Donna Dechen Birdwell has been a member of the Writers’ League since last fall and is attending the 2015 Agents & Editors Conference. She lives in Austin, TX.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
Donna Dechen Birdwell: I enjoyed world-building in my dystopian sci-fi novel, Way Of The Serpent, but all kinds of imaginative storytelling are fair game. Realism is so elusive.
Scribe What authors would you like to have coffee or a beer with and which beverage?
DB: I’d love to share a glass of good California wine with Ursula Le Guin, whose father, Alfred Louis Kroeber, was one of the icons we bowed to when I was a graduate student in anthropology. I’d probably want a coffee with David Mitchell, to keep me on my toes. And if I could evoke the spirit of Jorge Luis Borges, I’d buy him whatever ethereal beverage he chose.
Scribe If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
DB: Let’s go with One Hundred Years Of Solitude, so Gabriel Garcia Marquez could keep me reminded that sanity is just a state of mind. And could I also have a stack of blank notebooks?
Scribe What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?
DB: WLT has given me courage. It has taught me to dig deep into my experience and trust what comes together.
Scribe Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
DB: I intend to stay open to possibilities, but I do have a few plans. I want to put my current novel in the hands of as many readers as possible and listen to what they have to say. Meanwhile, I will be revising my next novel, The Fourth Time, and finishing the sequel to Way Of The Serpent.
Scribe Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
DB: As an anthropologist, I came to believe that storytelling is one of the most important things we do as human beings. I have a lot of stories to tell and I have the dedication to hone my craft and tell them well.
