1) Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m married and live with my husband and a wonderful dog who has inspirted a novel of her own. I live 6 months in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, California, and 6 months in Sky Valley, which is near Palm Springs, California. I tell people I’m a snowbird with little wings because it’s less than 2 hours to get from the mountains to the desert.
How did you get into writing? I started writing when I was 10. I had a diary (still have it) where I started each entry with the words, “I got up.” Now adays, at age 71, I consider, “I got up” to be a bit of an accompishment! Beyond diaries, I journaled family vacations (I still do) then moved on to writing for my H.S. and college newspapers, to working as a reporter and a photographer for a daily newspaper. After raising two kids, I returned to work as an editor, photographer, writer for a trade journal for 20 years. Right before I retired, I started writing fiction, which is so much fun, because now I can make things up and put words in people’s mouths.
2) What inspired you to write your book?
My best friend lost her husband after caring for him for three years. He died in their home. After that, she wanted out of the house for awhile and asked if I’d go on a road trip with her. Of course, I said yes. We left on the trip in her white Toyota 4 Runner, not a red Mustang convertible like in the book, along with my dog, Rae, a playlist, and a general idea where we wanted to go, including stops along Route 66. I journaled the entire trip and this journal, plus others I had from trips with my husband, became the “road map” for the novel.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Everyone grieves differently. There is no timeline for how or when you move on. Patsy took to the road. That was her way of discovering who she was and what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. I always include humor in my books, and usually a dog, because I think having a sense of humor and a dog, are two things that can help people get through almost anything.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
They say, “Write what you know.” When I was in my 40s, I wrote romantic/comedies. Then in my 50s-60s, women’s fiction. Now in my 70s, I’m writing about characters my age. As I mentioned in the novel, older women are often invisible. I want to change that.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
I’d go have a drink with Patsy. Patsy is an amalgamation of several women I know but a huge part of Patsy’s character is based on my Auntie Pat. She was a real hoot. When she lost her husband, she was pissed off at God for letting him die, and boy did she let everyone know about it. Then she settled down into her new life. After a fall, where she laid outside for 12 hours because she had fallen while taking out the trash and was wedged between the trash cans and couldn’t get up, her daughter moved her to a community where she had her own apartment and people to check in on her. When I visited she said, “Get me out of here. Let’s go to McDonalds. I want their french fries. Then you’re going to buy me some eggnog and rum.” Which I did and we snuck it into her place. She was my favorite aunt. She would have loved my book.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
As a baby boomer, Facebook is where I hang and where my generation goes. Some of my friends are also on Instagram so I post there as well. To be honest, I’m not that great at social media, but I’m learning.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Don’t give up. Keep writing. Part of writing is getting rejected by agents and publishers. It’s discouraging. So surround yourself with other writers. Create a writing/support group and encourage each other. I have a niece who is working on a fantasy novel. I think it’s amazing. She keeps rewriting it and rewriting it. At some point you have to say, It’s done and see what happens. I mail her inspirational quotes, articles and suggested agents. I’ve only had an agent once, and then she retired. I think my niece will find an agent and get published. She’s that good. She just needs to believe in herself and her work.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
As I’m writing this, I’m two hours away from leaving for the airport for a two week trip to Morocco, journal in hand. My next book will be, Rosa Breaks Free, in which Patsy and Rosa head to Mazatlan, Mexico, on their next adventure. I’m adding a character that they will meet in Mexico, who will then have her own novel, after Rosa. Stay tuned.
About the Author
Christie Walker Bos fell in love with writing at the age of 12 when she received her first diary. Every entry began with “I woke up…” Thankfully, she has improved her writing skills immensely since then, although at 65-years-old, she is still happy that she wakes up every day!
A professional photographer and journalist in the seventies, a stay-at-home mom in the eighties, a journalist once again in the nineties, leading to the publication of her first work of fiction in 2003, Walker Bos has been writing for several decades.
“I am inspired by everyday people and how they manage to love and laugh even in the face of hardships and challenges. They are the heroes and heroines of my novels. Average people like you and me.”
Walker Bos lives in the Southern California mountain community of Big Bear Lake with her husband Robbie and dog Rae Skyler Walker.
http://instagram.com/christiewalkerbosauthor/
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