D.K Christi interview @ 10:48 am EST 88.5 FM WGVU NPR Radio

Interviewed today with Shelly Irwin of the Morning Show at WGVU NPR radio for airing at 10:48 a.m. EST Monday, July 2 at FM 88.5 . It was only a ten minute interview; but Shelly is a true pro and did a beautiful job. If you don't have a chance to tune it, it is also streamed at their web site and recorded there for future listening. I will also add it to my web site which is temporary www.dkchristi.webs.com

Thanks for listening...we talk about Ghost Orchid and the inspirational ghost orchid of Corkscrew Swamp.

Fantastic is the only word I can think of to describe your work. I read the book and then followed your promotional efforts. Your persistence has paid off and is an example for other writers. Getting the recognition you deserve is no accident.
Congratulations.

Well done!

DK, I checked your website for the interview, and I can't find it. Have I overlooked it? If so, where should I look?

The interview is not until July 2, Brenda. It will be on DK's website for a while after that date.

Ann

I'll look forward to it, DK!

Thanks, Ann. Next time I'll read the entire post instead of skimming.

I did the same thing. That's how I found out.

Ann

Glad I'm in such good company.

Ghost Orchid interview: http://www.wgvu.org/wgvunews/index.cfm?id=tms Another skimmer here :-( That's the url for the public radio station on which it will be streamed Monday and recorded for future listening enjoyment :-)

I haven't heard it yet. She took a picture for a promo - and I begged her to crop and photoshop it.......here's hoping. It sure didn't look like my image of me - Nutri-System here I come..

Thanks for your interest and very kind comments!!! The grasshoppers have eaten all fifteen of the blooms on my ghost orchid - hope it's not a bad omen!

Just thought I ought to let you know, Dianne [sic?], that you had an indirect effect on my dreams last night.

I really like the cover image on your website. I noticed it the other day, and found it hauntingly attractive, apparently, even more than I realized, because, last night, I found myself traveling through just such a swamp/forest on a similar road/bridge.

www.dkchristi.webs.com

The one I was on sometimes looked a bit like the section of I-10 that runs through the Atchafalaya Basin in South Louisiana:



It's hard to find an image that does that area true justice; it's one of those "you have to be there" experiences, I guess.

But, anyway, in my dream I kept shifting between the two, then, suddenly, I took a turn and realized the road/bridge was gone, and I was standing over the swamp in the middle of the forest, feeling a bit unprotected and wondering what kind of creatures were lurking under that murky water.

I had been talking, yesterday evening, with a friend on a different forum, about my books and process. She had been reading the Redstone Stories anthology, and commented on the way the stories seemed, at times, to tell themselves. I was thinking, after, about how sometimes the writing takes over and I, as writer, get caught in the flow.

It's a process that is a lot like being in the middle of the forest with no path to follow, which was what was happening to me in that dream.

Sometimes, creativity can be a scary thing, especially when you're beginning a new one. The dream reminded me that I need to just trust and let go.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Ann

You see why I love the swamp so much! The day the ghost orchid bloomed in Corkscrew Swamp, my birthday in July 2007, I walked the swamp, experienced the orchid and returned to my desk and wrote 7000 words of Ghost Orchid. I closed my office door and took a half vacation day. It was amazing. The rest of the novel was similarly written. Neev was born in Ghost Orchid with the characteristics a child of the key characters might have passed on to a child. She was a living, breathing person with all the emotional baggage such a child would carry. Therefore, the emotion of Ghost Orchid is much more real than that in Arirang: The Bamboo Connection which was more carefully written with purpose.

My obsession with the ghost orchid truly took hold of the pen, as did the words of my muse who whispered in my ear. It's been difficult to recapture the magic of that entire experience, and I relive it mentally and emotionally often.

Thank you, Ann, for understanding the power of the swamp, the fearsome, awesome wonder of it.

Like Betty and Alice, I grew up near one:

http://www.shangrilagardens.org/
Shangri-La, in Orange, Texas, has a history that is pretty haunting in itself. A privately owned garden and nature center, it was open to the public until the late '50s, then closed, and not re-opened until just a few years ago. It has it's own haunting story, involving mystery, secrets, and even murder. The family's story is revealed in this book,
which includes bits that involve the gardens.

Swamps are beautiful and mysterious places, aren't they?

Ann

They ran the interview today!!!! See link...


Ghost Orchid
Shelley Irwin
June 29, 2012 | WGVU Author D.K. Christi joins TMS to talk about her book ‘Ghost Orchid.’



http://www.wgvu.org/wgvunews/audio/fplayer1.cfm?styid=17086

I'm listening right now, DK! What a great interview!

Excellent interview, D.K. Simply wonderful. Congratulations! I must make time this summer to read Ghost Orchid. Must.