Chatting with Emily at the Black Gate

Back in late July, I did an interview for Black Gate magazine.  The interviewer was Emily Mah, a former local NM writer, currently living in England.

“Where Do You Get Your Ideas?”

Emily is a very efficient person, so I was not at all surprised when she asked if she could record the interview.  Although I always feel a bit shy talking in front of a recording device, I agreed.  It only takes being the subject of one or two interview to realize that very few people are good at taking accurate notes.  In fact, the times I’ve been the interviewer, I’ve asked to record the exhange for this very reason.

What did surprise me was when Emily asked if I’d be willing to have parts of the interview produced as a podcast.   I decided “Why not?”  I didn’t figure a snippet or so of my voice could do any harm

So we settled down at my kitchen table and chatted for a bit, catching up on things that had nothing to do with the interview.  Then Emily set up her equipment and launched into her first question.  She’s a good interviewer.  I tried to give her complete answers to her questions.

We talked for a bit over forty minutes before calling it quits.  Emily packed up her gear, then called the friend who had kindly minded her two toddlers while we chatted.  Since we had a few minutes, we went outside so Emily could see the garden and visit with the guinea pigs.  (The cats had been amazingly well-behaved while we talked, lurking around the edges but pretty much leaving us be.)

Now, as I said, I’d figured the podcast would only feature fragments of the interview.  Imagine my astonishment when Emily e-mailed to tell me that Black Gate wanted to use all of it.

My first reaction was a hot flush of shyness…  Had I talked too much?  Did I sound really dumb?  As someone for whom the editing stage of any writing project is as or more important than the actual drafting, the idea of my unedited words going out there made me shudder.

Then I shrugged.  To borrow from Ecclesiastes (or the Byrds), there is a time and a place for every purpose under heaven.  A time to control, a time to let go.  A time to script and to not.  A time for gathering up thoughts.  A time for rambling all over the place…

So want to hear me ramble?   Want to hear what my voice sounds like?  I shall supply a rare link:
http://www.blackgate.com/2012/09/12/jane-lindskold-gives-black-gate-its-first-ever-audio-interview/

You might want to start with Emily’s introduction to the occasion.  Here’s another link: http://www.emilymah.com/2012/09/my-first-audio-interview-is-up-on-black.html

Have fun!  I hope you’ll enjoy.  If you come up with any questions, let me know!