Interview with Inspirational Author, Janet Syas Nitsick, by Theresa Sallach

Janet Syas Nitsick is the author of Best of the Year book at www.Christianstoryteller.com, Seasons of the Soul. Janet's current WIP is a turn of the century novel entitled Sustaining Love. Stop in and visit with Janet at her website www.JanetSyasNitsick.com

Hey there Janet. I have a few questions percolating in my brain, so I'll just get to them.

Theresa: Tell us something about your family and how do your family and friends impact your writing?


Janet: My family is out of the ordinary. I have two older sons who are normal, according to however you define normal. Ha! ha! They are married and between them I have five grandchildren - two boys and three girls. I love them all but enjoy shopping with the granddaughters since I never - with four tries - had a daughter.


But that is where the “normal” life ends because my two youngest sons are autistic - Brad, the oldest is nonverbal and low-functioning and Andrew, the youngest verbal and high-functioning. You learn to appreciate the small things in life. That is the message of Seasons of the Soul. Treasured moments include Brad giving you kisses on your forehead and Andrew crying for the first time last spring after his cat died. I recently submitted an article to Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family edition. It focuses on problems with Andrew - a story of my heartache each time I drop him off at his new residence, a group home.

Our visits usually are sweet, but he can flip on a dime from happy to aggressive. But right now through many prayers, he is content. We took him to the Omaha Royals game July 26. He ate (and I kid not) nachos, cotton candy, a funnel cake and an ice cream cone. And to top it off, he is as skinny as a rail.

Brad also is thin. He lets you know what he wants by grabbing your hand and leading you to the door to go bye-bye or to the cabinet for something to eat. How heartwarming!


Friends include long-time, high-school chums whom I still see and share problems with and new friends. Years ago I called and talked to my aunt and mother, but they are no longer here. “Letter to God,” a personal story in my book, shows this loss and how my aunt, my Mom’s sister, and mother complemented each other.


Theresa: What interests do you have outside of writing, and how do those things impact your craft? Are you ever doing something and Wham, Bam! a story pops into your head?

Janet: Now, I am reading more. As a former reporter, I was interviewing and writing news stories so I did not have time. Also, I love to decorate, taking a room once a year to do. I want to get this done before I am too old to care.


Yes, my creative mind gets charged in the morning, during the day and at bedtime. “Grandma’s Cookies,” a reader’s favorite in my book, came to me as I thought of making Christmas chocolate-chip cookies with my granddaughters. My WIP Sustaining Love: A Time Remembered is a spin-off of a story and contains aspects of my family’s past and personal-life experiences.


Theresa: Writing for some is therapy, for others is a need or something else. What is writing for you?


Janet: Writing takes my mind off my troubles and provides satisfaction when I hit the right tone mixed with emotion. I am pondering my future expositions. Should I write a deep portrait of the trials and joys of having two autistic sons or a sequel to my novel? God will lead me.


Theresa: Okay, I'll set a scene: Your ready to sit down and write and nothing comes to mind. You have a scene, but it's just not going right. Do you have some special magic wand you wave and shazaam the scene comes into place, or do you just write? I guess I should qualify that question with, are you a panster or a plotter?


Janet: Something always comes to my brain. Once I have a scene, the creative juices flow. I edit as I go, keeping an eye on scenes which are conducive, such as open windows, where I add sensory details of smells and outside sounds. Critique groups enhance my writing craft. I cannot thank them enough for their honest judgment, turning unemotional scenes into great ones!


Theresa: Do you have any tips that you've learned in writing that help you start to write or ease into a story?


Janet: Listen to your critique group! I know your manuscript is your baby, but if you want to improve incorporate many of their suggestions.


Theresa: Here's another scenario: You've received an offer of a lifetime, a contract to write a book with a kazillion dollar advance. The catch is, you have to write the book on a deserted island with only the base necessities and do it in 30 days. You will have electricity and any technology you need to write, computer, internet, your notes, basic food, water, etc. but no frills. You are allowed three things outside of the guidelines I've described to take with you, whether it be animal, vegetable, mineral, human or decadent pleasure or whatever. What are the three things you can't live without and need to be able to write for 30 days? And why?


Janet: My husband and children, especially my autistic sons, give me inspiration. Coffee! Give me that and an occasional latte and I will adapt to the ocean breezes. Smile. Smile. I have to feed my news addiction with cable news. Thirty days is a long time. I know what you are all saying, but it comes naturally since my father was a Nebraska state senator.


Theresa: And finally: Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your writing that has helped you along the way?

Janet: My history of journalism aids me. My last reporter gig was with the Fremont Tribune (two highly-praised stories are in Seasons of the Soul). They pushed word choice and concise sentences. It helps me. I always look at those in conjunction with chapter content. See, I even carried that into what I just said since “always” needs to go before the verb. My editor was a stickler for that as well as there is no word, “towards.” It is “toward.” He would yell and I mean yell.


Thanks for your time and indulgence in my interview. You've been a great sport!