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AUTHOR PROFILE

Pryde Foltz

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Pryde was born in Winnipeg and attended high school in Calgary. She obtained a B.A. in theatre and later a B.Ed. She has taught both in Vancouver and Japan and traveled extensively. Currently, she is a stay-at-home mom and a frequent denizen of Vancouver Starbucks. In addition to Strays, a collection of short stories and philosophical love poems, she has published the Wisp, a paranormal thriller. Both are available for purchase on Amazon. prydefoltz.com pryde@prydefoltz.com
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Why do you write?

Time would slip by when I was writing essays at university. So if time escaped when writing dry non-fiction, what would happen if I turned my pen to stories? Love. I write fiction for the love of story-telling. With poetry it was different. The ideas just started appearing in my consciousness. I posted a few online and to my surprise they were well-received. I continued posting and realized that poetry could be medicine both for the writer and the reader. Then my fiction changed too, becoming enriched by the greater understanding of the human psyche I was gaining from writing and reading poetry.

 

What other creative activities are you involved in?

I am a full-time mother and that doesn’t leave me much time for other artistic pursuits. My first degree is in theatre and during my time at UBC, I acted in and directed plays and loved it. But the fit was never right. In my youth I was drawn to drawing and painting. At one time I had my eye on being the next Coco Chanel. But now, it’s writing. I think Dorothy Parker said ‘I hate writing. I love having written’. For me once I’ve gotten the idea on the page and cleaned up the writing a little… it is pure pleasure. I guess I love editing.

 

Who is your favorite author and why?

I am going to have to be completely uninspired and say Shakespeare. His work with metaphor, characterization, and story has yet to be surpassed. Oddly enough in my first Theatre essay I spelled his name incorrectly throughout and received a good jibbing from my professor and a down-grade. Other writers I admire? Hemingway for his deftness with a sentence. Here too I demonstrated my spelling-challenged ways. Gutter Dog is the first short story I wrote and is in part a homage to Papa Ernesto … and you guessed it. I could have sworn there were two m’s. Senryu another adventure in mis-spelling. Among my other favorite writers are Emily Bronte and Mary Shelley. For poetry it is Gordon Downie, the lead singer of the Tragically Hip. Big, big fan.

 

Tell us about the mechanics of how you write.

It depends on whether I am writing fiction or poetry. With fiction I need an outline. All plot points don’t have to be solidly established but I need to know how I’m going to begin it, middle it, and end it. Then I write at my worse … by which I mean I don’t edit. I get a muddled mess down on the paper and then go through mercilessly killing my darlings. To give you an idea the first draft of the Wisp was over 110,000 words. It now stands at less than 70,000 and that is with additions to plot. But it is in the editing that the best ideas will come. With poetry as I alluded before, the poems seem to come almost pre-packaged and so unless it is a rhythmic and/or rhyming piece, all in all, poetry writing is quite painless and quick for me.

 

Finally, what do you think about Carp, the fish, not our website?

In Japan they provide hours of enjoyment to the contemplative. Koi Pond was inspired by such contemplation. But in the rivers of North America they surpass a nuisance, driving out native fish species and giving unsuspecting anglers a face full of fish. The carp of North America demonstrate how quickly beauty can descend to chaos and even destruction. They teach us that nothing stays the same and not every turn of event can be anticipated, so proceed with caution, remain flexible and seek out the peace and beauty whenever possible.

 

Pryde’s writings include…

The Wisp Strays, a Collection of Short Stories and Philosophical Love Poems

Tattoo, Calling All Soldiers Home, a Collection of Syllable Count Poetry

Monsters, Real and Imagined, Tragic, Frightening, and Funny, All Too Brief, a collection of Short Stories and Poems.

All titles are available on amazon.com and through your local bookstore and libraries.

Want to connect with Pryde online? Look for her on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and at prydefoltzblogspot.ca

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