All About Janene Roberts
Janene Roberts
Okay, so San Diego is no Napa Valley, but before Robert Mondavi and his family headed west from the bitter cold of Minnesota, Napa Valley was swampland. This week’s blog interview is about local author Janene Roberts—an author who sees another paradisiacal side of our cozy, little city by the sea.
What genre(s) of writing are your books?
My published book is a travel guide–Wine Tasting in Southern California & Beyond–and I’m currently writing creative non-fiction–A memoir about my early teen years.
What first attracted you to this/these genres?
Initially I wrote the wine guidebook because I felt that the Southern California wine region was being ignored and it was a growing industry. I wanted to let wine lovers know about places they could travel to that were in their backyard. The wine region is still growing but is gaining some awareness.
How did you hear about Read Local San Diego, and how has the organization played a role in your success?
I attended the first concept meeting at the Encinitas Library after hearing about Read Local through San Diego Writers and Publishers. Since my wine guidebook is all about supporting local wine producers it seemed like a natural fit (support local). And, what’s not to like about Read Local? They’re offering valuable marketing opportunities to authors that usually don’t have a huge marketing budget to get the word out.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a memoir about growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the 80’s during the valley girl era. I started writing the memoir because I began teaching memoir writing classes through the Poway Unified Adult Education program and as I was teaching realized I had a story too.
Are there any upcoming events where people can hear you speak and meet you?
I’m working on putting together wine and food events through the San Diego Vintners Association and the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center.
What guidance or lessons learned can you offer prospective writers?
Write about what you know.
Read good classics (I just re-read Catcher in the Rye and was inspired again).
Just Write (as Natalie Goldberg encourages).
Experience life and then write about those experiences.
Is there an audience for what you’re writing?
Swampland seems to make great real estate investments for people like Mondavi and Disney. And wine country seems to pop up from the most unexpected places.
Thanks for reading, now start writing. Oh yeah, and this week my blog asks, “Is Mobile Social Networking Overkill?”
Erick
