THE MODERN INK SOCIETY
July 14, 2014
FEATURING GUEST KIMBERLY DERTING| WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP
Welcome to the fourth session of
THE MODERN INK SOCIETY!
A thought on growing up . . .
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”
~Pablo Picasso
Introducing, Kimberly Derting . . .
What did you want to be when you grow up?
“One of the questions a lot of authors get asked is: Did you always want to be a writer?
For me, that answer is simple. No. The end.
I wanted to be about a million things before I wanted to be a writer. First of all, I was a girl, so I went through my obligatory princess phase, at least until I realized there were sick animals in the world that needed saving and I set my sights on the even more obligatory veterinarian. Who cared that I had swelling eyes and throat closing shut allergic reactions to pretty much every animal that does (and every will) exist, including probably the prehistoric furless ones?
But I was also a child of the 70s, so TV became my greatest aspirations. Not that I wanted to be on TV, but rather I wanted to be (interchangeably) The Bionic Woman, a Charlie’s Angel (Jill, please, because she had the coolest hair and biggest….umm, teeth), and Wonder Woman (Linda Carter-style). It wasn’t until a show called BJ AND THE BEAR came along, that my true passion was discovered… Foxy Lady Trucker.
(You thought I was going to say writer, didn’t you?)
That came later, because BJ AND THE BEAR had an allure that writing didn’t: a chimp (aka. “Bear”) who traveled the highways helping BJ do his all of his trucker business. Brilliant!
I had it all figured out. I was gonna be a smokin’ hot (which in 70s jargon was known as “foxy”) lady trucker. I would have a boyfriend in every city, a faithful German Shepherd companion (because a chimp can’t have your back if you’re foxy and you get yourself in a jam), and a tricked-out semi with a sleep compartment (you know, for all the boyfriends).
Fortunately for me (and for my mom’s breaking heart), along came the 7th grade…and electives. And for me, that meant journalism, which meant learning to write and how to keep a deadline. It also meant falling in love with writing. On top of my classwork, I started keeping journals and writing short stories and bad poetry.
It wasn’t long before I’d traded those dreams of truck stops and endless cups of coffee on the road and days without showers for character arcs and endless cups of coffee and…well, days without showers just to meet a deadline. Okay, so maybe there are some similarities between the two, but I will forever be grateful that I took that journalism class, because it changed the trajectory of my life. I’m so not cut out for life on the road.”
Is it just me or did you also want to read more from Kimberly? I find that no matter my age, I’m constantly reinventing myself and discovering things I’d like to “be when I grow up”. I’ve wanted to be everything from a singer/dancer to a farmer to a doctor to a pregnant woman swinging on the porch in the middle of the country side wearing a sun dress and drinking ice cold lemonade (and trust me, the whole fantasy about being barefoot and pregnant is anything but romantic). Still, I’m very much a grown up and still deciding what I want to be. So, if that’s not a lesson that it’s never too late to set out and fulfill your dreams, I don’t know what is!
For those of you interested in learning more about Kimberly Derting you can check her out on her website at kimberlyderting.com.
What path will you choose to take?
~Till’ next time,
Linda Louise Lotti
This entry was posted in Featuring Authors, The Modern Ink Society.
Categories
- A Guy's Perspective
- Articles
- Beauty
- Bonus Material
- Colleen Houck Book Club
- Conferences
- Contest
- Contest Winners
- Crafts
- Events
- Exclusive
- Fans
- Featuring Authors
- Grandma's Review
- Holidays
- International Books
- Kelsey's Favorite Things
- Kid's Perspective
- Life Events
- Marketing
- Marketing
- Movie
- Movie Review
- Mr. Kadam's Spice Kitchen
- Mythology
- News
- Puzzle
- Quizzes & Games
- Reawakened
- Recipes
- Recreated
- Reignited
- Reunited
- Shows
- store
- Terraformer
- The Lantern's Ember
- The Modern Ink Society
- Tiger's Curse
- Tiger's Destiny
- Tiger's Dream
- Tiger's Promise
- Tiger's Quest
- Tiger's Tale
- Tiger's Voyage
- Top Ten Lists
- Travel
- Uncategorized
- Upcoming YA Books
- Valentine's Day
- Video
- Writing Advice
- Writing Fun
- Writing Tools
- YA Scavenger Hunt
Archive
- November 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- October 2019
- September 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- May 2013
- November 2010
- October 2010
- August 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- March 2010