysteries…Trixie Belden in particular, fancying myself as a girl detective. I also devoured a series of books about Penny Parrish written by Janet Lambert. Eons ago! I loved the way sentences were put together and delighted in how the stories unfolded. I realized even then what power an author had in her pen.
I began writing things down when I received a diary for my birthday, around the time I was 13. Diaries were most unsatisfactory, however, as there was never enough space to hold my thoughts. By the time I was 16, I’d abandoned diaries for ledgers, whose blank pages were open white space waiting to capture my many thoughts, oftentimes filled with teenage angst, along with my frequent, probing questions about the meaning of it all.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Historical fiction is undoubtedly my favorite genre. Escaping into the historical fiction and fantasy time-travel of a Diana Gabaldon novel is my idea of a great time. I’m inspired by her engaging writing style and find myself saying (or thinking) “ken” and “dinna” weeks after finishing one of her novels. I’d love to have her talent for writing characters. She’s added to my vocabulary base with her knack for including so many interesting words.
I enjoy Barbara Kingsolver and credit her book The Poisonwood Bible with changing the way I view life. Her books are thoughtful and remain in my mind long after I’ve finished the read.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia is my first full-length work, inspired by my struggle to find practical and helpful information as a caregiver for my parents. After my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and my father with Parkinson’s-related dementia in 2004, I became the nearest family caregiver. Since journaling had been a part of my life since I was 16, it seemed only natural for me to keep a diary of our journey down what I call the “rabbit hole of dementia.” Writing became my therapy and a way to cope with the emotional ups and downs of our lives for the next 5 years. It was during this time that my journal morphed its way into a memoir, filled with stories and lessons, insight and hope. The memoir is written with an honest transparency, often humorous, and I don’t hesitate to share the painful details of my family’s experiences with this devastating disease. After spiral-bound Kinko print copies were made as a memento for each of my family members, the manuscript then languished on the hard drive of my computer for several years with sporadic downloads for friends and friends of friends in similar circumstances. After hearing these readers tell me over and over how much reading this book helped them on their own journey, I was inspired to find a publisher. Nine years passed from my first journal entry to the publisher’s release date.
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