THE 5 W'S OF Claudia Welch

Claudia Welch graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in English. She is an Alpha Phi alumnae. Writing as Claudia Dain, she was first published in 2000. A Los Angeles native, she currently lives in North Carolina with her family.

Yesterday I posted my review of Claudia's new book SORORITY SISTERS! I highly recommend it! Now let's get to know

The 5 W's of Claudia Welch

WHO? 

I am a sorority girl, which is likely not much of a surprise. I think writers are watchers of the world; we live our lives fully, like everyone else, but a part of us is always a step back, watching and evaluating and analyzing what just happened, why, and how others are reacting. We watch. We observe. We translate all that watching into stories about believable fictional people reacting realistically to fictional events, but all that fiction is based on reality, to one degree or another. Sorority Sisters is exactly that: fiction based on reality. 

I am a sorority girl. My sorority sisters are my oldest friends. My novel is about sorority sisters and how they became friends and stayed friends. 

WHAT? What do you enjoy doing other than writing in your spare time?

Almost everything I do somehow relates to writing. I immerse myself in Story for hours every day. I’m either reading fiction or watching series television or watching movies or reading biographies (the story of a life) almost every hour I’m not writing. For a real break, I clean and garden, but even while my hands are busy sweeping or pruning, my mind is circling Story. I believe writing is what I was meant to do. 

WHEN? When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

When I was in the 7th grade and introduced to Creative Writing for the first time, I fell in love with writing. One of our first assignments was to write a descriptive essay, just a small scene really, describing some action. Most of the class described how to do something, like ride a bike or throw a baseball; I described a woman smoking a cigarette---since my parents both smoked this was easy to describe! At least it felt easy. The images were in my head and the words just flowed out of me, like water from a pitcher.  It was a euphoric experience, and those are hard to come by in the 7th grade. 

WHERE? Where do you write? 

I write anywhere the spirit moves me, and it moves me often. I have a dedicated office, but I haven’t written a book there in years. I sometimes write in the food court of the local mall, but that hasn’t worked lately either. When a place stops working, I move. Sorority Sisters was written at a secluded lake house where there were no interruptions and a lake view to feast my gaze upon when the pictures in my head dimmed. A lap top computer (with a long battery life) is essential to my writing process. 

WHY? Why do you write?

I write because I must. Writing makes me happy; it still delivers that special brand of euphoria that began when I was in middle school. When I don’t write, I get cranky and easily bored, dissatisfied with everyone and everything; in short, I must write to be happy. It’s a very strange affliction. I’m just glad it’s not illegal. 

Thank-you so much for joining us here at A Novel Review, Claudia! I am completely inspired by your description of the lake house where you wrote Sorority Sisters!

Make sure to order your copy!