Do you like to see interviews of authors? Last week I told you that if I had the courage, I was going to release an excerpt of a video interview taken last month. Well, I’m gathering that fearlessness now. Other than my books, this is the most personal, REAL, thing I’ve ever posted anywhere. (Even as I type this, there is a part of me that says: delete this post!)
However, I also think that anytime someone has the guts to say something genuine and heartfelt, it makes the world a little more tolerable, a little more real. So here goes! *deep breath*
Recently, my friend, Michael Trufant, who is a professional videographer, offered to interview me about my writing career and life. Despite my discomfort in the spotlight (literally), it was a great experience. Michael is a skilled interviewer, as well as videographer, having worked for several network news shows over the years, before starting his own media company.
Below is a 7 minute excerpt from that video called Carrying the Spark: Video Interview with Author Susan Gabriel (more to come). I think of it as “Susan, unplugged.” At the end, you’ll see why. This was the last seven minutes (unedited) of an interview that lasted an hour and a half. I was tired. My defenses were down. Then he asked me the perfect last question. Watch the video here or below:
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/90983088[/vimeo].
I would love to hear from you, and welcome your thoughts and comments.
xo
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Discover all of my books here.
Video here.
Beautiful, Susan. What you said was very noble, and sincere. I care about what you have to say.
Thank you.
What is being done with the rest of the interview?
Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for taking the time to watch the video and for letting me know what you think! It’s so nice to hear that you care about what I have to say. What more could we want as writers, you know?
The rest of the interview will be broken into small pieces like this one, on my website. I will announce on my blog when new ones go up. I talk about a lot of different things, all to do with my writing life.
Thanks again for commenting! xo
This is great. Well done, Susan. I think I’d fall to pieces at that question.
Cheers!
Celia
Thanks, Celia. It is kind of you to let me know. It’s a good question for all of us to answer, I think, especially writers and creatives.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
All the best,
Susan
That was very tender and heart felt Susan. Indeed you are a bright spark, and may your light shine forever. Hugs
Trélys
You are indeed carrying the spark and in you it has ignited! It was a good thing to post this. I expect you will get a number of responses. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you, Trelys! Very kind of you to say. I get the feeling that you are a “bright spark,” too.
Hugs right back to you.
Thanks, Ann. Your comments always mean a lot to me. xo
Interesting and revealing thoughts. You are much more emotional about this than I am. I could not tell you why I bothered to write a novel, other than it occurred to me no one had ever written a story quite like it before and so someone should do it. But you got me to thinking, and I may blog a post about why I wrote what I did some time soon. (Running out of ideas otherwise.) Trouble is, I have no idea what I’m going to say. But I look forward to more from you.
What a lovely Southern lilt your voice has! Didn’t come across over the phone…
Dear Susan…………the video is wonderful–real, inspiring, moving and sincere. It was just what I needed to hear today, and I will play it again and again on those days when I feel dis-spirited and confused. We all need to be true to our “spark”, but so much is going on in our lives, in the world, that we frequently lose sight of it or trust that we even have one.
I do believe that, in opening yourself, you have opened a door for many others and I, for one, am grateful to you for sharing this video.
With love,
Jeanette
Thanks Jeanette, and everyone!, for your feedback. For the last few days, since I released the video, I have felt what Brene Brown calls a “vulnerability hangover.” I’ve been feeling kind of exposed and sensitive. Your kind comments really help me get my footing again. I am very grateful.
Author Seth Godin sent out a blog post today (see below) and to me it seems related to the video.
See what you think about this post called: The short game, the long game and the infinite game:
How long is your long run? I know people who measure the world in ten second flashes, and they’re happy to do something they call generous for six seconds, as long as they get a payback before the ten seconds are up.
More common and more celebrated are people who play a longer game. They build an asset, earn trust, give before getting, and then, after paying their dues, win.
There’s something else available, though, something James Carse calls an infinite game.
In finite games (short and long) there are players, there are rules and there are winners. The game is designed to end, and it’s based on scarcity.
In the infinite game, though, something completely different is going on. In the infinite game, the point is to keep playing, not to win. In the infinite game, the journey is all there is. And so, players in an infinite game never stop giving so they can take.
Players in this game throw a slower pitch so the batter can hit it, because a no-hitter shutout has no real upside.
A good mom, of course, always plays the infinite game. But it turns out that it’s possible to build an organization or even a country that does this as well.
Build hospitals and schools instead of forts and barricades…
You certainly know people who play this game, you may well have been touched by them, inspired by them and taught by them. The wrong question to ask is, “but how do they win?” The right way to understand it is, “but is it worth playing?”
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I am going for the infinite game. It’s all about the journey for me. So the Carrying the Spark video is a peek into my journey and how I see it. Thanks again to those of you who have taken the time to watch it. xo
Hi John,
Thanks for your thoughts. The “Southern lilt” may be because I was tired by the end of the interview. I tend to reign it in otherwise. When I release earlier segments of the interview, it may not be there!:)