http://simonduringer.com/rambling-on/d-r-ransdell/
D R Ransdell
Posted on April 7, 2014 by Simon — No Comments ↓
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My next guest on Rambling On… hails from Springfield, IL, where she grew up in a
houseful of books. An avid reader, she is also a musician and regularly moonlights as a
mariachi player. Currently writing in more than one genre and this guest promises there’s
more to come.
Dr D R Ransdell has agreed to come on to Rambling On…
With all the boxes ticked, and a potential distinction looming Rambling On… let’s see
how she gets on.
Dr Ransdell over to you…
Q1 (2): How long have you been writing and who were your key influencers?
A1: I came home from second grade one afternoon, announced I was going to be a
writer, and started writing a story about Samantha the Martian. This Martian came down
to Earth, replaced the regular teacher for the day, and for once all children all had a
wonderful time. I illustrated the manuscript as well, giving Samantha Medusa-style hair
that shot out in reds and purples. I always think of that moment as a starting point
although, thankfully, the “manuscript” seems to have gone missing. My grandparents
influenced me tremendously. Grandma and I would sit together in a big rocking chair,
and she would read to me. Each week we got new picture books from the library—each
one an exciting world to explore. When I got older my grandpa would supply me with
comic books from the grocery store. My parents influenced me as well. Since they were
both teachers, our house was filled with books.
Q2 (3): What are you currently working on and why should readers buy it?
A2: I’m currently working on Dizzy in Durango, the third book in my murder mystery
series about mariachi violinist Andy Veracruz. Andy gets into one scrape after another.
He’s the Everyperson who finds himself in predicaments, tries to do “right” things, and
winds up having every decision backfire. If he should zig, he should zag. His life is the
epitome of the wrong line at the check-out counter. We feel for him and empathize at the
same time. In comparison, our own troubles are minor.
As a folk musician, Andy shares his knowledge and love of mariachi music in a palpable
way. Andy loves music; it’s the one thing that doesn’t fail him even when chaos is on
every side. Despite his frequent involvement in murders, he starts out by looking on the
bright side, meaning that there are humorous aspects to his predicaments—at least until
things get too hot for him.
Q3 (4): What is your motivation for writing?
A3: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, perhaps because I was always surrounded by
books that became friends. I was an only child until I was nine, so instead of fighting
with siblings, I visited the Phantom Tollbooth, followed Harriet the Spy around the
neighborhood, and wished I lived in the Willows. When I grew up, no matter how much I
admired artists or musicians or leaders, I always admired writers the most. They were the
ones with the power to create new worlds. As an adult I also began realizing my own
limitations. I’m a good linguist, but so are lots of other people. I’m a strong teacher, but
many others can do just as well. Although I’ve played the violin for several decades, I
don’t manage to play every note in tune.
Through writing, however, what I can offer is a unique vision. Two decades of mariachi
experience go into my stories about Andy. Dragging friends to a dozen Chiang Mai
temples goes into my novel about the Campanello sisters. These things are unique to my
own experience. Others might write a better story, but they won’t be drawing on those
same elements.
Q4 (8): What is your favourite hobby?
A4: After undergraduate study, I moved to Mexico to improve my Spanish. When I
moved back to the States five years later, I desperately missed Mexico. Worming my way
into a Mexican folk band was my way to earn dollars and stay in Mexico, at least for a
couple of hours a night.
By now I’ve recovered from reverse culture shock, but playing mariachi music is still
pure joy. Sad songs are played in happy keys, happy songs talk about dead parrots and
awful mothers-in-law. I thrive on the cheerful exhilaration. Thanks to the constant
bickering between the trumpets and the violins, even slow songs have a delicious energy.
Q5 (19): How many pets do you have and how did they get their names?
A5: I have five cats. Ping always bounced around as a kitten. Mei-Mei, which means
“Little Sister,” joined the household just as I was heading to China for the first time, and
she’s Ping’s sister. Frodo was the quintessential kitten explorer. Bello had such a
beautiful face that I couldn’t imagine him being adopted by anyone but me, who would
appreciate the Venetian-style mask around his eyes. Mezzanotte, meaning “midnight,”
was tossed over a friend’s fence in the middle of the night, perhaps because all too many
people think black cats are bad luck. They’re not bad luck to me, of course.
Q6 (28): Who is your favourite artist?
A6: I have a weakness for all the Impressionists, but my absolute favorite is Monet. The
last time I was in Paris I got to sit in the basement of the Musée Marmottan by myself on
a Thursday evening and stare at “Impression: Sunrise” uninterrupted. Although I tried to
ask myself why that painting has power over me, I couldn’t answer my own question. I
do think that there is tremendous power in color and in imagination. For me, the
Impressionists combine those two elements. When I see Monet’s paintings of Argenteuil,
that village comes alive. I can mentally populate it with people and picnics and days gone
by. When I see the cliffs at Etretat, I want to jump in the water. When I finally did visit
Giverny, which was in the days before digital, I shot six rolls of film. I wanted to take the
place home with me. I could easily understand why Monet spent twenty years painting
his own backyard.
Q7 (29): How do you get in the mood to write?
A7: As soon as I’m awake, (or, on days when I have to teach first, after that), I sit down
and write. I don’t try to get “in the mood” because I’m afraid that the mood will never
come. I sit down and write quickly. My goal is a thousand words a day. Usually I write
more, but I have a minimum. (There are exceptions, such as when I’m editing a
manuscript instead of writing one.) Even though I don’t spend a lot of time getting ready
to write, when I sit down in front of a keyboard, words usually come.
This isn’t quite by accident. I’m almost always affected by something that happened to
me the day before. Perhaps I saw something in a film that reminded me of a character or
a feeling. Perhaps I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in a long time and that brought back
memories. Perhaps I overheard something; thanks to today’s cell phones people are
always loudly sharing intimacies. On the plane today, I squeezed into my seat next to a
man who was quite tall and muscular. “I pray for small women,” he told me happily.
(I’m all of 5’ 2”.) Although I beamed as I admitted that I’d never been prayed for, I spent
the first part of the flight wondering just where I would be able to make use of that piece
of dialogue. I’m sure it will come up.
Q8 (35): What genres do you write, what made you choose them?
A8: I write murder mysteries because they’re fun and they’re what I most enjoy reading.
I can get out all of my frustrations. They even make me a better person. Bad boss? Just
wait. Horrible boyfriend named Giancarlo? I will kill you slowly one corpse at a time:
Giancarlo, Gianfranco, Gianpiero, etc. I don’t write the serious end-of-the-world stuff.
Andy gets into ridiculous positions; I extract him while bumping off a few nasties along
the way. There are lots of kinds of mysteries, but the ones I write are cozy noirs. They’re
too dark to be cozy, but they’re too light to be noirs. They’re in between because that’s
where life itself is. I also enjoy writing mysteries because you can track the same
character through multiple books and follow up on his or her progress. In Mariachi
Murder, Andy gets himself into trouble by focusing all too much on the wrong woman.
In Island Casualty (forthcoming), Andy goes to an idyllic Greek island to forget the
woman he lost, but naturally things don’t work out. I also love to travel. Hence I’ve made
use of those experiences in a couple of books that are travel adventures. They have an
element of romance yet aren’t romances in the traditional, happy-ending way. The love
affair is with place. I find it quite easy to fall in love with any number of places. An early
love was Italy, yet more demanding adventures in Thailand with a couple of girlfriends
led to Thai Twist. I went through a decade of vacationing in Greece, which led to
stranding a female mariachi player on a Dodecanese island in Greek Mambo. Right now
I’m having minor affairs with lots of places including my two favorite cities, Paris and
Venice.
Q9 (37): What star sign are you and what do you think that says about your
character?
A9: Growing up I never gave any credence to being a Gemini, although since I was born
on June 13th, I’ve always adopted as my own the number thirteen. Then while creating
my first website and floundering to find something to say about myself, I realized that I
grew up playing the piano and the violin. In high school I studied German and Spanish.
When I studied abroad, I spent time in Florence and Spain. Now I write mystery and
adventure. There are so many dualities in my life that I’ve stopped being surprised by
them. Maybe they give me a kind of energy. While I’m performing mariachi, I think of
what I need to do about Chapter Five. When I sit down to write, I hum the song I was just
practicing. Somehow these dualities seem natural.
Q10 (40): Swimming in the sea or swimming in a pool, does it make a difference?
A10: I grew up swimming either in the pool or in the lake—ah, another duality. I don’t
care where I swim, only that I swim. My favorite place to swim might be Nice or
Limassol where the whole city borders the ocean or Zürich where you have to make the
big choice between the lake and the river. However, in Tucson I can swim daily,
outdoors, in a heated pool that’s five minutes from my house and directly between where
I work and where I live. I don’t have to go out of my way to get a great swim every single
day. Though I appreciate swimming for the sake of exercise, the real benefit is the
freedom it gives my mind. While I’m doing laps, the phone never rings and I can’t stop
and clean the house. I think it’s that very freedom that allows me to sit down the next day
and write a thousand words. The exercise gives me mental space. Even if I don’t feel
like exercising, I do it anyway.
SD Comment: Thank you Dr for a very interesting and enjoyable bit of Rambling
On… I wish you all the best to you and your students for the future. Readers – If
you would like to learn more about Dr Ransdell’s writings, then why not visit her
author page and buy a books. Here are the links:
Amazon (U.S.) – Dr D R Ransdell
Amazon (U.K.) – Dr D R Ransdell
The Dr D R Ransdell interview took place on 07 April 2014.
Simon Duringer © 2014.
Simon Duringer is both a Goodreads author and Independent Interviewer. His multiple
5* Amazon/Goodreads rated thriller Stray Bullet is available to buy on Amazon using
the following US or UK Link;
UK Link
Stray Bullet
US Link
Stray Bullet