Hey there folkerinos.

Happy Friday! I think I got that Friday feeling and it keeps me smiling 🙂

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Now, on with the show.

For tonight’s entertainment, please let me introduce you all to author and poet Kellie Fitzgerald, who has written several books that are sure to inspire you in many different ways.

Thanks for reading and have a fun time everyone.

 

Hi there Kellie, thank you for spending some quality time with us today, so we can find out more about you, along with your writing and publishing endeavours.

Let’s start with your latest book “Lyrics and Lines from Another Life”, which is a volume of poetry that is lyric heavy and influenced from your times in bands in the past. Please tell us more about this collection, what themes link the pieces together and how you decided on the choice of pictures that you have included in the collection.

Lyrics and Lines from Another Life is literally a time capsule of my live over the past 30 or so years. It’s comprised of pieces written during a period of my life when everything was in a constant state of transition…divorce, single parenthood, dating, remarriage, trying to make a living, getting sick and fighting for my life along with becoming more and more spiritual in nature.

The pictures in this book are of whoever inspired the particular piece. For example, I write frequently about my animal companions, so there are a couple of their photos in the book. There’s also a picture of my daughter kissing a frog. lol

What does it mean to you personally being a poet/lyricist? How do you feel that this influences how you see, feel and interact with the world around you?

I’ve always written so it’s just all part of who I am. Often my husband and I go on long motorcycle trips and I find poetry composing itself in my head while we’re riding. The next book I’m releasing is actually called “Biker Zen” and is comprised of those poems. I’m currently working on a couple of screenplays as well which came to me while on our last bike trip. I guess I’m pretty much always looking for a story in everything I see.

How does a poem or lyric begin for you? Does it start with an image, a form or a particular theme?

Words literally compose themselves in my head. I can be, and have been, inspired by just about anything. I just go along for the ride. I’m one of those people who often wakes up in the middle of the night to write something down – it really isn’t something I “work” at, it just flows. I find I’m either in writing mode or not, and I don’t try to force it.

You also have other books published in the Non-Fiction genre. Please tell us more about their specific premises and what ultimately inspired you to write them in the first place.

My first book “When on the Road to Enlightenment, Don’t Forget to Take out the Trash” started out as journal entries. I’d gone through a very dark time in my life and was trying to fight my way back out of that very dark cavern so I just started journaling memories as they arose. I found writing them down gave me a very different perspective and that helped me heal. As I wrote and shared my writing on social media (a very difficult thing for me to do) I found it was also helping other people heal their own lives so I made it into a book.

I’ve also published a couple of compilation books, “Beyond the Loss, Breaking the Stigma of Depression and Suicide,” filled with stories from not only suicide survivors, but those left behind by someone who took their own life and “Resilient” a book about overcoming abusive relationships. Due out this fall is another compilation “Animal Pathes” a book about how our animal companions impact our lives.

Furthermore, you are one of the creators and founders of Pathe Magazine. Can you tell us what variety of literary treats await us within the pages of Pathe?

PATHE actually stands for Purpose Aligned To Heighten and Expand, and PATHE Magazine was born out of a conversation I had with Co-founder Leah Frieday about providing a platform for people who are doing great work to be noticed. Each issue we look for articles that bring value to our readers, whether it’s business-related or of a more personal note. Our readers are mostly creative entrepreneurs such as filmmakers, musicians, authors and artists. We feel those creative business owners are mostly overlooked by more mainstream entrepreneurial publications.

What do you find the most difficult thing about writing? And what do you find the easiest?

Most of the time my writing just flows through me without effort, but there are times when that flow sort of stops for a while. That can be frustrating when I’m really trying to finish something…like a screenplay. When writing gets difficult for me I have learned to take that as a sign I need to stop and do something else for a while.

Who are some of the authors, poets and historical figures that inspire you?

Maya Angelou was the person who inspired me the most as a writer because she was a woman…I saw her and said “hey, I can do this.” Only years later did someone make a big deal of the fact she was a black woman. lol Other than her, I’m really inspired most by life in general. There are many historical figures I find fascinating and I’m a big history buff but really I’m mostly inspired just by living life.

What sort of research do you do to write your books?

I really haven’t done research to write my books because they’re about my life, but I’m currently doing some research on a screenplay…mostly historical in nature. I read a lot and really that’s how I get most of my information.

Why do you write? What inspired you to become a writer?

I write because I have always written. I don’t know that anyone can really inspire anyone to become a writer…I do believe writers are born writers. Of course anyone can write a book and fill it with whatever information they want and publish a book these days. I am not convinced simply publishing a book makes one a writer…it makes them an author. Writers write from their heart and soul…authors compose sentences, paragraphs and eventual books from words. Someone told me once they were convinced if I was cut open I would bleed beautiful poetry describing my pain with such eloquence everyone else would desire to be cut open as well.

What keeps you motivated during creative slumps? How do you deal with Writers Block?

I just stop and do something else for a while. I truly believe “writer’s block” is a divine sign it’s time to walk away and enjoy life apart from writing so that is exactly what I do.

You have access to a time machine. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Embrace the gift of writing. I spent a lot of time being told I’d never make a living writing, or to get my head out of the clouds and other such falsehoods. I would just tell my younger self to write more and listen to the naysayers less.

How do you spend your free time when you are not writing?

Wow. What is this “free time” you speak of? lol I’m very fortunate to live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by amazing mountains so I love spending time outdoors. I also do animal rescue which takes a lot of my time, I garden and do a lot of canning and I not only run PATHE Magazine but also Ibbilane Press and Chiricahua Real Estate…so I really don’t have a lot of “free” time.

Tell us more about your upcoming projects. Are you working on anything specific or have plans in the pipeline?

Right this second I’m working on two screenplays and the aforementioned “Biker Zen” book. Since I write pretty much constantly I’m certain there will be many more projects developing soon.

Finally, are there any nuggets of wisdom that you can impart to other aspiring writers and poets?

Write. People always ask me how to write a book and I always answer the same…you just start writing and keep going until it is finished. For young people who love to write (and I do have a grandson just like that) I always tell them to be grateful for their wonderful gift. Not everyone can write. Don’t listen to anyone else if you like what you’ve written, it’s perfect. I’m a firm believer in writing for the simple joy of writing…if you always write for yourself it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. But I promise you, if you do write for yourself, other people will recognize your heart and soul in your words and you will build a following.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you for spending time with us and sharing with us all of your inspirational advice, we can’t wait to check out your books 🙂

Bio:-

Kellie Fitzgerald has arrived at this particular point in her life by taking the scenic route, often filled with pratfalls and new beginnings. After a life spent experiencing trials by fire while simultaneously navigating choppy waters, she is passionate about helping others navigate their own paths and become the very best version of themselves they can be.

Having been told early in adulthood that as an employee she would make an excellent entrepreneur, Kellie, has started, grown and/or run several small businesses.

Currently, she is a real estate broker and life coach in southeastern Arizona and, as usual, lives with a rather large menagerie of animals and way more gardens and other projects than any truly sane person would attempt to handle.

You can connect with Kellie via the following Social Media channels:-

Kellie’s Publishing Company (Ibbilane Press):- The Website of Ibbilane Press
LinkedIn:- Kellie Fitzgerald – Writer, Publisher, Entrepreneur (LinkedIn)
Pathe Magazine (Facebook):- Pathe Magazine (FB)
Pathe Magazine (Website):- The Website of Pathe Magazine
Twitter:- @kelfitzauthor (Twitter)

You can buy her books here:-

Buy Kellie Fitzgerald’s books in Canada

Buy Kellie Fitzgerald’s books in the UK/Europe

Buy Kellie Fitzgerald’s books in the US/Rest of the World

If you too would like to be interviewed on my blog at TooFullToWrite and you have a book or a series of books that you would like us to chat about then fill out the Contact Me form here with your details and we can arrange a future interview slot.

Still want more? Well, Kellie has certainly shown a lot of ‘pluck’ and courage in the subject matter of her books, particularly when it comes to offering advice on overcoming abusive relationships. For more articles on the theme of ‘Pluck’ then check out the links below:-

1. A Diary of A Single Man: Heavens Peak – Harlem Cafe
2. F*** Timmy the Tumor – Lemurian Light Oracle
3. Surviving the Heat and Humidity – The Chicken Grandma
4. How My Hormones Caused My Depression
5. “A collection of July’s daily words.” – Nomadic Adventurer
6. Afterwards – Abandoned
7. Copper Cranes – Mirage
8. like a magnet – jacey caitlyn speaks
9. Carefree – E. Denise Billups, Writer
10. Pluck – Dirty Little Daydreams
11. Le Drake Noir – Fake or flair
12. “Broken” Afterglow – LiveFree & LoveOnPurpose
13. Cookies & Moo – Just A Feather?
14. Swell Time – Au natural
15. Mauritius – MAG Stories
16. Pluck – Mick E Talbot Poems – A Villanelle Pome
17. logicaldreams – Short Story: My Daddy Said
18. Mirrorless… – People and Thoughts
19. Timely Pluck – LifeBlog
20. Substitute “Confidence” – life’s inner stitches & interstices
21. We all die before we’re dead – thewriter17blog
22. Count The Petals – Butterflo
23. Butterflies bones. – Life After Fifty
24. The window spider – plucking fruit flies from the air – Middle Aged Soup
25. Malditas mentiras … y estadi­sticas – Las agallas de “Pluck”
26. The Last of the Wattle – Melinda J. Irvine
27. Set to sail – Progressing into Solitude
28. ZeneiFromKohima – The Guava Tree
29. July Challenge: Antithetical Couplet – The Pescetarian Poet
30. Eclectic Joy – Prompted – Pluck
31. Just Too Naive – Kaleidoscope of my life
32. Guided from Despair – Debbie Gravett
33. Memory triggers… – Mum’s the Word Blog
34. tiny names – Tiny Fawns Writings
35. A Weekday Story – Blog of Hammad Rais
36. Plucky – aroused
37. Pink strawberry – citySonnet
38. Scattered – Dance of the Soulful Words
39. helen meikle’s scribblefest – Daily prompt: Not glamorous, but interesting
40. ACREATIVECONVEXSPACE – Eyebrows
41. sonja benskin mesher – . the dresser .
42. a life-giving moment – In His Hands
43. An Elegy for Trayvon Martin, a poem – Sumyanna Writes
44. One Wrong Decision – Leigha Robbins
45. Delighting in the Skin I’m In: Summer Woes Week 2 Update – The Delight Project
46. Megan’s Musings – Pluck
47. y – melancholy makes
48. “Better” Is Yet To Come – A Beautiful Mess
49. Rereading My Favorite Books – A Beautiful Mess
50. I Believe in Happy Endings – A Beautiful Mess
51. ‘LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL’ – A Beautiful Mess
52. We’re All Somebody Else’s Story – A Beautiful Mess
53. Peanut Gallery 24/7 – What do Customers want?
54. I’m Here! – Inner Whispers
55. Harvesting Stars – Percolating Poetry
56. Na’ama Yehuda – Your Music
57. Azalea Frost – 18. Tears
58. Curious Hart – Plucking the Unplucked
59. Living In Crimson – Purple
60. Shiny New Toy – The Hockey Mom Fit Life
61. The Plains Traversed (poem) – stephentotheplate
62. ~185 Of 365~ – ……….365 Days………..
63. Thoughts of Words – Smile of the Office-Crush (Metro Haiku)
64. More Wacky Wednesdays! – Dog Tales
65. Wild and Wacky Wednesdays – Embracing Life
66. everything must go – novahswrites
67. Pluck – wordsareallihavesite
68. VirtuousParagon – With Love
69. Nourish the Love Inside You (Daily Word Prompt is Pluck) – My Loud Bipolar Whispers
70. Taming the Wild Ones – Wind Kisses
71. Poesies and Things – Breaking Daisies_Pluck
72. From under her invisibility cloak. – A Thought Process
73. A Diary of A Single Man: This Bleeding Heart – Harlem Cafe
74. A Diary of A Single Man: A Father’s Day After Thought – Harlem Cafe
75. Arise, O Daughter – Keep Your Eyes on God
76. Titans – themumblr
77. Pulling at Tastiness – Heaven’s Sunshine
78. Daily prompt :Pluck – Tachispeaks
79. Hindsight – The Abject Muse
80. Daily Word Post Pluck – All About Writing and more
81. Pluck – Image & Word
82. Fluffy Pool – Wait, It Gets Worse
83. Individual expressions of a naive mind. – Escaping the situation (short story based upon the daily prompt; Pluck)
84. To tweeze or not to tweeze… – The golden years revisited
85. Sailing … Part Two – jansten56
86. GOD’S CHAIR – Ruby’s Pluck (Limerick)
87. manvsloneliness – Day 361: The Man and the Angry Old Man; ‘Pluck’
88. The many layers of Jen – National scare your dog day
89. Life On The Skinny Branches – Stargazing
90. Living Out Loud – Play Me a Melody
91. Pluck–Daily Prompt – Fearless
92. Plucky Ducky – Lass From Lancashire
93. Moonlight Reflections – Booming Fireworks
94. Giggles & Tales – The Daily Prompt – Pluck.
95. Now You See Her, Now You Don’t – MY ENDURING BONES
96. Pluck – The Bag Lady
97. Scottish Legend’s Blog – You’re Torturing Yourself
98. Myammy! Moving in together at 50… – Make America Kind Again?
99. Success Inspirers World – Greatness
100. Nan’s Farm-Inside Out – Fake News?
101. La Vie En Rose – December Rose
102. The Magic We See – Life’s Fine W(h)ine – served with cheese
103. Reveal – By Sarah
104. a blazing bonfire – Writing the wrongs
105. To pluck, or not to pluck, a feminist rant – Sarahs Crazy Mind
106. Notes to Women – Much to Celebrate
107. Pluck – Piercing the Mundane
108. Walk with God – P-luckity
109. LOL – Motherish Childish
110. How to LiveFree & LoveOnPurpose – LiveFree & LoveOnPurpose
111. Don’t Pluck Them! – stoneronarollercoaster
112. Pre-Teen Makeover – Memoirs of Megan
113. Seperation – Journey
114. Inspired to Write – Smell The Coffee
115. Common Pursuit – Unfinished Business
116. Exploring the World around us – Flowers and Fruits
117. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not – Adventures of a Busy Mom
118. Eyebrow Haiku – Kristy Writing
119. The Lyrics that Pluck at You – thehouseofbailey
120. Pluck – Allison’s Written Words
121. Science of Exercise – Developing Explorers
122. mylocalweb – my dreams
123. WIND PLAYING WITH SAILS – Rainbow
124. KO Rural Mad As Hell Blog – bud
125. masihbersambung – Train of Thought: from Irn-Bru to Orange Lipstick
126. Some Dreams Are Squatters – andsoitisborn
127. Piper’s Adventures – Moving in Life
128. Light & life – Gloom & Raspberries
129. The Examined Life – Pluck
130. Musings of a Random Mind – Courage Under Fire
131. She lives in all of us – Goodreads
132. THE FLOWERS OF GERTRUDE BOYDEN – LIGHT&SHADOWS
133. Tres veces tu…opinion. – Bel’s Site
134. The Family That Sails Together… – Nomadchasingwaterfalls
135. Hurdles & Girdles – “He has a lot of pluck…”
136. Mindy T. Dog – I’m a Writer, Yes, I Am!
137. Jibber Jabber with Sue – Unplugged or Conditioned to Pavlov’s Bell?
138. Charmed Chaos – Daisy Love
139. Telling the Truth – born yet again
140. Noodling? – Bad Dad Cartoons 101
141. Wall- Dress- Dish – My little storybook
142. You might like this – Wells Baum
143. Deadly Love – epiphanyofsumi
144. Not so Fast – Wells Baum
145. Piper’s Adventures – Morning River
146. News makes your brain fat – Wells Baum
147. Plucking & Planting – My Journey of Self-Love
148. Pluck me from this horrid place – Bird Flight
149. Ain’t no room for belly achin’ – CD-W, Author Flawed to Perfection
150. Heart and Mind – teenspirit
151. Refocus: Your Brand. Their View… – Success Strategies
152. Rose Petals – emotionsoflife2016
153. Pluck the Pansies – damswriter
154. Painted Churches of Texas: Freyburg and Dubina – My Crazy Graced Life
155. The Cat Chronicles – Daily Feline Prompt: Feline Plucking
156. You’ve Got Pluck – This, That, and The Other
157. De T is van Tienen – Groeten uit #Tienen
158. Clucking and a Plucking – As I was saying…
159. Plucky Nurse – Flip Flops Every day
160. Covert Novelist – Pluck
161. SHINE MAGAZINE – True Friendship: More than Jewels
162. Vivid Tales – Knock on the door
163. Solo Shadow – A Writer’s Beginning
164. Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss – Pluck it
165. DCMontreal: Blowing the Whistle on Society – Roundabouts: Cute in Song, Annoying in Practice
166. Flowers and Breezes – The Lemon Trees
167. Multiple Meanings – thepathtocreativity
168. Garden of Life – Around the World
169. Charron’s Chatter – Nom de Plume
170. Sunflower – THEGIRLVERSUSWORLD
171. Pluck That Thought… – Success Strategies
172. Charron’s Chatter – Getcher Goose
173. juantetcts – Daily Post
174. Charron’s Chatter – Pluckin’ Funny
175. Daily Theater – Monkebus
176. Self-destructive habits performed by threesome – Bird Flight
177. lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown – (P)luck
178. Pluck me not!! – XDrive
179. A Question for My Fellow “Libtards” – A lot from Lydia
180. Vivid Tales – Seen you face in mirror?
181. What the Pluck – A Unique Title For Me
182. The Romantic Quill – Wednesday Reflections #23 – Seducing Mr. Knightly by Maya Rodale
183. MARGINALIZED – IDLE BRAIN
184. MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO – Pluck
185. Tanka: A Poet’s Heart – whippetwisdom.com
186. Heart To Heart – AnneObure
187. May I? – Love it Now
188. An afternoon made from happiness – mslazyboots
189. The Wonder of Yarrow House – Plucked for the Quest to the Pineapple
190. Independence Food – Reactionary Tales
191. Don’t Drink! – Haiku Abound
192. Plucking a flower – mydailylife@kochi
193. Scrambled, Not Fried – Roulette
194. Full Moon Chaos: Plucking at the soul… – Chronicles of an Orange-Haired Woman!
195. My gag nervous response – The Diary of a Weird Teen Boy
196. Designer Sophisticate – On fleek.
197. ….on pets and prisoners….. – daily prompt: pluck
198. theempathyqueen – Pluck ~ Elizabeth Barret Browning – Daily Post Word Challenge
199. Facing the blank canvass – Wells Baum
200. Marriage Indeed Takes Three – Patches of Light, Pieces of Grace
201. Ride Hard: Good Morning Beautiful – Redux Of Rex
202. Make a wish and your dreams will come true! – It takes a Savior to raise a child
203. Plucked Demons – The new-ness
204. AlexJamesWise – Pluck
205. Plucking – Just Writing!
206. Thought of the day – 5th July 2017 – The Diary of a Weird Teen Boy
207. The Alchemy of Art – Wind Rush
208. Pluck – All About Writing and more
209. Rytha Ephua – Pluck
210. The Wandering Poet – Taken from the sea
211. Frank Prem – Old Trevallion
212. Frank Prem – on stories
213. Frank Prem – a call: a dance: here again: gone