Interview with Trudee Romanek

Here is the second of the two interviews I did, this one with Trudee Romanek

In Trudee’s novel, Raising the Stakes, Chloe is determined this will be the year her high school improv team makes it all the way to the top. She is doing everything she can to help her team perform better. So why are they all getting mad at her?

1) What do you, Trudee Romanek, have in common with your protagonist?
I’ve always wanted to do things really well, even if that meant I had to “encourage” (okay, “push”) other people harder than I should. As an adult I sang in a quartet. I’m sure I drove the other three women crazy with my requests for extra rehearsals, more challenging harmonies, just one more run-through a little faster, and so on. But like Chloe, I (finally!) learned that I can’t force anyone but myself to dig deeper, go further, or want more.

2) Finish this sentence – “One time when I was performing, __________________.”
One time when I was performing in a play, I discovered that if you freeze for a tableau with your face downward and your mouth open, you will drool all over the stage! Your only options are to A) break the tableau (gasp!) to close your mouth, B) go ahead and drool (Eww!), or C) make disgusting sucking noises so as not to! VERY important lesson learned.

3) Do you follow any rituals when you write, like using the same pen?
Hmm. Not really. I often do a writing exercise to get my vocabulary limbered up. Those I sometimes handwrite in pen. Most often though, I write at the computer, typing with just my two index and middle fingers. (I look a bit like a raptor, I’m sure.) A friend knit me a pair of “writing socks” that I often wear, though only if my feet get cold.