Kermit the Frog: Greetings, Open Salon.  I realize most OS  interviews are already complete, but you see, my associate, Cookie Monster and I—

Cookie Monster: Did somebody just say COOKIE? 

 KF: Shhh! Later, later!  See? We’re on camera. Ahem, yes. My associate and I were working hard to land an interview with the elusive OSer, Shiral. So getting her to agree to this interview took a little time, but persistence won her over.  We finally caught up to her at her lavish estate in Papyrus Acres, California and were able to land an interview.  Shiral, thank you for seeing  us.

Shiral: Welcome Kermit and Cookie Monster. You guys are two of my all time favorite muppets, so I’m honored by the visit.

CM: Cookies? Me LOVE cookies! You have cookies?

KF: (whispering) Chill, Cookie. We already talked about this, you can’t have any cookies until after the interview! Now, Shiral, Am I to understand you actually built this house yourself?

CM: But me want cookies NOW!

 Shiral: Well yes. Hand-painting and making small scale houses out of watercolor paper is one of my favorite non-writing pastimes. I guess you could call them models, or maybe it’s my inner architect   screaming to get out. This Spanish Colonial house is one of the first ones I did—it’s a much more lavish house than I could actually afford to buy in real life. (Very affordable mortgage payments, by the way.) It has some disadvantages, the walls are just paper thin, and you can’t get in the front door unless you’re about an inch and a half tall. But for now, we’ll pretend.

KF: What is your favorite post on your own blog? What prompted you to write it? What did you learn from the comments others posted on that blog?

Shiral: I don’t know if I have a favorite favorite, but I like a lot of them.  I joined OS in September 2008 in a state of high anxiety over the buzz about Sarah Palin, and fearing McCain had pulled off a coup that would win him the presidency.  One of my early favorites from last October is  My Inner Republican and Me. http://open.salon.com/blog/shiral/2008/10/24/my_inner_republican_and_me To To date, only Purple in Florida has read it. It’s embarrassing for a dedicated Democrat like me, but when I’m out on a shopping trip, I find I have extremely Republican tastes in clothing etc etc. I either have lots of self-discipline or none at all when it comes to my personal budget.  Of my more recent posts, I had a lot of fun with my lemon curd recipe illustrated with photos. And the resulting lemon curd was pretty darn good, too.  It’s almost gone, alas.  I  took a lot of time and loving care with writing  Johan and Johannes:  http://open.salon.com/blog/shiral/2009/02/27/johan_and_johannes

KF: What do you admire about their writing of others on OS? What particular blog would you recommend that others read? Can you quote a paragraph or so and explain what you like about it?

Shiral:  There are so many writers I admire and enjoy on OS, this could take all day.  I am in awe of the political acumen of both Saturn Smith and Liz Emrich for their writing skill and clarity.  For political laughter, Mortimer Hayden Smith.  I really enjoy Foodie Tuesdays. Chicago Guy’s posts are always interesting, M.A.H., I_irritated_Mother, Jodi Kasten, Cartouche, Monsieur Chariot, Theodora L’Engle Knight, Liza Donnelly, Bob Eckstein, Tequila and Donuts, Steve Axelrod, LuluandPhoebe, Dorinda Fox,  Persephone13, Leeandra Nolting—I enjoy all their work, whether they’re being serious or funny or foodie.  (My apologies, I'm sure there are more of you going  unlisted, here.)  I look forward to Critical Messes People’s Picks, as I’ve read some great posts and found some talented OS writers I wouldn’t have known to look for, otherwise. 

My ego would enjoy being on the cover more often, but I've been on two or three times, and I've got a few EP's to my credit. Honestly, there are so many gifted writers on OS,  if we were all on the cover as often as we deserved, the thing  would have to be the size of a world wall map.  There's a lot of quality writing on OS, so I try to seek it out. Ultimately, getting on the cover is not really why I’m here. I'm addicted enough to OS as it is.

KF:If you could have a dinner for six with five other OS members who would you choose to invite and why? What would you serve? Or if it was potluck what would you ask others to bring to dinner?

Shiral: Oh wow Kermit, for one thing, the list of invitees would have to be more like twenty-five or fifty people, not five. As long as they’re all an inch and a half high for the occasion, I think we can pack ‘em in here. Just have to find my bottle of shrinking pills.  All the people I mentioned in my answer to the previous question and their respective spouses/partners, to start with. I think it would have to be potluck, as there are so many good cooks as well as good writers, here and I’m dying to taste the goods.  (Jodi, how about you and the Man bringing the barbecued ribs?)   But I’d sure roast up a few chickens and contribute a dessert.  Chicago Guy would have to do his Snooty French Waiter impression, but with that pool of talent, I’m sure there would be lots of fascinating conversations and much hilarity.  It’s my hope the party would keep going until the wee hours because everyone was having too much fun to go home. And yes, Cookie Monster, there would be cookies.

CM: Did somebody say COOKIES?? Me LOVE cookies! Where are the cookies?

KF: What famous non-OS writers influence your writing? Who do you read and what do you like about their writing?

Shiral: I’d have to say Tolstoy.  That is, he’s one of my favorites, although I don’t consciously try to write like him. What I love about Tolstoy, is although he was a nineteenth century author writing about his contemporaries, I find his point of view remarkably modern. He was an amazing observer of human nature, and his secondary and minor characters are almost more interesting than the major players.   I think Tolstoy could get published now without changing much about his writing style, whereas Dickens probably couldn’t.  Dickens told some great stories, but his language is too old fashioned and melodramatic, and that keeps him leashed to his time and place.  I find Shakespearean English easier to penetrate than Dickensian English.

My writing teacher was always urging her students to read Chekhov, and I do find him amazing in how much he can pack into four or five pages.  He wrote an entire story called Sleepy about a sleep-deprived servant girl’s day, and all the ways she struggles not to fall asleep on her feet after spending an entire night rocking her mistress’ crying baby. I  like the Russian writers a lot, I guess. In more modern terms I also like T. Corragheson Boyle’s short stories, and I like Neil Gaiman’s writing. Also love Ann Lamott. I generally like her non-fiction better than her fiction, but I did like Blue Shoe.  I loved the late, lamented Laurie Colwin, as well. I'm less into poetry, but I like Billy Collins' poems.

KF: Can you provide a photo of the space in your house where you do your writing or of areas around your home that inspire your writing?

 Shiral: Here it is, clutter, cats and all, not a very typical picture, here. (I'm scouting for a better, more typical one.) Francesca is sitting on my laptop, which is closed under the sheet. I know portability is a great selling point for laptops, but my lap slopes down so writing with my computer in my lap is neither comfortable nor very convenient for me.  I want a desk or table and a chair. So most of my writing is done here at my desk at home.

KF: What one thing causes you hesitation in writing on the OS?

Shiral: I hesitate to write too much about politics, myself lately. I’m definitely concerned about the world we live in, and all the problems that face us.  Poverty, War, Terrorism,  Injustice, Climate Change, Pollution—we’ve got them all.  I just don’t feel well-informed enough to write “this is what I think we should do” posts  about the Middle East or Iraq, or how to save our economy. I don’t want to become troll-bail or put myself in a  position where I have to defend what I’ve written without truly knowing what I was talking about in the first place.

KF: What one piece of advice would you give to a new writer on the OS? 

Shiral: Read lots of different posts every day. Comment on them, rate them. If you disagree with a person’s point, do so politely.  On the cover, click on the “Most Recent” tab, and look down the list. Click on the first blog that interests you and read it.  Respond to Open Calls. Write about your interests and passions.  Battle your shyness and insecurities.  Assume that you’re worth getting to know and that you can write things people will want to read.  At the same time, don’t be discouraged if you’re afraid nobody has noticed you, yet. It takes time to  get noticed and truly make yourself a real part of  an online community. And OS is an online community, among all the other things it is.  Put your friendliest foot forward, and OS will do the same.

KF: How do you choose what to write about?

Shiral:  I started my blog in part to force myself to write more. So the subject matter is eclectic. Some posts are written in response to other posts; some are rants about things that make me angry, some are nostalgic, some are recipes. Other posts like Johan and Johannes, I wrote because I don’t see many other people writing about classical music, and that’s one subject I DO know something about, since I have a B.A. degree in music. It hasn’t proved too useful for gainful employment, but it ought to be good for something.  Although I wrote a tribute to one of my cats, I definitely don’t want to descend into writing cute fluff about them—the literary equivalent of Elvis paintings on velvet.  I like writing funny things—the world can always use more laughter, especially these days. Another reason I don’t do as much political writing right now is on account of outrage fatigue.  We just got through with a two-year presidential campaign, and I need a break from politics for a little while. Even though we seem to be living in “interesting times.”  Politics are interesting and important, but they’re far from being the only thing to talk about.

CM: Cookies! Me thinks you need to write more about COOKIES!

KF: Chill, Cookie Monster, cookies are a sometimes food and  we’re almost done.  Shiral, is there a famous piece of writing (a poem, a short story, a novel, an essay) that you wish you'd written, no matter how fantastic that possibility is?

Shiral: Let’s start with Shakespeare’s plays and all Chekhov’s short stories. Oh, and War and Peace. If I’m going to steal other people’s writing, I’m going to steal quality stuff. I’m unembarrassed to say I really enjoyed the Harry Potter Books. I wish I could come up with an idea that had that kind of broad appeal. I would of course remain very humble about my worldly success as I dragged all my moneybags to the bank.  J.K. Rowling has the definite ability to make me laugh aloud as I read. A quality I really value in an author. Like Neil Gaiman and Roald Dahl, she’s not afraid to let things get scary, explore the dark side, and she doesn’t talk down to her readers.

KF: What are your goals as a writer?

Shiral: Since I can't get away with stealing War and Peace, to finish my own novel, The Nordic God, and get it published. I’m just finishing up the second round of editing, and I’m afraid it’s still too long. But I still like it and think it’s good.  The idea came to me about three  years ago as if my muse hit me upside the head with a frying pan.  I wrote the first draft in about six months between March and October 2006, and it was almost as if I were taking dictation  from an outside source as I wrote. For me, that's fast, and I love it when that happens!  When an idea hits me with that degree of force and clarity, I don’t waste it. But  now perhaps I’m just procrastinating about the next, scarier step of trying to find an agent for it.  In terms of my blogs, I try to write two or three a month. My writing group has been telling me to get on with the epilogue to The Nordic God already as I’ve been working on that since the start of this year.

            But now, I think Cookie Monster has been admirably patient, so  here are some cookies! Produces  a heaped platter of chocolate chip cookies and sets them before Cookie Monster.

CM: COOKIES!! ME LOVE COOKIES, ME EAT ALL COOKIES!!  Attacks the platter with both paws and crams cookies in his mouth eyes rolling. 

Shiral: behind imaginary sofa ducking from the shower of cookie crumbs with Kermit.  Here, I saved a few for you and me!