An Interview with Washington Author, Anne Leigh Parrish

Anne Leigh Parrish. A writer that we have been fortunate enough to continue publishing since the earlier days of the press. She has always supported our mission and generously allowed us to publish her work. She is a powerhouse in the fiction department with projects that range from short stories to novels (all of which have strong feminist themes). Parrish also is a poet. And a damn good one at that. And she is prolific, honors the craft, and understands the power of good editing (even when we all manage to miss a glaring error!).

Today we’d like to honor the relationship we have with Anne by presenting you with an interview as well as letting you know about the books we are publishing of hers in the near future.

Anne Leigh Parrish lives in a forest in the South Sound Region of Washington State. She is the author of twelve previously books which include short stories, novels, and poems. She has recently ventured into the art of photography. Find her online at anneleighparrish.com.

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Can you share with us a brief introduction about yourself and your journey as an author? What inspired you to start writing?

Well, to begin at the beginning, I’m Anne Leigh Parrish. I live in Olympia, Washington, though I used to live in Seattle. As to my journey as an author, it began almost forty years ago, in 1985, when I was twenty-seven and decided writing was the thing. This was after majoring in Economics in college, and then earning a master’s in business administration. I started with short fiction and stayed there a LONG time, since my first novel was published in 2014. I always wanted to write, or at least, I loved the idea of writing. As a young girl my efforts were at the piano. I was a diligent and moderately talented pupil, but writing was always there in the background.

Many writers have a particular writing routine or ritual. What does a typical day of writing look like for you? How do you stay disciplined and motivated during the writing process?

I get in my office pretty much the first thing after morning coffee. Checking email takes a little while, and any financial stuff I need to do, since I’m the money person in our household. I’ll write for a couple of hours, which also includes editing and proofreading. Over time, what counts as writing has expanded and diversified to include figuring out where to submit poems and short stories; also mentoring writers kind enough to ask for my help. But, when it comes to my own work, which is always most important, mornings through mid-afternoon are generally devoted to that. There are times when I don’t feel inspired by what I’m writing, or I feel it’s a chore. This is where writing in multiple genres is helpful. For instance, if a novel chapter isn’t going anywhere, I can always work on a poem or a short story. Discipline isn’t a problem after all these decades because writing (all things writing) is the way I live. But, as I say, motivation does sag from time to time, so I switch things up.