Authors Interviewing Characters: D.J. Green

Interview with Paula from No More Empty Spaces, D. J. Green’s debut novel, coming out on April 9, 2024.

DJG: Hi Paula, Would you mind talking with me today? I think the world needs to hear a bit more from you.

Paula: Sure, I’m happy to chat (chuckles), but I’m not sure about the world needing it.

DJG: You always were modest.

Paula: I prefer to think of it as humble. Life, so much in it, humbles me, but in the best possible way. It reminds me how much there is to learn—always.

DJG: Could you give me an example of what you mean?

Paula: Sure. Let’s see (pauses), okay, thinking back, I’d have to say that living aboard our sailboat, Cygnus, was one of the most humbling, and enriching, times of my life. Living in concert with nature, all our important daily decisions being based on wind and weather, tides and currents, reminds us that we’re just a small part of the amazing place we call home. And as Will said, we “ought to be damned well impressed with the opportunity.”

DJG: I’m interviewing you, but you keep answering as we.

Paula: For me, there, me (chuckles), there’s more power in we than I. I think the world would be a better, kinder, place if we all thought a bit more about ours and a bit less about mine. Don’t you?

DJG: Good point. Speaking of a better, kinder world, how about talking about that on a smaller scale, like a family. Like your family.

Paula: I certainly want my family to be kind to each other, and to ourselves. I’ve tried to model that. I admit that I struggle more with being gentle with myself than with others.

DJG: And maybe being tough on others when you need to?

Paula: Maybe.

DJG: You don’t want to talk about that?

Paula: Not especially, but since you asked (pauses)…sure, sometimes tough love is what’s called for. And it is love, but it’s also tough, not just for the person receiving it, for the person delivering it too. Would you mind if we left it at that?

DJG: I can do that.

Paula: Thank you.

DJG: I wrote about some tough love in No More Empty Spaces, but since we’re leaving that topic, what else do you think the story is about?

Paula: Well, love, tough and otherwise. Which in my view is the most important thing. And family, of course, and all the complexities that go along with that. It’s also about science, and applying it in the real world. It’s about integrity, on a lot of levels. It’s about being curious, which is a really important way to look at the world, I think. On a lighter note, it’s about adventures. We all love adventures. Bentures! That’s what Didi called them when I met her. Imagine that, she was four going on five (sighs)…the years sure fly by.

DJG: Yes, they do. And so has our time together, I think that’s about all we have time for. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Paula: I guess I hope that our story will help people think about what’s really important—for themselves, for their families, and in the bigger picture. That’s a lot to ask, I know, but it is my hope for this story. Thank you for asking, and for listening.

—
J. Green is a writer, geologist, and sailor, as well as a bookseller and partner in Bookworks, an independent bookstore in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She lives near the Sandia Mountains in Placitas, New Mexico, and cruises the Salish Sea on her sailboat during the summers. No More Empty Spaces, her first novel, will be released in April 2024.

Website: www.geologistwriter.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013749849820

Instagram: @geologistwriter

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-j-green-97128ab/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/45786988.D_J_Green

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews