Arlette Gaffrey interview

This interview with Arlette Gaffrey, author of A World of His Own, was first published in May 2009.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born and raised in New Orleans, La.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

Since I always loved to read, and always thought about maybe writing a book, I finally bit the bullet and started writing when all my children left the nest.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

I think the author who impressed me the most was Margaret Mitchell with her novel Gone With The Wind. There are others I like but she was the one I thought about when I decided to try writing.

What kind of things do you write?

I love reading historical novels, so that’s what I write. I love the research one has to do when writing an historical novel, you learn so much.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on my fifth book (third one about New Orleans). I have written four books, and hope to have my second book about New Orleans submitted to my publisher before the end of this month.

What is your writing day like?

I usually write in the morning and most of the afternoon, but when my eyes get tired after about four or five hours I just stop.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

Since I love history, I love to put myself back in that time when life was much slower. It’s exciting for me to create a world that I can go into and live it through my story.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

It seldom happens to me but once in a great while I do get what’s known as “writer’s block”. When that happens rather than let it get me too upset and frustrated, I simply stop for a while and write different scenes in my head until I feel I have it right.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

I am so proud of the wonderful reviews I’ve received on both Amazon and barnesandnoble.com. These nice people give me such a feeling of encouragement. It is truly wonderful to know that what I wrote made people happy. Most said they learned so much from my book, things they never knew about my wonderful city of New Orleans, also about what life was like back in 1809.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

I think it is very important to write for your own pleasure and to satisfy your own creativity. If you don’t really enjoy what you’re writing then I doubt others will enjoy it either. But I also write for an audience who enjoys and appreciates the historical facts that I research.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

I don’t have a homepage yet, but I hope to have my own web site sometime in July. I just don’t know how to do it, so I have someone who is going to help me.

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