Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

"I didn't expect to be so scared of aging. At the grocery store, where Christie Brinkley looks 23 on a magazine cover, just as she did when I was a girl, I overspend our budget by adding expensive creams to the shopping cart. Conversations with my husband have become like this one: 'My knee caps look wrinkled.' 'Why are you looking at your knee caps?'"
 

That's Susan Henderson's latest personal essay up at the world's biggest blog, The Huffington Post. In her neurotic (and touching) piece about growing older, Henderson shows us how she attempts to balance writing, life, work, play, family, and happiness.

 
This is the third installment of my interview with Pushcart-nominated author, Susan Henderson. This is my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a serialized set of weekly interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing...
 

Jason Boog:
You've worn so many different hats in your writing life--from training manuals to short stories. Any advice for how can a fledgling writer balance a full slate of work responsibilities and personal writing projects? Continue reading...

Susan Henderson:
I don't think I'd be sane if I only wore one hat.
 
 
I am a mother, a costume designer's wife, an extroverted introvert, a writer, editor, blogger, military brat, ex-counselor, bellydancer, and gossiper, who speaks sign language, takes Chinese, plays soccer with a bunch of musicians, desperately wants to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL, and lives in a town of fisherman and appliance repairman.   
 

In my mind, the way I spend my time and the things I write about represent all of that. It wouldn't feel right to only express a sliver of who I am. As far as balance goes, as long as I'm spending the majority of my time doing things I enjoy, I'm good.