Some of Us Are Ghosts: An Interview with Ohio Author Sandra Russell

An Interview with Ohio Author Sandra Russell

From southeastern Ohio, Sandra Russell writes of personal experiences, local venues, and more. Her new book Some of Us Are Ghosts explores the possibility that there are some among us who exist but are really not living to their fullest potential. Sandra, an accomplished artist, illustrates beautiful scenarios that correspond with her thoughtful poem.

Besides being an artist and acting in the local theatre group, Sandra is an engaging storyteller. Her wit, whimsy, and total serendipity, will keep you entertained.

Welcome, Sandra!

GM: What is the premise of your new book Some of Us Are Ghosts?

SR: I sometimes think the book is about isolation and loneliness. But not always the sort of loneliness that is necessarily sad, just sort of living in a 'holding pattern' waiting for someone to tell us what we are to do? I think we are raised to wait our turn, to find our place, and that if we can't find a fit, are not always confident to step out into the light and show what we can do? I think there is a disconnect often times with how we are on the inside, and how we are seen to be. Our spirit is numbed, and the idea of 'night roads' has to do with our dream life, or unmet unity with our subconscious and our active body selves, if that makes sense? I think music is a good way to connect body and soul so that we experience a fuller living by living just then in the moment.

GM: How do you maintain creative thoughts and ideas?

SR: I don't worry about maintaining ideas all that much. I tend to get an idea and act on it right away, in some cases, the idea just is not going away, like it must be addressed. Sometimes if an idea is only a few fragments, I write them down or make a sketch, then go back to look at it later.

GM: What would you like readers to take away from your book?

SR: I would like people to find in the lines individually or the poem as a whole, or in the illustrations; something that resonates with them so that they connect a missing piece to their own life experience, where they see something of themselves that makes them more whole. I guess I'd like to be the "meadow returning their echo" not to be alone, but to know someone else has been where they are.

GM: Describe your studio and where you like to work…

SR:  My studio is my home. I take my artwork into every room in the house, outdoors, into the garage, it's all over the place. I do most of my writing when hiking, or driving in the car. I have to stop and pull over to make notes.

GM: What are you currently creating?

SR: Currently I am making props for a friends play, and some Christmas gifts for family. I have blogs to write, and am doing research on the safe houses for the underground railroad; as I suspect the house I was born in (no longer standing) was once a part of that history.

GM: Take us through a day in your life as an artist/writer…

SR: A day in my life as an artist, is not routine. I don't have a shop set up way of going about things. I am often requested to make a painting of a particular subject and so decide what material and scale would best suit the project and begin whatever that may be. I sometimes get ideas or moods, sentiments from watching an old movie or walking in nature, and that inspires me to make something.

GM: What is your creative history? Were your parents artistic?

SR: My parents were both fairly artistic, my mother was a great story teller and would make up as many stories from scratch as we had around to read in books, my father was an engineer, but he was a designer making radios and transmitters, as well as building fairy lands for us to play in, and making furniture for a cabin he built. His mother was an oil painter, and his father owned a coal mine, but was a wood carver, and leather tooler, horse blanket weaver, all sorts of craftsman. I have had a few mentors and inspirations. Two of my old bosses taught me technical skills I wouldn't have had the patience for on my own, and my art history mentor, opened my eyes to understanding the patterns of history, the schools of thought, but also that there is 'always a wild card' someone who does not quite fit the scheme of things, but just might be the genius for change.

GM: List 10 things your fans may not know about you…

SR: I'm the mother of a pharmacist; I was born left handed; I have a degree in sculpture; I must have dogs and cats in my life always; I make the best caramels in the world; I love to travel, and something interesting always happens when I do, a story or two just happens when you move about; My DNA was a surprise, thought I was half German, and am only 4%, I am nearly 90% British Isles; One branch of my family tree was filled with aristocrats and another branch had trapeze artists swinging from the boughs.

Connect with Sandra…

Sandra’s Storytelling

Amazon Someof Us Are Ghosts

Barnes & Noble Someof Us Are Ghosts

From the back of the book:

One October night Sandra Russell was driving on a country road, headed for town to meet a friend who was performing at a local nightclub. There was a breeze blowing the treetops and strands of shifting fog low to the ground. Just as she crested a big hill, she saw below what looked like a specter, someone in white. Maybe someone dancing? As the car slowed, she realized it was just a neighbor in a long nightgown, picking up her mail from across the road. When she arrived at the nightclub, she sat at a table near the stage. The energy of the crowd reminded her of how some people seemed so full of life while others were just blanks, like empty jars on a shelf. Suddenly the poem came to her. Sandra asked the waitress for something to write with. With the help of a blue crayon and paper napkins, Sandra wrote Some of Us Are Ghosts. The author entertains the reader through ethereal illustrations, painted less with a brush and more with a diving rod that opens the mystic well of imagination.