We are so thrilled to chat with Julie Lawson Timmer, author of Untethered (available June 7, 2016). Here, Julie shares a few facts about herself and the five books that have inspired her writing most!
On my nightstand is my sunrise alarm clock. It has a dome light that gets brighter and brighter, starting 30 minutes before the alarm is set to sound. It wakes you up naturally, like sunrise. I’m always awake before the noise goes off and it’s a much more peaceful way to start the day than hearing some loud clanging noise. I also have wrist wraps for my overworked wrists (all the typing!). My husband calls them my bionic wrists and fears I’ll clobber him with them while I’m sleeping! Finally, I keep a pen and a notebook, in case some great idea for a book comes to me in the middle of the night. The trick is writing it down in the dark and then deciphering it the next morning.
As for books, I have so many in my TBR pile that there’s not enough room on my nightstand, so I keep them on a table in my study (TBR Overflow) and on the ottoman in the living room (TBR Urgent). On the ottoman are my usual stacks of research books for the novel I’m working on, a tall pile of recently-published novels that I keep replenished through visits to my local indie, Literati Bookstore, a collection of poetry, Nick Hornsby’s Ten Years In The Tub, which is hilarious, books of short stories by Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro, and the latest edition of Tin House Magazine.
I can get stressed out to an extreme degree. I try to avoid this by getting enough sleep, getting regular exercise (endorphins are my calming drug) and by making time each day to relax — no TV, no screens of any kind, but just a book or family or absolute quiet.
We have a cottage about 3 hours north of Ann Arbor. It’s on a tiny, no-motor lake and it is so peaceful there–often, we are the only weekenders up there. Also, There is no Internet and no TV. We don’t have a landline up there and my cell service is very spotty — so, no distractions at all. I do a lot of writing on the deck in summer, or in front of the stone fireplace in winter. We even have a gym up there (see above, rabid CrossFitting husband reference) so I can get some daily exercise in. I write/work/think *much* better after I have worked out.
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
I always wanted to write, but never thought I had anything worth writing about–I was just a normal kid from Southwestern Ontario. Cat’s Eye is about a normal kid growing up in Southwestern Ontario (no aliens, no zombies, no explosions). After I read–and loved–it, I realized normal life was worth writing about. This was the first book that made me see I didn’t need to have fought off space attackers or traveled to the moon to write–I only needed to have lived.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Irving, like Atwood, writes about everyday life. That is what I have always wanted to write about, and seeing it done as well as he does is incredibly motivating.
A Son of the Circus by John Irving
This one isn’t so much about “everyday life.” It’s a wild tale with wild characters, and anytime I wonder is perhaps my imagination is running to fast, whether about a certain plot element or a character, I think about this book, and I tell myself to let it run faster.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
This beautiful, heartbreaking book about India is a constant reminder to me about how brave people can be in the face of appalling circumstances, and that the less sympathy a character seeks, the more the reader is likely to have.
Duane’s Depressed by Larry McMurtry
Another book like Cat’s Eye, about “normal life.” The characters are so vivid that even though not a lot happens, the book is gripping.
What are the five books that inspire you most? Tell us below!
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