#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with VK Tritschler

I’d like to welcome author, VK Tritschler, to the blog for this edition of #ThisorThatThursday.

A few of your favorite things:

I have an old moose-hide jacket from my Uncle which is one of my favorite things. He gave it to me many years ago, and I have traipsed it with me around the world. I love the delicate beading work, and the softness of the leather. But also, I love that this is a jacket that had stories. It’s so old I can almost feel them woven into the fabric. The other thing I have that I love is my little shelf of old books I have collected. These are mostly well-known collectables like Dickens and Austen, but I do have a couple random poetry collections. I got a special shelf just for them.

Things you need to throw out:

Most of my clothes! I am not a person who invests a lot of time on appearance, because I don’t see value in the exterior of anything outside of my book covers, but I do like comfortable easy to wear things which I then use to the point of no return.

Things you need for your writing sessions:

I don’t have anything specific that I need for a writing session except for my laptop. I have written in cafes, on beaches, in the car and at home. I don’t have any must-have requirements as I am fortunate to have a brain that can expel thoughts without prompting.

Things that hamper your writing:

A busy environment can be both a blessing and a hamper. On one side a busy coffee shop gives me amazing ideas and thoughts for characters and personality traits, but on the other side it can be distracting and drag away from the plotline taking the story on a whole new tangent. But the worst hamper for me is time! Ah, for that blessed moment that I can grab from an otherwise hectic schedule. That is what I dream of.

Things you love about writing:

Writing is for me what watching movies or listening to music is for others. It allows my mind to wander to places outside of the daily grind and gives me a chance to explore the potential that the world around me presents. I am never bored when I am writing, which is a wonderful feeling.

Things you hate about writing:

I hate that it can feel competitive and that it makes me doubt my own abilities. I can read or hear another author’s story and think to myself, gosh, that was wonderful I wish I could write like that. But I think all authors feel that way. In all of us there is an expectation of being better or doing better. I think that in itself is what drives us forward and makes us work at our craft.

Things you never want to run out of:

Coffee and imagination. I cannot imagine a world without either, and I hope I never have to experience that.

Things you wish you’d never bought:

I wish I had never brought a Smart watch because a) it constantly reminds me of things that I put into my diary but was deliberately trying to forget was coming up (i.e. major deadlines) and b) it’s always telling me to breath or move, both of which I think I do plenty of since I am actually still alive. Still, despite being the most item I have ever worn, it does keep me on track. Ugh.

Something you wish you could do:

Travel. I mean I know technically you can now, but who has the extra energy or time for all the subsidiary nonsense? I yearn for a day when you can buy a ticket that morning, jump on a plane that afternoon, and wake up in a foreign country without a single quarantine rule. Ah, the blissful memories.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

Be good at everything I do at my full-time job. Sometimes I wish I was a little less good, and a little more hopeless, because I feel like then I would get designated less and have more time to write!

Something you like to do:

I like to escape. Life, the world, my family occasionally. I love my own company and I have a craving for adventures. Together me, myself and I, get into all kinds of mischief. So, if I can’t do that in the real world, I will do it via my books.

Something you wish you’d never done:

Gotten older. The best part about being young is that you don’t understand what life is yet. You have all that potential to make mistakes, do things wrong, and generally be a mess, and you have no idea of what that means long-term. You live in the now! God, I miss that.

Things you always put in your books:

Romance, relationships, discovery, and renewed understanding. These are the things I find more relevant to life and living, and these are the things therefore that each of my books have. Regardless of the genre.

Things you never put in your books:

I was going to say violence, but that’s not entirely true. I do have some fight scenes which are quite dramatic. I guess rape, would be one I refuse to write. A person’s body in my humble opinion is their own temple and is sacred, and there is no storyline in which I can justify the violation of that.

Things to say to an author:

Hi, my name is…let’s just start with that. Authors are people, and like all people we like to get to know you. Don’t be shy, and if you have a question, ask! Chances are if we don’t know the answer, we will make one up, so you might be the only person in the world that finds that out.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

Don’t introduce yourself. Troll them on social media about how rubbish their books are. And tell them that you will only like their work if they (insert random storyline you desire). There is nothing that will kill imagination faster than parameters.

Things that make you happy:

Driving in my car with music blaring and the sun shining. The start of a new book (either reading it or writing it). When I have time to be myself.

Things that drive you crazy:

People doing dumb stuff. Hatred for hatred’s sake. Having an amazing story idea and nothing to write it down on. Dreams – refer to the last!

About VK:

VK Tritschler is the definition of very busy. Having both a fulltime job, a growing family and a career as an author she has a lot going on both around her and in her imagination. She lives on the amazing Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, having moved there from her hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand. Her family consists of a very patient husband, two rampant boys, and too many pets to mention.

She has a wonderful set of amazing writers who support her in the form of Eyre Writers, and in return, she offers crowd control services for the Youth section who are the future best-selling Australian authors.

Her first book “The Secret Life of Sarah Meads” was released in 2018 and since then she has participated in the NYC Writing Challenge, the Clunes Booktown, and helped organize and run the Eyre Writers Festival.

Let’s Be Social:

www.vktritschler.com

www.facebook.com/vktritschler

www.twitter.com/vktritschler

www.goodreads.com/vktritschler