Hey Posse!
I hope everyone is safe and healthy. We are doing good here in Germany. I don't know how many of you were already aware that my husband and I have lived in Europe since 2014, first Denmark and now Germany. Moving to Europe was actually what got me into writing books. I started as a freelance ghostwriter and then decided to write for myself. I chose to write under my pen name (Stephen Burckhardt) to keep some anonymity until I figured out how to do it all well.
During these crazy Covid19 times, I have to say I'm rather grateful to be here. While I miss living in the US every single day, the public health care here and government health offices have done a great job managing the infection in our region. I just wish things were better for all my friends and family in the US. I see numbers rising in my home state of Kansas and I just pray very hard for everyone there, especially my mom and dad.
Even with the pandemic, I have been trying to find ways to promote my work that does not include spending too much time in public. One way I have found is doing online interviews. I have recently done a great video chat with Christopher Moss and was scheduled to do another interview with someone else in August.
I had agreed to this upcoming interview but after many issues and then checking out a few of the previous interviews in their lineup (which I admit, I should have done before agreeing in the first place), I decided to cancel. Maybe because as a former journalist and having been on the other side of so many interviews, I just felt uneasy about participating in what could very well end up being a "bad" interview. But then I had to wonder, is even a "bad" interview beneficial?
Any interview, even where the person asking the questions is not good at it, you are still getting exposure. I have often said that I never worry about the questions, just my answers. But is this true if the interviewer does not ask the right questions to really give the audience enough information about you and your work to even peak their interest? Would it even be worth the time to do it?
I would sincerely love to hear some feedback from all of you on this topic. Have a great day and stay safe and healthy!!
You are all in my prayers!
Dianne
Here is a great interview I did a while back. It was actually my first interview about this book series and what it has been like writing as Stephen. Ignore the other name change. I used Shari then but decided to write as Dianne instead. I have five legal names (first name, three middle names, and a last name) so I can mix and match them all at will. It's insane, I know. Even I have trouble keeping track of them all.
The podcast is based in my home town of Wichita, Kansas. You should really check out the other podcasts by Landon Huslig. He is a great interviewer.