Cornfield Heiress by Errollynne Peters
FASCINATING AUTHORS: Tell us a little bit about your book.
Author: It’s a baby boomer’s retrospective growing up in small town Iowa, working in big city corporate America with a dash of boudoir and a bout with inflammatory breast cancer added into the mix.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: What inspired you to create a work of non-fiction?
Author: I kept diaries from the time I left Iowa in 1971, knowing my life would be more interesting living away from home. So when I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, I decided to put together my life story, mostly for my 27 cousins who didn’t know much about my life prior to my arrival in Phoenix in 1996.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: What did you do to prepare – such as research – to write your book?
Author: No research. I tore open the box of diaries and started to arrange them in chronological order.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: How did you decide which information to present in your book?
Author: I wanted the book to represent my most vivid memories. I chose to omit the dysfunctional part of my family history and I included only the most interesting romances. I further omitted quite a bit of information on my child to protect his privacy.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: What do you hope people will gain from reading your book?
Author: I wanted the book to be a ‘good read’ that readers couldn’t put down and I believe I accomplished that, based on feedback. I want women newly diagnosed with breast cancer to feel hopeful. I want them to have the courage to research their options for treatment and make choices that seem right for them. It’s very frightening to hear about chemos, sickness, hair loss, and the burning with radiation and the bloody slashing – the amputation of the breast. Conventional medicine does what it can to make the process sound palatable but it’s barbaric. I heard someone say that if they were cutting off men’s penises at the rate they’re cutting off women’s breasts, there would have been a cure by now. A cancer diagnosis is a knock on the door, that’s for sure. So we must fight while living as comfortably as we can. We can’t fear death so much that we forget to live fully.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: How long did it take you to write the book – (was it longer or less time than you expected)?
Author: I wrote every day during my 16 months of cancer treatments in Los Angeles and managed to complete the first draft. It took another year to figure out how to end the book.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: Did you seek the support of a writer’s group or class?
Author: No. Only SPAN magazine from which I found my cover designer, my editor and publisher.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: What surprised you the most about this process?
Author: How hard it is to sell my book. As an independent publisher, big bookstores won’t carry it.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: What tips would you offer to anyone writing nonfiction for the first time?
Author: I’m still looking for advice myself! Any tips?
FASCINATING AUTHORS: What can we look forward to in your next book?
Author: I’m blogging my teaching experience this year from my website, cornfieldheiress.com. It’s called Heiress Teaches Hoodlums. Who knows? Maybe it will turn into something.
FASCINATING AUTHORS: Is there anything we haven’t covered that you would like to include?
Author: My thanks to Author Marketing Experts for all their help!
FASCINATING AUTHORS: Thank you for taking the time to be part of this interview!
To learn more about the book and author, please visit: http://www.cornfieldheiress.com/
