Jeannie van Rompaey is a writer, artist, theatre director and drama adjudicator. In the past she has lectured in English literature and drama. Currently as a freelance tutor, she runs drama and creative writing workshops. She also does voiceovers for local radio stations and company videos, and organises poetry and literary evenings. Jeannie lives in Gran Canaria.
Hello Jane, thank you for that introduction. I suppose I ought to point out that some of these activities I only do occasionally now. I devote most of my time to writing.
What sort of things do you write?
I am a primarily a fiction writer and write novels, short stories, plays and poetry. Lately novel writing has taken over because I have more time now to concentrate on lengthy projects.
My writing is rooted in realism but can branch out into speculation about the supernatural and possible future worlds. Characters and plots, although influenced by my life experiences, are not overtly biographical. I like to use my imagination and explore the viewpoints of others. I tend to be interested in characters that live on the edge so that there is a sense of danger in their choices. However serious the theme may be, my stories do include humour.
What does writing mean to you?
I have written since I was very young and feel compelled to do it. I find it both therapeutic and rewarding. When I go through a spell of not writing, I feel there is something lacking in my life. When writing a novel or short story, I feel excited as the book begins to take shape. I am interested in improving my writing skills and learn a lot from reading and from sharing ideas with other writers. Communication is very important to me.
Is Gran Canaria an inspiring island for writing?
I think it is but I don't always set my stories on the island and descriptions are not really my forte. Gran Canaria is called a little continent because of the variation of climate and scenery. In the South where I live we have sandy beaches, the famous dunes, sun every day and very little rain. Oh, and lots of tourists. In the North the mountains are impressive but it can be very wet. I like visiting Las Palmas - I love cities - and seeing the northern villages and rugged coastline, but I wouldn't like to live there. Why? Because we came here to escape grey skies and the depression that accompanied them. I sit in our garden every morning for breakfast and see blue skies and palm trees, listen to the birds chattering and feel the sun seeping into my skin. A good start to the day. After a while I'm ready to go into my writing cave (my study) sit at my computer and start work. Inspiration? Well, at least a conducive atmosphere in which to work.
The idea of ex-pats living on the island has inspired several pieces of writing. It fascinates me to observe the different ways people react to living here. For one thing, unlikely friendships are struck up, a good starting point for a story.
Promoting our work seems to have become the writer’s ‘lot’. How do you promote yours?
I'm not very good at marketing but I do try. I learn more about what to do everyday. I know it's important to have an online presence as a writer and that's particularly important when living abroad.
Amazon community sites are important I think, as is Goodreads author page and blog. Writing reviews on books I've read and putting the reviews on these sites is another opportunity to spread the word. I don't do enough of this. It's so time consuming. I look forward to reading your book, Jane, and reviewing it. I read the opening pages on Amazon. Looks good.
Of course there are the usual suspects in social media - Facebook, Linked in, Twitter et al but I need to learn how to reach out to find a wider readership. Any suggestions? I have a special author page on Facebook and also a group called Jeannie Cover to Cover, which invites readers to recommend books and writers to tell members of the group about their current work. The latter is an open group. Anyone can join. I invite you to join it, Jane. I also have a page on About Me and am a member of the IndieWritersSupport website.
I am in the process of having a new website designed. My present one is quite diverse as it shows my paintings, photographs, essays on adjudications and book and play reviews as well as promoting my own books. My new one will focus on my writing and include an intercommunicative blog. Perhaps I could interview you for that, Jane! Tit for tat.
I think signatures at the bottom of emails are useful to take people through an URL straight to websites and sales outlets. I note you use that device too.
I am also exploring the possibility of promoting my work through specialist sites. For example, my novel, AFTER, is about the effect on the parents of missing children and I hope to approach appropriate sites to see if they would accept an article from me and allow me to mention my book. A friend of mine has written a book about abuse and did something similar.
I'm never sure whether it's a good idea to spend money to promote my work or not. I haven't parted with much yet and haven't been very pleased with the result when I have. I'm happy to share my experiences with you if you're interested.
What are the rewards of running drama and creative writing workshops?
Drama and creative workshops are group activities and therefore always a risk. It depends on how well the group gels and well how well they respond to me and the stimuli! When these aspects work well, the rewards that evolve from sharing the pieces of creative writing or the improvisations can be very satisfying. Everyone goes home feeling exhilarated and may well find that the workshop provides the basis for further writing or creative work of any kind. Any comments from me or other members of the group must be encouraging. Constructive criticism can be helpful to the participants but must be handled tactfully. I like everyone to leave with a positive impression of the time spent together. That is reward enough for me.
Doing voiceovers for local radio stations and company videos sounds like fun, but I’m sure it can be challenging at times. Is this the case?
I haven't done any for some time, but when I lived in Northampton I did get quite a bit of work. You're right it was fun. I enjoyed the challenge of just using my voice. It is different from acting because you don't have to learn the words - but I did rehearse the script quite a bit at home before going to the studio.
Tell us more about adjudicating at drama festivals in the UK and Europe
I am a member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators. Most people don't really know what a drama adjudicator is. I sit in the middle of the theatre at a table or with a board to write on and some people think I'm a programme seller. Oh well….
Most drama festivals last for a week. The adjudicator watches and assesses every play. If it's a festival of full length plays there is one play a night. If they are one act plays there are usually three a night.
Before the festival I read the plays and prepare an introduction to each play identifying the genre and the challenges that the group face in presenting it. At the end of the evening, I go on stage and give a constructive criticism of the performances - the presentation, the direction, the acting and the overall dramatic achievement. I talk for about half an hour.
At the end of the week there is a kind of mini-Oscar ceremony when I give out the awards for Best Actor, Best Production etc. It generates a real competitive spirit. I like to meet the teams and let them have their say - but in the end I am the one with the power! That gives me a buzz, but it is also a responsibility to be fair and get the winners right. There is a marking system to help me come to balanced decisions, thank goodness.
When we came to live in Gran Canaria in 2001, I thought my career as a drama adjudicator would be over but I've been invited back most years for one or two festivals. While the organizers continue to ask me and I still enjoy adjudicating I will continue to do it.
The main festival in Europe for ex-pats is called FEATS. I adjudicated their finals in The Hague, but it takes place in a different city with different adjudicators each year.
What sort of painting do you do?
Generally abstracts. I'm interested in form and colour. I also love painting faces - the writer in me is interested in character. I'm not a portrait artist. I'd like to be but I haven't the talent for creating likeness. Jonathan Yeo needn't be afraid of competition from me.
They are both outlets for my creativity but I consider my writing as work and my painting as a relaxing leisure activity. They must complement each other in some respects because when choosing book covers I can usually find one of my paintings to reflect the theme or story. If not, I see if one of my husband's paintings will make an appropriate cover. For example, the cover of my novel, OASIS, is one of Tony's. So far I haven't deliberately designed a cover to fit a book, but I'm sure I will.
You taught English to at the Refugee Centre in Bishops Stortford for the Vietnamese Boat people, a great experience. What was the most surprising aspect of this work?
The whole experience was mind-blowing. When we went into the centre, the old hospital in Bishops Stortford, it was like entering a theme park of Vietnam - the voices, the smells of cooking. and everyone in flip-flops even in winter. We teachers learnt so much about our students' experiences, including their escape from Vietnam on little boats in the South China Sea, in danger of being attacked by pirates. I think the most surprising aspect was that we made lifelong friendships with our students. They visited us in our homes and once they were repatriated they invited us to visit them. I have to say their hospitality was amazing. We enjoyed many a Vietnamese feast and I still love Vietnamese food.
How do you organise your poetry and literary evenings?
We have a different theme every month for the poetry evenings and the members of the group choose poems to read to the others, some old, some contemporary. They can email me or ring me to say what they would like to read, but most of them turn up on the night with a poem or two and it's very rare we get duplicates. We sit in a circle so that everyone can see and hear well and because a circle is an egalitarian shape. People are free to "stand and deliver," walk about while reading or remain seated. We do this in a room at the British Club in Las Palmas and it's very popular, attracting many nationalities as well as the Spanish and the Brits. Interesting to hear poems in different languages - Danish, German, Swedish perhaps, sometimes with translations, sometimes not. For our February evening our theme, with a nod to St. Valentine, was Love and Hate.
After the poetry readings we go to the bar and chat informally over wine and tapas…. A good end to the evening.
With all your activities - writing, tutoring, workshops, voiceovers, adjudication - you must need to be extremely organized. Are you?
In some ways I am organised, in others not. As I said earlier, some of these activities only take place occasionally and I've more or less given up tutoring in order to spend more time writing and promoting my work.
I like working to deadlines. At the moment I have a story being serialised in a local paper and the episodes have to be written on time for the next edition. The same with adjudications. The dates for them are prescribed so I have to be prepared on time. If I don't have imposed deadlines from outside I give myself some - a chapter a day for example plus a bit of marketing each day. This works quite well and keeps me organised.
Don't worry though I can be distracted as easily as the next person and procrastinate like crazy some days.
As a seasoned traveller, which new country would you most like to visit and why?
I'd like to go to Argentina. I understand it's very pretty and as they speak Spanish so communication shouldn't be too difficult. I've also read quite a bit about that country and am interested in its history.
How can readers connect with you?
By friending me on Facebook, Twitter, Linked in, Goodreads and IndieWriters and joining my Facebook group Jeannie Cover to Cover or going to my Facebook Author page.
· https://www.facebook.com/Jeannievanauthorpage
· https://www.facebook.com/groups/248118651978249/
· https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2666710.Jeannie_van_Rompaey/blog
· http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=138119697&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
· http://indiewritersupport.com/profile/3s5olw1c4jxaj?v=395511731#xg_appearance_editor
By buying a download or hard copy of one of my books and writing a review: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field- keywords=jeannie+van+rompaey&rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Ajeannie+van+rompaey
By going to my website.
· Current: jeannievanrompaey.co.uk
· Soon: jeannievanrompaey.com
By emailing me: jeannievanrompaey@gmail.com
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