Author Spotlight – Renee Schuls-Jacobson

During this year’s BOAW Blogfest I discovered your blog and took a peek. I was interested about what you had to write and like your style. I also like your art and read about your life a bit.

 

I know there’s much more, and I’d like to hear about this.

 

When did you start writing?

I started pounding on my parents’ typewriter when I was in kindergarten, and I just loved the way the keys felt under my fingertips. I loved putting my thoughts down on paper and receiving such positive feedback from everyone around me. In 2^nd grade, I had a wonderful teacher  — Mrs. Church — who dragged me down the hall to read a book I had written about robins and their nests to the 5^th graders. I couldn’t believe they would want to hear anything that I’d written, but they seemed to enjoy my words. I’ve been writing ever since.

 

What motivates you to write? 

Writing is my way of processing the world, all its beauty and pain. Simple as that. I feel a pull to write whenever something is troubling me. That may not appeal to everyone, but it works for me. Writing is a coping mechanism for me.

 

What genre do you write in and what made you chose this particular genre? 

I remember reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder Series of Little House on the Prairie in 3^rd grade, and I thought to myself, I want to write a book like this. And while my audience might not be adolescent female readers, I suspect that most of my writing appeals to a predominantly female readership.

 

What is your goal in writing? Do you have dreams where your writing should take you? 

Right now, I’m working on finishing my STATE OF UNDRESS PROJECT, which is a combined art/writing project featuring figure studies of women representing every age, color, and social class who have self-identified as living with invisible obstacles. Participants were asked to write about their insecurities/obstacles and frame these challenges as strengths. They also had to be willing to pose in some state of undress — and have their likeness painted as an impressionistic piece of art. I feel fortunate that these women trusted me with their stories and allowed me into their lives in this most intimate way. I suffer from anxiety, depression and PTSD as a result of a brain injury, which occurred in 2013 after being improperly weaned off a prescription medication. After 3.5 years, I’m nearly back to where I was prior to the injury, and yet I am no longer the same person I once was. People who meet me now can’t tell, but I know how I feel inside my body. Collecting the stories these women shared made me realize that there are so many of us going thru something at any given time, and collecting these stories made me feel less alone. 

 

Do you suffer from writer’s block and if yes, how do you deal with it?

I only write when I feel moved to do so. I’m fortunate to be able to alternate my writing and my visual art, and I need to be able to do both. When I finish a lengthy piece of writing, I generally move to a painting next. When that paint is drying, I go and write. It is a process that works for me.

 

What state is your writing in now and do you already have an agenda on publishing? 

I’m mid-way thru the first draft of my memoir –a cautionary tale about what happens when trauma is treated with psychiatric drugs rather than therapy and understanding. In the meantime, I’m still posting on my blog –  http://rasjacobson.store/blog.

 

Thank you so much for being my guest, Renee.

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Connect with Renee Schuls-Jacobson

 

I’m on Twitter at @rasjacobson

On Facebook Rasjacobson Originals or https://www.facebook.com/rasjacobsonart/

On Instagram @rasjacobson

My blog http://www.rasjacobson.store/blog/

My shop http://rasjacobson.store

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Renee’s art:

(I have to admit I picked one of my favorites to show here. A.J. Alexander)

http://www.rasjacobson.store/product-category/art-squares/