Guest Author Interview - Thelma Zirkelbach

Welcome to the latest guest author interview, today we meet Thelma Zirkelbach, you can see what she has to say below:

 

 

 Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
My name is Thelma Zirkelbach. I have two careers-writer and speech pathologist.

What inspired you to start writing?
When I was four, I composed a poem and announced that I wanted to be a writer. I doubt anyone believed me and I’m not sure I believed myself, but the statement stuck in my mind and many years later I began writing romance novels. When my husband died seven years ago, I turned from romance to creative non-fiction and that’s what I’m writing now.

If you could spend a day with someone from history, who would it be?
Elizabeth I. She was such a strong woman and a great leader for her country.

What writer do you most admire?
Harper Lee. She only wrote one book, but it was a masterpiece.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?
I’m always surprising myself with the direction my writing goes. And of course, I like the thrill of having something accepted for publication.

And the most challenging?
I think in fiction characterization is hardest for me. In non-fiction I worry that what I say won’t be meaningful enough.

Do you have a favorite place where you write?
I write in my study with the door shut so my cats don’t jump on the keyboard.

What are you working on at the moment?
My writers group did an anthology on life transitions that was published by Texas Review Press in 2011, and now we’re working on another which we plan to publish as an e-book.

Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.
Stumbling Through the Dark is a memoir of my husband’s and my final year together. He had leukemia and went through medical triumphs and tragedies and eventually died in 2005. My own journey through that year was marked by fear and guilt and also love. As an interfaith couple, we had very different ways of dealing with life’s greatest spiritual challenge, its end. That added more tension to an already dark year. The book follows me during my first year of widowhood when, to my surprise, I realized I could face life on my own. Stumbling Through the Dark is available on Amazon  and also at Barnes and Noble, both in paperback and e-format. And I’d love to hear from readers either there or on my blog www.widowsphere.blogspot.com