Welcome to APOOO, Gwynne!

APOOO:  In 140 words or less, tell us a little about you.

GF:  Gwynne Forster is a national best-selling author of forty works of fiction, including her latest mainstream novel–A CHANGE HAD TO COME.  Gwynne is author of 33 romance novels and novellas, of which the latest novels are WHAT MATTERS MOST and FINDING MR. RIGHT. She has won numerous awards for fiction writing, including the Romantic Times 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Romance In Color Author of the Year award, the Gold Pen Award and has been inducted in the Affaire de Coeur Hall of Fame. A demographer by profession, she is formerly a senior United Nations Officer, Population Division, United Nations, New York.  She holds bachelors and masters degrees in sociology and a master’s degree in economics/demography. Gwynne loves to read and listen to music, especially jazz, classical music, opera and blues. She also loves to dance and enjoys entertaining at small dinner parties. She lives in New York with her husband, who is her true soul mate.

APOOO: In 140 words or less, tell readers why A Change Had to Come would make a great addition to our personal library.
GF:  A CHANGE HAD TO COME is about dealing with life head on and coming out on top, using what you have to get what you want and doing it honorably. And it’s about the effect that one’s immorality, hatred, loyalty, common decency, unstinting love and other attributes can have on the lives of friends and family members. It’s a lesson in pulling yourself up by your bootstrap and achieving your goals and the well being and happiness you seek.

APOOO: When you write, do you develop the plot or the characters first? Why?
GF: I get an idea, figure out what kind of characters will bring it to life and develop the characters before I begin to write. I began fiction writing this way, and it works for me. The story line comes out in the characterizations.

APOOO: What’s the main message you want readers to take away from A Change Had to Come?
GF: Do not allow yourself to be persuaded or impressed by the images that others have of you. Know yourself, your potential and your aims, and live accordingly.

APOOO: Describe a day in the life of Gwynne Forster.
GF: My days vary markedly. Today, I am not leaving my house, because I have deadlines to meet. Normally I get up at seven-thirty, say my prayers, take care of my ablutions, eat a banana, drink a cup of green tea and a glass of grapefruit juice.( This morning it was oatmeal, because I didn’t have a banana) Then I open the computer, look at the e-mail, open what seems important. I then read the last thing I wrote on my novel or novella, glance at my synopsis (or not) and begin to write. I work until one o’clock. I check my answering machine, answer calls or ignore them as the case may be. I eat a light lunch of anything that does not require cooking. I work from two to four. I then I get the mail together, go to the post office, then to the supermarket, shop for whatever I need, and back home. I cook dinner for my husband and me (His eyes can’t handle the flames any more, so he no longer cooks). After dinner, I straighten up the kitchen, go to my computer and work another couple of hours. Tomorrow, my day will be entirely different. I will be away for several hours in the afternoon. I will plan a literacy program for a service club to which I belong, either eat dinner out or have it sent in, and start reading a book I’ve had here for a while. And I’ll have to find time to run some errands…drycleaners, bank, etc. I’ll work (write) a couple of hours after dinner. In summer, I would spend at least an hour gardening.

APOOO: Autumn is just around the corner, when you think of this season, what’s one memory that stands out?
GF: Autumn is far and away my favorite season. From my childhood, I have loved the season, embracing the changing foliage and the cool weather and the joy of being outdoors. As a teenager, I would sit alone for hours at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D. C. and read. It was heaven.

APOOO: Complete  this sentence, the best way to spend a beautiful, fall day is:
GF: to walk in the woods with someone special.

APOOO: Many say that the best is yet to come. Do you agree with this statement, why or why not?
GF: I’m an optimist but, in my case, I’m not so sure of the veracity of that statement . I’ve had an enviable life: two great, successful careers; opportunities to travel all over the world; a loving husband and stepson; wonderful friends and loyal readers, and a life without want for material things. You can’t get that twice.

APOOO: If you were to choose any fictitious world in any piece of literature, which place or book would you live in and why?
GF: I’d like to live in the world of the Harringtons (Once In a Lifetime, After The Loving, Love Me or Leave Me, Love Me Tonight, the latter due in 2010). This is not self advertisement. Those stories are so full of love and deep commitment of siblings to each other, and to their families and friends that when writing it, I believe they are all alive and real and I feel surrounded with love.

Gwynne, thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to hang out with APOOO!

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