For May, Three by Five will be talking with poet and emerging novelist Mariah Wilson.
VAH: Mariah – So the first and my favorite question is why do you write?
MW: I write because I have to. That’s the easy answer. I write because I feel that it’s the only thing I was ever any good at. It’s the only thing I ever imagined myself doing. I love it. It’s something that I can do myself, but there’s a really great community out there, and I love that too. I write because I want to connect to people. I want them to read my stuff and know exactly what I was feeling when I wrote it, because they felt it too.
VAH: Why did you become a writer and when did you know or feel like you were a writer?
MW: I became a writer because really, I could be nothing else. Sure, yes, for the sake of argument I could have been anything I wanted. An architect. A researcher. A marine biologist. Pretty much any career that doesn’t involve advanced mathematics, I could do. But I want to be a writer. I didn’t feel like I was a writer until my late twenties. Until then writing was a hobby, a passion yes, but it wasn’t anything I took seriously. That changed in mid-2012. I decided that I would make this my career. It’s been a long learning process, and I’ve taken many, many baby steps, but I’m a lot farther along this road than I used to be.
VAH: How about influences? What or who impacted your development as a writer?
MW: My writer friends. I have some great writing companions. Some I know in real life, others I only know online. Like Amber Skye Forbes and my writing guru, Mary Cote Walkden. Both of these ladies have taught me so much. I’ve learned a lot about the business and the craft from both of them. They’ve been invaluable to me.
VAH: What do you remember about your first story or poem?
MW: My first poem was written in grade four. This was when I discovered that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. We had to write a poem and I wrote one about a nun who failed at being a nun so she went to the bar. Somehow she ended up running into Al Capone. Obviously I was a strange 10 year old. I sadly don’t have the poem anymore, but I remember the opening lines.
Sister Mary was not a nun by far
So she took her sorrows to the bar.
VAH: HA! That is such an interesting opening! I’d love to know the rest if it ever resurfaces. What is the favorite piece you’ve written to date?
MW: I have so many poems that I absolutely love, but one of my favorites was published by Germ Magazine under the title Sinkholes of Emptiness. As for fiction, the book I’m working on now, There is Still Light. I’m absolutely in love with this story.
Mariah Wilson Sampler:
Jellybean Jealousy in Walking is Still Honest
Connecting….in Luciferous
Mariah Wilson Social Media: Twitter Facebook Tsu Website Blog Wattpad
More with Mariah Wilson this month on days that end in three!
Vicki Hudson 