Prolific writer Charlene Ann Baumbich has been putting her imagination and experiences into words for more than 20 years. The? Glen Ellyn author?s characters are fashioned from the people who ?show up? in her thoughts? as well as those she has spent a lifetime with ? her own family.
The Glen Ellyn Public Library and local retailer The Book Store will present Baumbich and her work in an event at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 at the library, 400 Duane St. The evening will include a talk with the author as well as a signing of her latest novel, released in March.
Baumbich recently talked with TribLocal about writing and creativity. This is an edited transcript of that conversation.
Q?Your newest book, ?Finding Our Way Home,? is your 16th. When did you start writing and what is it you love so much about the craft?
A?I didn?t start writing for publication until my 40s. The evolution of my surprise career has been anything but normal. I began as a local community columnist ? more guts than brains to apply for that job, since I had zero qualifications ? then on to features, magazines, larger papers. Within three years, a letter from a book acquisitions editor arrived in my mail box. He?d seen my work, liked my humor and storytelling. He asked if I was interested in writing books.
I write not because I love craft, but because if I don?t write my head will explode from the backup of an overabundance of words.
Q?Tell us a little about your latest novel. Who or what inspired your characters and plot?
A??Finding Our Way Home? is the story of Sasha Davis, a 37-year-old ballerina who lived her lifelong dream to become a principal dancer, right up until her accident. Sasha, isolated, suffering with depression and looking back on her ?life that was,? hires the ?ber-capable, clunky, newly engaged, 19-year-old Evelyn Burt as her live-in aide. Polar opposites, the women form an unlikely friendship rooted in grit, but ultimately bathed in grace.
I told Sasha?s story because she ?showed up?, murmured in my ear and wouldn?t go away, no matter how hard I begged her. After all, what did I know about ballet?
Q?You?ve penned books on parenting and your experiences with your own children. How do you approach writing nonfiction? How do you decide what to divulge about your personal life and what to leave out?
A?I approach nonfiction the same way as novels ? with the heart of a storyteller. ?I try to listen closely to life, to honor what I hear, what I see, what I learn. I don?t have trouble laughing at myself or divulging my shortcomings. Neither do my family members.
When I strive to honor the deep truth of a story, not just the way I wish the story could have gone, it usually resonates with readers. I enjoy writing and speaking about grace, so what?s the point in not being real?
I also listen closely to my family members and my conscience. When I feel that certain niggle, the story doesn?t see print.
Q?Speaking at conferences and in front of corporate audiences among others is another part of your repertoire. What lessons have you learned from this line of work? Have you always been comfortable in front of a crowd?
A?When I speak, I?m able to witness response to my stories about life?s good, bad and dubious. I feel a terrific exchange of energies, one that affirms how much we all need to laugh. I see firsthand that at the core of each of us lurks the need to be seen and understood. Moms, factory managers, health-care workers, me ? we all benefit from healthy doses of perspective. We all need to be reminded about what we already know.
During a television interview, I once heard Lynn Redgrave proclaim, ?A good story has the power to heal the soul.? Amen!
Nervous? Sure. But I speak anyway.
For more information about the writer, visit charleneannbaumbich.com or follow her on Twitter @TwinkleChar.
For more on the upcoming event, visit gepl.org.
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