The great interview experiment.

While looking at blogs of strangers this past week I came across this post by Neil of Citizen of the Month. In it he talks about the common blogger being overlooked, and how everyone who blogs is a somebody even if said blogger isn't the most eloquent writer. So he proposed an experiment. Anyone who comments on his post has the chance to interview and be interviewed by a fellow blogger. I was intrigued so I signed up. Here is my interview of fringes. Her blog is co-written with her boyfriend, Q, and is quite entertaining. Stop by for a closer look. Now on with the questions...

You say you are done with the fiction portion of your writing career and are now concentrating on nonfiction. Was there a certain experience that made you decide this or did you just decide you sucked as a fiction author?

Even as a young writer, I’ve always gotten more positive responses to my essays than to my fiction pieces. As I was exposed to more writers, particularly short story writers, I began to realize sometime around 35 years old that there are people out there who are much better fiction writers than I could ever hope to be, but that as essayists go, I am not yet among the delusional. In that genre, there still lies hope for me. I’m giving it a go, starting with, yep, the blog.

You mentioned that your daughter has recently had scoliosis surgery as well as tendon release surgery. And something about a brain injury when she was young. How did you handle her limitations and what did you learn from all of it? She looks like a pretty well adjusted kid!

“Something about a brain injury…” That gives me the giggles. That “something” has taken over my life, and I am okay with that. She is well adjusted because she is treated like any other kid with a loving family. We handled her limitations by not letting her think she has any.

Do you have any Christmahanukwanzaakah traditions you currently observe or any that you would like to start? Love that holiday by the way!

I cannot take credit for Christmahanukwanzaakah. I think it’s from a 2005 Best Buy commercial. We observe it by spending as much money in Best Buy as the law will allow. My family is a sucker for electronic gadgetry. If it beeps, we own it.

What do you consider the most important character traits you can pass down to your children?

Honesty, integrity and the gift/curse of being able to see the best in the worst kinds of people. The love of Crunch n’ Munch. The compulsion to attend every family function including recitals of second cousins twice removed playing Reggaeton Chopsticks on the electric banjo.

You’ve mentioned antidepressants and alcohol several times in your blog. Care to elaborate?

I’ve been prescribed antidepressants at the right time and at the not-so-right time. It was easier to swallow the drugs with vodka than with water: read the label, it says that. I’m not sure I have to elaborate much more for those who’ve been through something similar; they can relate to me and not feel so alone. For those who haven’t been through it, reading about it makes them feel better about their perfect lives. I’m a walking public service.

Why do you blog? And if you had to describe to a non-blogger what being a part of this big wonderful blogging community is like what would you say? (I stole this question from someone else. I loved it!)

I blog because I’m happy. I blog because I’m free. His eye is on the blogger, so I know he watches me. And it’s fun. I love writing the posts and filling the empty space. I love checking my email for comments and I am completely addicted to statistical analysis of visitors and most popular posts and heavy traffic days. I met the love of my life through blogging, so how can I have anything but love for it? Nonbloggers—meaning those who never read blogs—are weird. Or very busy. Like my sister.

I’ve read a little about your heritage in your blog. How were you influenced by your grandparents and parents and the decisions they made concerning their family?

Family has always come first in each generation of our family. It’s not fun being part of the constant grapevine sometimes (I need to call my mom and tell her nine out of ten bloggers agree: corn dogs are an acceptable part of a nutritious dinner), but we are always looking out for each other. Nephews are like sons and aunts like mothers. There is no other way for us.

When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up? Do you consider yourself grown up yet? What do you want to be when you grow up?

After being talked out of wanting to be a stripper when I was five (I loved being naked and strippers got paid to be naked), I decided to be a writer, maybe writing about naked people. I do consider myself to be a grown-up. Having two children will do that for you; somebody has to sign the medical release forms and the field trip permission slips.

Why the title “Where are the naked pictures”?

Q came up with it. He wanted an original title so that when it appeared in blogrolls and other places, people would stop and click. Who knew we’d be the first stop for kiddie porn in Internet searches, but we still like it. It’s original.

I have to ask something about Q! How often does he travel the 650 miles round trip to see you? When is the wedding? Did he give himself the title “Funniest man on the interwebs” (kinda like Michael Jackson called himself the “King of Pop” and nobody could really disagree) or do other people say that about him?

Q hits the road to Houston an average of twice a month. We had a streak of five or six weekends going for a while there, but that’s a lot of driving. Hopefully, he’ll be living nearby within a few months. We haven’t set a date for the wedding, but we’re talking about it. A blogger from our previous blogging community tagged him the funniest man on the Interwebs. However dubious the source, Q has run with it.