Transcript
Speaker: Hey
Speaker: hey everyone, Joe here in another What's Crackin', and today I've got a very cool, it's my Linda bookshelf. I had Linda plug it before, and now I have Linda Dratel, a amazing author of, oh, everything, basically.
Speaker: But hello, Linda, how are you? I'm good. Thank you so much, Joe, for having me today. Oh, it's my pleasure. I've got this email and I saw that you did poetry and children's books and an adult full length novel.
Speaker: And I was like, wow, that's an amazing talent. How do you balance between all that? Well, I just been writing for a very long time and it actually started with the adult novel, which is now coming out in October, but I started it about 30 years ago. And after many, many revisions and putting it off and starting it again and going back and forth, I just started, decided in the meantime to write a children's book
Speaker: Because as it happened, even though I've lost my hearing when I was in my 30s, of course, I had to learn another language. Right. So I decided to learn Spanish and my Spanish teacher trying to figure out how to teach me Spanish when I couldn't hear anything, decided to teach me children's stories.
Speaker: And one day she decided, Linda, it's time that we wrote our own children's story. So going back and forth, we decided to write about a dragon. And this is the book that came as a result of it. Who wants to be friends with a dragon?
Speaker: And we were talking about this dragon that... He's very nervous, doesn't think anybody would want to be his friend because he's green and he breathes fire and he has spikes going down his back. And I said, Eve, you know what? That dragon is me because I have hearing loss.
Speaker: I'm afraid that nobody would want to be my friend. So really, really, that dragon is me. And she said, no, that dragon is me because I'm half Mexican and I don't feel like I fit in anywhere.
Speaker: And then we hired an illustrator for this book. And he said, no, the dragon is me because I'm the son of Filipino immigrants and I don't feel like I fit in anywhere.
Speaker: And that's when we realized the story really was about anybody who felt different for any reason. So that's that's what we did, and that's how that book came about.
Speaker: So then along the way, i decided to write poetry to fill my time waiting for my book to be finished. And um I joined a poetry critique group, and it's an amazing group of it's women, and every so often we get a guy that joins us. And They are, i mean, it's amazing.
Speaker: I know more about them than I know about my own family. i mean, we share our guts, we share our feelings, we share our insecurities in our poetry. And we know it's not going to go anywhere else. So we just pour all this stuff out in our poems. And it's been wonderful. So we've each gotten published along the way. and i have um I have two books that have been published now.
Speaker: One is the serious book called Remember This Day, and it's all trauma related. And then there's the lighter side of horse manure, which is all tongue in cheek and a lot of fun laughing at life.
Speaker: And then in addition to that, I've had a lot of individual poems that have been published here and there. And most recently that I found out a week ago, i was invited by the, what's it called?
Speaker: the korea I had to write this down. The Korean Haiku Federation has um is going to introduce me as an invited poet poet to their Korean Haiku World Youth Festival in October.
Speaker: And that's because somebody was following me on LinkedIn and shared my poems that I posted there with a colleague of his in Korea. And so they want to translate some of my poems into English.
Speaker: Korean and Japanese to share with their youth. That's amazing. I'm excited. That's absolutely amazing. And it's one of those things where I never thought to share anything i wrote on LinkedIn and you used it and parlay that into being invited to the haiku one. it's Did you have that as a purpose? Like if I put my stuff out on LinkedIn, people will pick up on it or?
Speaker: I don't know. i just i just posted ah poetry that had been published and just as an announcement said this got published. So Yeah, that's that's great. And one of the things I am a big firm believer of is writing groups.
Speaker: I think you you can write, but you really need that feedback. But I've never been to a poetry writing group. i've I've never been. And so when you're saying you're sharing the feelings, is that feel more visceral than maybe a fiction group would be?
Speaker: Or is that different?
Speaker: um You know, i haven't been in a fiction writing group. um And ah you would think since I wrote a novel, I should be, but I had just written that pretty much on my own. And then i hired...
Speaker: different editors to review it and and i had beta readers read it but I hadn't joined a poetry i hadn't joined a writing group for that and it probably would have been helpful but I hadn't done it for the poetry one is this something that if they're published or not Is this almost like a help group? Because I know poetry can be very intimate.
Speaker: For fiction, there can be a small little distance between you and the narrator or you and the characters, but poetry is almost self-reflective.
Speaker: I think that's true. i think that poetry is more self-reflective. and Excuse me, there's more view in the poem, even if it's not first person, it could be about an issue, but it's an issue that you lay to personally. um Like for example, I wrote a poem that was just published that was about, it was really about communication. And I talk about um being an expat ah because I lived six months in Barcelona, being an expat and that it's like looking through a window and not being able to to to truly relate to the people on the other side of the window. Because really, language ah communication is more than language. It's culture, shared history, shared pain. And um you try to understand, but how do you even...
Speaker: voice a sentence, what kind of inflection, um that sort of thing. So that was my feelings as an expat. and yeah I shared her with my husband and he said, God, that's exactly how we both feel.
Speaker: um So ah I guess that would be something general, but it was it was my personal experience. that That's so a great story. And i think that opens up to people who want to go into writing and just how it's reflection of self. It's an art, a reflection of self.
Speaker: And with that reflection, I have two questions for you. And if you want to nope out of either question, it's fine. But you brought up that you went deaf.
Speaker: How old were you? said, how old were you? I was in my thirties And i was the last to figure that out. Really? Yeah.
Speaker: I didn't realize it. Most people who who lose their hearing later in life don't realize it. The people around them realize it. So my husband was saying, focus, focus, thinking I wasn't paying attention. And my kids are going, mom, mom. And my neighbors are getting at me because my son is cussing and I'm not correcting him.
Speaker: They had a blast growing up because they could just talk like this and say whatever they wanted. Oh, wow. It's kind of like the and NBA when they talk like that behind the towels so the the fans can't see. Yeah.
Speaker: It's fun, though. So wendy you okay when you're going through this and that has to be a bit of a vulnerable time, is this when your poetry really starts to tick up or is it still, I need to write the the ah the children's book because that's you're wrestling these things?
Speaker: Well, the children's book wrestled with that, but I think... Actually, i wrote my first poem, which is published in one of my books. I wrote when I was 16 and I always found things to write about. And one of the things to mention anyways, um is that I try to write um in a way that is vague enough that anybody can read into it, whatever they want.
Speaker: So when I was 16, you know you, you're mad at the inequities of the world. And so i wrote this poem called The Torrent and the Tree. And the tree is fighting the rapids of this river that is trying to tear it down. a photo of this and i thought, God, that tree is gonna die. It's gonna fall down. Why doesn't it just give up?
Speaker: And I wrote this poem about how the tree doesn't give up. It just, it didn't matter. how long it was going to survive. it was going to fight for every last second. It was going to survive. And it was proud of that survival.
Speaker: And so I wrote this poem and i let the tree reflect anything anybody wanted to read into it. And so as a result, a lot of people really relate to that poem because it can be a nation fighting a war. It could be an oppressed people. And I've had actually two women who have cancer tell me that they bring that poem to chemotherapy.
Speaker: And they say, i am the tree. So and I like that. And so um so I try to do that with each of my poems. I try to make it impersonal as possible so that people can relate to it however way they want. Yeah, I think that's a way of really connecting to the universal. We learned that in creative nonfiction, you can write a memoir, great. But if you can't connect to the people, it's too specific.
Speaker: If it's just yours, you know, that's just you then. But if you can make the memoir connectable universally, because we all have these things go through our lives, it might not be exactly like yours, but if you leave it open enough, people will connect. And the story about someone bringing it to chemotherapy, that touches me. it's That has to be a, is it awe-inspiring? What emotion does it bring you?
Speaker: I'm sorry. What's the question? Like when, so when you're finding out that people are bringing your poetry to chemotherapy to get them through the day and saying, I am the tree. What emotion is that for you?
Speaker: Oh, it's so, it's so powerful to me. It, it, it just hits me right here. You know, it just, um, one One woman, when she was reading it, she one of those two women, I was at a book signing and i was reading the book and she she slammed the book at me and she said, sign this one while I go and pay for this this copy of the same book.
Speaker: and She was just ah so overwhelmed by it. And that just meant so much to me. That's amazing. And then you have this aspect And another question I was going to ask for the personal one, you survive the Bastille Day attack in France.
Speaker: And if you're surviving this with someone, I'm guessing at that time without hearing, how does that unfold for you? That was very interesting because...
Speaker: My husband had gotten sick with a kidney stone the day before, and he decided not to get treatment in the hospital, which he thinks saved me that day because if he had been in the hospital, I would have been walking along the promenade and gotten a hit by the truck. But because he decided not to have the treatment, the two of us a restaurant just below the promenade, And we were waiting for our bill. We had finished eating. And there was another couple...
Speaker: at the table next to ours also from our hotel across the street and the waitress decided to take their payment before ours and we were kind of miffed we were ready to get up and go and it was just like maybe seven steps up to the promenade so we watched them go up and we're kind of impatient and then all of a sudden the truck came and so um
Speaker: And my husband looked up and he said, ah what are those people doing? And it was people jumping ah onto the awning from the promenade. And later we did see the husband of that couple and he was covered in bandages. and I have no idea what happened to his wife, but we didn't see her.
Speaker: um But at the same moment, for whatever reason, the one frequency I did hear was gunshots. And so I grabbed his hand. I didn't hear the band. I didn't hear when they stopped playing the music.
Speaker: didn't hear the screaming, but I heard the gunshots. And so I grabbed his wrist and I said, run, you know, and so... ahead of everybody else, I grabbed him and we ran underneath the ah um covering to where the bathrooms were. And, you know, this was just three weeks after what happened in Orlando with the terror attack.
Speaker: And all I kept thinking was, I mean, I didn't know where else to run the the Terrorists could have followed us and killed all of us just like they did in Orlando. You know, I had no idea. But that was where we went. And we hid there for about three hours until the police told us it was safe to come out. But then when we came out, we had they guided us to cross the street over hotels. And we had to pass everything. And it looked like something from a Stephen King novel. I mean, you saw bodies.
Speaker: that just went forever and they were covered with the tablecloths from all the restaurants. And when we pass a baby's body and the broken carriage and a teenager next to his broken bicycle, and it was it was just horrendous. And um when we, out and my husband got interviewed, we were, while we were in the bathroom,
Speaker: the media was picking up his tweets. I was texting to the family and he was tweeting and they picked up his tweets. So they started interviewing him. And so he said, why are you interviewing me? I'm hiding in a bathroom. And they said, because you're coherent and you're in place.
Speaker: so They're interviewing him and I'm texting, I'm sending messages to my son and my daughter, but my daughter was dancing on a cruise ship at the time. So she didn't get any of my messages. And then suddenly somebody went up to her on the cruise ship and said, are you related to an Eric Dratel? And she goes, ah yeah, that's my dad. And they said, well,
Speaker: his voice is on TV, he's been in a terror attack. And she was like, oh my God. So then she saw she missed 27 messages from me. So we were, it was pretty upsetting. And just this past Bastille was the 10th anniversary. So it really affected me.
Speaker: But um of friends of my husband were, I had worked with had been in the Mumbai terrorist attack. And one of them told him to get therapy for PTSD. yeah And He said, no, we're okay. And he said she said, no, you're not okay. um When you go through something very traumatic, go for the therapy. You you will not, you um you need it So we went and it was a really good thing we did. She went for therapy and the other colleague did not. She got over the trauma and her colleague did not get over it for years.
Speaker: So you just don't know how things will affect you. And it still affected me for a very long time. And like I said, tenth anniversary, it was still affecting me.
Speaker: But um the therapy was very helpful. And the main thing that he said was, um there's the pain of the second arrow. You have the infliction of pain from the trauma, but then we inflict our own pain the second time by reliving the trauma again and again.
Speaker: Because it's like, there's a... a a gravel road in your brain. But then each time you relive it you create a two-lane highway and then a four-lane highway and then a freeway. And so you've just got to think of other things.
Speaker: And the funny thing, when we went with him ah to meet with him, he wouldn't talk to us about the situation. He didn't want to hear about it. He wanted to talk about football and who's the favorite. player and and what game do we like and I'm like what is this but that was the whole point was to talk about other things yeah to get the focus off and with the 10 year anniversary do you ever sit with this even with all the tips and tricks you've got in therapy and go why not me why am I still here
Speaker: Yeah, um that was the hard part for me after 10 years. i look back at everything that we've lived and accomplished and experienced, all the joys of life and think, ah didn't happen I didn't have to have this. And
Speaker: that's the and and other people who died didn't have this. and And that's what's really hard. Does that make you enjoy your success as a writer more enjoy as Warren Zeman would say enjoy every sandwich?
Speaker: I don't know. It's kind of semi sweet. You know, I feel like I need to. i don't know if it's right. i need i need to be successful. I need to.
Speaker: get the most out of each second of each minute because I'm here. trying very hard not to cry. oh Trust me, all all the everyone at home is crying. I guarantee this.
Speaker: i and you're You're being honest and open and appreciate this so much. I truly do. And as someone who knows how to take pain into art,
Speaker: right you ah you as a poet you as a child's offer you as an adult offer that's turning something into art that thing that's in there the universe gives and you reflect it back when you are living every moment when you are making sure everything every blessing is counted when you have not only not only will you be presenting your poetry in october but your new books coming out in october Does that also frame it as, okay, this six is set this is this is me.
Speaker: This is why. This is things like I need to enjoy. Instead of going milestone check, milestone check, is this is the enjoyment of it. Is that fair to say like that's that's the like the dessert, like the enjoying your cheesecake?
Speaker: I just had cheesecake. That's what i'm saying, cheesecake.
Speaker: um yeah Yes, I suppose so. and just at times I just feel very tired and I should just, um I should celebrate. And and being feeling tired is human.
Speaker: It's a very human response. It's very human response. I can't imagine all that and having the book launch and having this it's it's for those who don't know book launches are time consuming.
Speaker: It's everything's back and and forth from a publisher. Is this the right font? Sure. Is this the right this? Yes. Do you like the, your name here? huh. Yeah. I like that name here What color, what color green? Oh, there's different colors green now.
Speaker: Really? like How many colors green do I need? Like 12? Okay, not this one. It's between these two greens I can't tell a part anymore, but apparently the graphic designer can and they need the decisions.
Speaker: So it's it's all these little things that go in the back end and beta readers and like you're going to go to Kirkus and get the reviews in and then you wait for the reviews and they'll say something good or bad or both, you know?
Speaker: And it's like, you took, how long was your adult book? How long did take you to write? ah Well, like I said, it took 30 years. 30 years. Yeah.
Speaker: In 30 years, they'll take apart and go, here's your blurb of 30 years of your life. The two sentences but the back cover. really funny.
Speaker: um When I first wrote it, it was about like 20, 40 pages and I read it to my girlfriends and they all thought I was writing about them. So they got mad at me.
Speaker: But but yeah, did you have to explain it? Like, no, no, no, this is just fictional. Wink. yes Well, you know, it was funny because it's about this woman like it um who is an immigrant who doesn't fit in with her nouveau riche upwardly mobile neighborhood who wants everyone to conform. And each of them felt like they didn't fit in to their own neighborhood. So they thought I was writing about them.
Speaker: And I was like, no, no, that's not the case. But each of them, for whatever reason, and they each came from different walks of life, felt they did not fit in for whatever reason.
Speaker: And it was very funny. I had moved from my neighborhood, and this was about 30 years ago. um And I was having lunch with my daughter at McDonald's and there was a woman sitting across from me at another table. And she was a woman who I thought was one of the most popular women in my neighborhood. And and she was sitting by herself and she's waving at me and said, i know why you're moving from our neighborhood.
Speaker: i didn't even know she knew who I was. i mean, we never spoke, we never talked. I didn't know her name. And I said, really? what what What's the reason? She goes, it's this neighborhood. They're not friendly. Nobody wants to know who you are.
Speaker: and she looks so sad. And I thought, oh my God, everybody can relate to my character. Yeah, that's mean even the most popular person, we all have it on the inside somewhere.
Speaker: It's the imposter syndrome. It always comes out. Now, I cannot say the name of the book. I've tried. i just, I'm horrible at this name. So please, without me killing it,
Speaker: Okay, it's called the Peccadilloes of Philomena Phipps. It's just all the sins of this women of this woman who tries to fit in and just cannot do so.
Speaker: because she's so excited about her background and and where she comes from. And um you know she gets to this urban suburban neighborhood and she's so excited about moving there. And she wants to know, oh do you have a flag? Do you have a special bread? do you have parades to celebrate who you are? And they're all looking at her like, no, we know who we are. We don't need all that. But, you know, I i drew from, i live in Barcelona half the time. So that's what they do in Barcelona. They have flags and they have breads and they have parades. oh my God, they have so many parades and so many celebrations for every single holiday. And if a holiday is one day, they take three days to celebrate it. And it's a lot of fun. It's wonderful. And so that's what I have her do. Not that she's from Barcelona. I don't have her from a particular place, but I just have her wanting to celebrate her new place that she's moved to.
Speaker: And they're just looking at her like she's absolutely crazy. That so that sounds, um and anyone who's ever been an outsider, that's exactly it. That's exactly it. And it sounds amazing. Now, going to try my best. I'm going to my best. Ready? Here we go. Get my best.
Speaker: Okay, so Linda, if people want to find your books and they can get the poetry, Remember This Day and The Lighter Side of Horsemaneur, which is why i really liked I really wanted to talk to you because of that lighter side of horse manure.
Speaker: Love it. Reminds me of Colonel Potter. And that goes a long way. And the children's book, Who Wants to Be Friends of a Dragon? And in October, in October, coming out full-length adult children,
Speaker: novel the piccadillos of philomela phipps i the peccadillos
Speaker: that one too that one too in october you gotta check it out and linda if people want to find you online where do we go Okay, so to find me online, i have a website. It's my full name, dot C-O-M. l i n d a d r a t t e l l dot c o m And my two poetry books are published with Finishing Line Press.
Speaker: And then my children's book, Who Wants to Be Friends with a Dragon, is co publish co-written with Eve Marie Little and published with Doran's Publishing Company.
Speaker: And my adult book is with Stairwell Books. So I know these three books you can buy on Amazon or you can buy through the publisher and Stairwell Books will have my book in October. i think it will be available on Amazon. I'm pretty sure.
Speaker: Yeah, i really look forward to it. it's It's something that I connect with your material. i connect with your material, you know, going up, bouncing around. military I'm not sure if you can see the like the flat oh versus the flag, like the the Marine Corps flag in the background, military kids, have never fit in anywhere, you know, and to see that you're not alone.
Speaker: You know, that's, it is, your stories are resilience. It's overcoming, it's the most Marine Corps model, you know, adapt and overcome, improvise.
Speaker: And that's what I see in your writing. your Your poetry touches because it's universal. Your children's book connects because again, we all are the dragon, each one of us.
Speaker: And I cannot wait to read your novel. It sounds amazing. And I just want to say thank you very much for your sitting down and being open and just having a discussion that can also connect to everyone at home and just give us the background of the person who creates such wonderful stories.
Speaker: So thank you very much from bottom my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate the opportunity to chat with you today. Absolutely. And for myself and Linda, we bid you good day. Goodbye, everyone.
Speaker: Bye-bye. Okay.
