A few days ago I was looking for an interview that really interested me. I had just finished an great interview with Tom Blubaugh and needed something special to continue with. An open call on several Facebook pages brought a huge amount of material. I found myself reading some very interesting interviews with some very interesting people– then I received an email from Eve. I knew this one had to have precedence over all others. Thank you, Eve!
Q) Nice to meet you, Eve. So tell me, what’s your latest work?
A) CELESTIAL BODIES IN ORBIT- Memoirs of the Unknown Stripper, about the ten years I worked as striptease dancer ‘Lisa Doolittle.’ I worked in that business in the mid-70s and mid-80s in the suburbs of Boston, Mass.
Q) How are the public taking to your book? I hope they are as interested as I am– the book is a “killer”.
A) I am just launching it to ‘the public,’ so I can’t really say. I had about a dozen people read my manuscript before I went over it a few times with an editor. The responses have been wonderful! Of course, they are friends, or at least acquaintances, but I would hope they weren’t giving false praise and then sending me out into the world to fall flat on my face. One of the best compliments came from my editor. One her third pass through, she said she was still enjoying it, even though she knew the story by heart at that point!
Q) Tell me about your book? What drove you to write a book about your past? You have such an interesting story to tell!
A) It’s hard for me to sum it up in a line or two, because there are many layers to it. It’s life, which doesn’t always follow the same neatly laid-out plot that you find in fiction. There is a definite story arc that develops as I examine the chain of events that lead me into the business. Thinking it a temporary measure to escape an abusive relationship, I ended up getting stuck in it for ten years. It wasn’t all bad. I actually had a love/hate relationship with stripping. I took a rather unconventional approach to exit the business, following my instincts instead of any ‘How to Forge a New Career’ manuals.
The book weaves memories of my days and nights in the clubs with events in my personal life, and illustrates how they played off of each other. So, like life, it has romance, lust, sex, violence, humor, and a few colorful expletives. Also, though metaphysics is not the main focus, my story is sprinkled with references to The I Ching, spiritual epiphanies, ghostly visitations, and my Wiccan/Pagan path.
One thing I took a big chance on was my method of telling the story. I created an author, named Stella Mars, who interviews me to help me write the book. So Stella, her house, parlor, and tape recorder are fictive elements, but the story I am telling her is the true story of the events that happened, and my reflections on them. So far, everyone who has read it says the format works. Some will like it and others may not, but it’s what I needed to do to get the story out.
Q) How do you write? Do you like to listen to music? Do you like silence?
A) I need quiet. Maybe some new-agey instrumental stuff would be okay, but if there are lyrics, I will get distracted. I’ve always been lured by the words, the poetry, in music. I like to have a good block of time, two to three hours, where I know I won’t be interrupted. The first time I sat down to write this book, I stopped after I thought twenty minutes had passed. I was shocked to find it was three hours! That’s when I knew I loved writing. I was in a zone. It’s not always like that, as you other ‘zoners’ know!
Q) What drives you as a writer?
A) I am at my best when I can be creative. It has manifested many ways in my life, most recently through the medium of writing. I have been writing for years, but just journal entries, a poem here and there, and for business. Stephen King says never to write for the money. Not ever. (Yeah, I know, easy for him.) The need for an income stream, other than my husband’s recession-pelted business and my working-poor level jobs, was my initial boot-in-the-butt. Who knows if this book will be the magic that puts me back in the black, but at least it gives me Hope. And I love Hope. Yet, I get Mr. King’s point. If it felt as laborious and lung-choking as coal mining, I may as well get a pick-axe and start tunneling—at least it would pay right away.
Q) What do you think makes a good book?
A) One that takes me into a different world, and gives me something to reflect on in the process. It needs to have a good balance between description and action–too much or too little of either will bore me. I love when an author can use language in clever ways, turn a phrase that surprises and delights me, but doesn’t get so carried away with style that it takes me out of the story.
Q) Who is your favourite author?
A) “Besides me?” (she replied with a wry grin). But seriously, what a hard question to answer! So many to choose from. I will name Marion Zimmer Bradley, for her wonderful, magical treatment of the Arthurian Legend. It was brilliant to tell it from the eyes of the women of Camelot, and show them as wielding power and moving events from ‘behind the scenes’. She also knows her stuff about the Old Religion, and thus adds a touch of authenticity when she writes about Magick that I find lacking in the typical portrayals. The Mists of Avalon was one of those rare books that had me aching to find more reading time.
Q) Where can people buy your work?
A) On Amazon right now, more venues to come. The e-Book is already there. One of the things on today’s ‘to do’ list was to give the print copy one more scan before we put it up for sale. So, within a couple of days it will join the e-Book:
CELESTIAL BODIES IN ORBIT: Memoirs of the Unknown Stripper (Paperback)
Q) If you could choose to have written one book–which would it have been?
A) Harry Potter. A far cry from Celestial Bodies in Orbit, but it would have been nice to write something the kiddies could read. Not to mention the success it has had. No, we won’t mention that.
Here’s a link to my blog: I have a page for interviews and will add this with a link to your site too!
Thank you for taking the time to interview me, Nick. I wish you great success in your writing career!
No, thank you, Eve! It has been fantastic to work with you and hear about your book. I will certainly be picking a copy up! I think Eve deserves every credit for writing a book that deals with something that so many shy away from. All those girls working in joints and clubs deserve credit. It’s a hard life and I am glad someone has written something positive about it.
You can contact Eve at the following links: eve@evelittlepage.com www.evelittlepage.com
Don’t forget to go out and buy her book right here: CELESTIAL BODIES IN ORBIT: Memoirs of the Unknown Stripper (UK) CELESTIAL BODIES IN ORBIT: Memoirs of the Unknown Stripper (USA)
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Reblogged this on Official Site of Alex Laybourne – Author.
Eve, your experiences were probably really something! This is going on my reading list for the new year 🙂
Very nice to meet you, and a wonderful interview. It sounds as though you definitely have a story (or two) worth telling. I like the idea of the fictional setting and interview, intertwined with real accounts. Very clever.
I really have to get this book. Steve Ivan, steveivan.fl@g
mail.com