Interview with Jamie Baywood

Hi Guys! 

Today I will be taking an interview from a new author Jamie Baywood author of Getting Rooted in New Zealand !!!

                                 

Katie: Hello Jamie, thank you for this interview, how are you?

Jamie Baywood: Great, thank you.

K.: It’s nice to hear. Can you tell us more about yourself?

J.: I’m from California. In my mid-twenties, I had bad dating experiences in California and a dream to live abroad. I read in a tour book that New Zealand’s population had 100,000 fewer men than women. In an attempt to have some ‘me time’ I moved to New Zealand. I lived in Scotland in 2012 and now I’m in England until 2014.

K.: My first question will be, when did you first start writing?

J.: I was very lucky in New Zealand to meet a lot of talented people. I had the opportunity to write and perform for Thomas Sainsbury the most prolific playwright in New Zealand. I performed a monologue about my jobs in the Basement Theatre in Auckland.

The funny thing about that experience was Tom kept me separated from the other performers until it was time to perform. I was under the impression that all the performers were foreigners giving their experiences about living abroad in New Zealand, but professional actors telling stories that weren’t their own. At first I was mortified, but the audience seemed to enjoy my “performance,” laughing their way through my monologue.

After the shows we would go out and mingle with the audience. People would ask me how long I had been acting. I would tell them, “I wasn’t acting; I have to go to work tomorrow and sit next to the girl wearing her dead dog’s collar.” No one believed I was telling the truth.

K.: Do you remember the first story you ever read and the impact it had on you?

J.: Zlata's Diary.

K.: Why did you write this book and what are your expectations on its behalf?

J.: Publishing my book Getting Rooted in New Zealand was my way of transforming poison into medicine. I hope that it can help people that have had bad dating experiences or bad work experiences – make them laugh and not give up hope.I would love to return to New Zealand and give it another try working as a writer. It would be great to return to New Zealand to make Getting Rooted in New Zealand into a TV show.

K.: What’s the story behind your latest book?

J.:While living in New Zealand, I had funny experiences that I had trouble believing were true. I wrote the stories down to stay sane. I wrote situations down that were happening around me and shared them with friends. Most of the book was written as the events happened; it just took me a few years to work up the nerve to publish

K.: What is the greatest joy of writing for you?

J.: I love making people laugh.  I feel very grateful that most readers understand my sense of humor. I’m always surprised and grateful when I receive a positive review. I thought my book would mostly appeal to young women in their 20s or 30s. I was happily surprised by having a couple of men emailing me telling me they loved my book and can’t wait to read the next one.

K.: What motivated you to become an indie author?

J.: I’ve just completed an  MA in Design at a university in England. Designing, publishing and marketing my book was my dissertation project. I designed my book cover myself. The girl with the suitcase is a drawing of me. The striped dress and red hat was my first outfit I bought when I moved to New Zealand. The birds are New Zealand native birds like the kiwi and fan tail. The city is Auckland and the tower is New Zealand’s Skytower. The sky in the back ground and the water are pieces of a watercolor painting I did of the New Zealand coastline.

K.: When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?

J.: I like yoga, pilates and running. I recently ran 10K in York, England raising money for a friend with MS.

K.: What are you working on next?

J.: I plan to divide my books by the countries I've lived in.  I've lived in five countries; America, American Samoa, New Zealand, Scotland and now England.  My next book will be about attempting to settle in Scotland. 

K.: Can you describe your desk?

J.: It’s a coffee table.  It’s been an adjustment to have furniture again. I prefer living out of a suitcase.

K.: Thank you for the interview. Good luck with the book.

J.: Thanks you very much for taking the time to interview me.

K.: Today we had an interview with a new author Jamie Baywood author of Getting Rooted in New Zealand.