Interview with Myrtle Brooks

Author of Stories of the Mother Bear

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I was born in New York Hospital, Manhattan, spent the first 2 years of my life in Jackson Heights, Queens. Then my family kept moving further and further upstate. I returned to the Big Apple in 1991 and have lived in the same Brooklyn apartment for over 22 years.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

When I lived upstate, I had recurring dreams about New York City: so detailed, that I felt the wind from the subway tunnel rippling my clothing. As we were too poor to afford a train ride there, I cried. Prior to the dreams, I understood little if any attachment to the city. My decision to return home was one of my best moves. My Mom joined me soon after.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

My first book, “Songs to New York,” was not the first to be published, but the second. I had completed this collection of short literary fantasy stories on miraculous events occurring to everyday people in the five boroughs when I became a postal clerk; and, as much as I wanted it published, I knew I lacked the maturity as a writer to edit it correctly. While keeping it in store, I wrote, edited and published “The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park,” Black Rose Writing. This novel, based on a story I started when I was c. 10, is a fable on man’s edification through nature’s examples. A child of mysterious origins, adopted from infancy by Old Faithful geyser and a mother buffalo, gains spiritual ascendance through the stories, teachings and proverbial sayings of her elders and learns to give back in return: in good times and perilous.
After this labor of love, I was able to return to “Songs to New York,” which Black Rose Writing published as well.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

My works are literary fiction salted with core values and ever seasoned with fantasy. The characters live to experience extraordinary events, dream dreams, see visions and go on to brighten their community and environs, be it in the big city or in the heart of the wilderness.
My latest work, “Stories of the Mother Bear,” also Black Rose Writing, is a saga depicting two families, one past, one present, whose life journeys intertwine through a shared vision in Grand Teton National Park.
When journalist Bill Larkin discovers others through the centuries shared the same vision he saw as a child in Teton, his journey to piece together their stories causes the vision to recur in his everyday life. Wrestling with his dread of the force driving him, Bill hears that same compelling voice caution him against turning back and losing his spiritual calling. As he pieces each story, letter and entry together, the common thread eludes him: until a Native-American elder counsels him to seek the rest of the answers within himself.
The novel covers much actual history as well, including:
1)The Black Cowboys and their migration westward amid the ever-present fear of enslavement and/or racial violence.
2)The Shoshone and Arapaho Nations before and during their stay at Wind River reservation, including the Shoshone tribe’s connection to Teton.
3)White mountaineers, explorers and settlers in Jackson Hole before and after Teton became a national park.
4)The Vietnam War era.
5)The trial and conviction of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

I’ve sought to make my books universal and uplifting in theme. For example, while both my novels encourage respect towards our natural surroundings, the respect extends to all creation. In living my characters’ lives vicariously, the reader can come away with an increased awareness of the simplicities and complexities of life, what’s important and what we share in common.
“Stories of the Mother Bear” will resonate with those who like epic drama, unfolding mystery and poetic prose. “The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park” is for the child within us, and while also written in poetic prose, an 11-year old can read it as well as adults. “Songs to New York” is, as a fellow author put it, “like a fantasy ‘Chicken Soup for the New Yorker’s Soul’” which will leave an impression on those who have never visited as well.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

I learned how easy it is to lack objectivity when it comes to editing one’s own work! With this, I discovered I could learn how to be a critical editor if I stopped slobbering over the “moving” stuff. Ha ha.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

Hang in there. Be patient. Give up and it’s an automatic forfeit: in life and in authorship.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

I have to smile at this, because it’s every author’s wish (I think) to land a best-seller. Is it ego? Perhaps, in part. But it’s more: an entertainer goes on stage to be seen; it’s in the blood. And an entertainer with a message sets his lamp ‘on top of the hill.’

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Bucking the stiff competition and garnering enough awareness that my babies exist.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I’m blessed with an honest, caring, forthright publisher, Reagan Rothe. I love the whole writing and editing process. And I’m super-respectful, courteous and appreciative when I walk into the bookstore to do a signing.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I feel discouraged at times when I hit an impasse. But awareness that there’s a problem with my mental attitude is half the battle won. To fight it? Patience. Impasses aren’t forever set in stone.

When do you think you will write your next book?

I’m working on my seventh and eighth stories in a new volume of ten New York City stories. And completed two in another collection of tales on the human condition.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

Black Rose Writing is an independent traditional publisher.