Niki Anderson ~ Author & Speaker

Diann Mills, bestselling fiction author,

interviews Niki Anderson

(Thought my friends and readers might enjoy getting to know me a bit better. Niki)

1. Niki, how long have you been involved in your particular career? Most of my life I've been teaching, speaking, and writing. I preached my first sermon at 18, but didn't explore writing to publish until my early forties. My first sale followed soon after and my first book released when I was 53. My writing career alone has spanned 22 years.

2. What prompted your decision to become a writer? I didn't set out to be an author. My training began as a speaker; I was always composing. Occasionally, I entertained thoughts of getting into print, and my love for grammar and vocabulary fit the writing career. But I had no clue how to begin until Christine Tangvald, a fledgling author herself, told me, "You need to get this in print." She took me to a writers conference and critiqued my earliest drafts with instruction, encouragement and optimism. Whiskers, Wit, and Wisdom: True Cats Tales and the Lessons They Teach is dedicated to her as my career-long mentor, and to my grandchildren.

3. How has your line of work changed during the past ten years? After writing three books in three years, I was burned out, so I took a break from the intensity of deadlines. The intermission may have been too long, but I assigned other ministries higher priority, like raising my children. I regret that the pause from serious writing stretched so long, but I don't regret how I invested myself. In 2007 I resumed a regular routine of writing and sold Whiskers, Wit and Wisdom, which released on July 7th.

4. What aspects of your work do you enjoy the most? I love the people I interview to obtain the stories I re-tell. I also relish the deep satisfaction of completing an article or chapter, and knowing it's my best. I'm a stickler for syntax--word organization that is rhythmic and lyrical.

5. What are the most challenging problems for writers? Keeping balance between involvement in the world and seclusion at a computer. Because balance has long been my watchword (and my passionate speaking topic), I'm sensitive about how I distribute time. Unless I'm involved with people, exposed to new things, in touch with friends, exercising regularly and nurturing my life with God and family, I'm not healthy, effective, or happy.

6. What motivates you? I want to please God above all else. Because I came to Jesus as a seven-year-old, I'm accountable for a lifetime of knowing Him. For years, I've prayed, "Lord, maximize me." I don't want to enter heaven with a minimum of output for God's lifetime of input.

I'd been selling devotions, articles, personality profiles, and more for 12 years. In 1995, Cristine Bolley, acquisitions editor for Honor Books, and I were both teaching at a writers conference. She asked me the question that launched my first book and became my biggest break. "Niki, do you like cats?" My lively answer was something like, "Do squirrels like acorns?" Cristine was looking for an author to write a collection of true, devotional cat stories. No inspirational pet books had yet hit the market. As a lifelong cat lover who had never used even an anecdote about a cat in any piece I'd written, I knew this project was for me. I went home, turned out a proposal in three weeks and landed the contract for What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life. As the first of its kind, it sold 297,000 copies during its 11-year shelf life.

8. For what achievement would you like to be remembered? When I think of being memorialized, I don't think of achievements. I want to be remembered as a genuine lover of God and people. That image may include achievements like writing books, but might not be any more important than having read Bible stories to my children, having interceded for friends at critical times, or having slipped money into the pocket of someone without a job.

9. Are there things you haven't accomplished yet that you still would like to accomplish? I have a book brewing on the topic of balance. A weak witness to the world is commonly the result of over-emphasis and under-emphasis in the lives of believers. I'm passionate about the subject of balancing scripture with scripture, and balancing one's lifestyle to avoid both neglect or over-indulgence. It's something I'm continuously addressing in my own life. God knew I'd need this information more than anyone! I teach a 10-12 lesson series on the subject. Part of this is to become an advocate for Bible literacy for both Christians who read too little of scripture and for the secular world that is a stranger to God's Word.

10. If you were not involved in your present work, what would you most likely be doing? I'd be connecting more with neighbors, friends, family, and even strangers. I love to host High Tea, to nurture women one-on-one, and spend time with my children and granddaughter. I'd also read more, volunteer in a variety of arenas, and plan more fun activities with my semi-retired husband.

11. How keen is competition in your field? I almost gave up writing many years ago after making an observation in a bookstore. Viewing the thousands of colorful book spines and titles on the shelves, I thought, There's nothing I could write that someone else could write, now or later. Shortly after, I came across John 20:21. John wrote, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." So I kept writing because Jesus keeps doing marvelous things and authors should continue recording them.

12. What is the secret to having satisfied readers in your business? Presenting a truth in story, with action, emotion, and color. Equally important is speaking to the needs of readers so they identify with the illustrations and facts in nonfiction, and with the characters and storylines in fiction. The specialty of Christian writers is offering solutions by pointing to God and His principles.

13. What trends are currently developing in your profession? Since my last book, publishers expect authors to share in some of the expense and lots of the responsibility for book promotion. This came as a shock to me. I've felt like a newbie in this arena of mega-marketing as I've approached the release of my new book, Whiskers, Wit, and Wisdom: True Cat Tales and the Lessons They Teach. I've learned the most from posts from the authors in my literary agency and have applied a ton of new ideas in the past year.

14. What is an average workday like for you? If I'm under a book deadline, I'm on the computer most of the day, except for breaks to stretch, eat, or fold laundry. I try to be at my desk by 9:00 a.m. By then, I've dressed and eaten, sipped tea or coffee, put on my face, enjoyed a personal time with God, and shared a devotional time with my husband. It's different now than when my children were young and at home. Bob's presence on days he doesn't work is also an emotional bonus. His willingness to help with meals and other tasks is an immeasurable help.

15. In what kinds of projects are you currently involved? Right now I'm focused solely on the release of my new book: setting up book signings and planning my traditional Autograph Dessert (cat-related door prize and gifts, decorated theme tables, special music, book signing and sales, a 20-minute talk, and a selection of dessert). Over the years, book's debut where I sell a lot of books, and meet my readers. I'm also teaching at the American Christian Writers conference in Spokane, WA this September, and may be attending the Cat Writers Association conference in NY in November.

16. How do you get your characters? I'm a nonfiction writer so the characters I get are people whose stories I tell or the professionals whom I interview for information. For the approximately 150 cat stories and 60-some garden stories I wrote, I found people by following leads from friends or family, in newspapers and magazine articles and in books, through online searches or mixing with local residents, and simply by hearing cat stories or meeting cat people through word-of-mouth references.

17. Do people in your line of work have much time for families? No less time than anyone who fails to strive for balance among work and relationships, play, rest, and personal care.

18. Do you travel much? I did one book tour that I setup myself. I flew from Washington state to a major bookstore chain in Michigan for a book signing, and an annual celebration for the inventor of cat litter! I went to Atlanta, Georgia for the International Cat Fanciers Show last November and signed books. I may do the same at the TICA show in White Plains, New York in November. I'm also hoping to setup a series of signings across my state, east to Seattle, and south to Vancouver.

19. Does your work put pressure on you? Yes. A perfectionist by temperament, I have trouble deciding if a manuscript is ready to send; That's pressure. I want to write for everything and everybody. I'm a detailer so I'm bothered by little things that others gracefully ignore--extra unnecessary pressure. I think too far ahead and must constantly remind myself that if I'm guided by God, what I can realistically accomplish is enough; that assurance is my pressure diffuser! A favorite verse is Jesus' description of Mary who anointed his feet with perfume. Jesus said she would be forever memorialized for doing "what she could?"--no more, no less, just doing "what she could." Check out Mark 14:6 in KJV.

20. How did you prepare yourself for your career? I suddenly found myself on the cusp of a career so I prepared myself further by attending as many writers conferences as I could afford, by faithfully preparing drafts to read at critique group, by studying how-to-write books, and striving to incorporate what I learned. I also kept an ever-expanding vocabulary list on my refrigerator, and set writing goals even when I was working full-time outside the home during a 4-year stint.

21. What type of reading do you like? In general, I read more non-fiction than fiction, like how-to books, historical pieces, and theology books. Bible commentaries are like candy! I enjoy some classic fiction (Just read Call of the Wild), and historical fiction, especially pioneer accounts (eagerly awaiting Laura Franz's The Frontiersman's Daughter). I like most everything but sci-fi and fantasy. There are exceptions, of course, for most any category I like or dislike. I have a page on my website listing what I've recently read. The titles range from the brilliant poetry of James Vasquez in Women of the Bible to Hot Flashes from Heaven, a great new book on mid-life and menopause.

22. In regard to your profession as a whole, of what are you most critical? I'm a grammar-addict. I'd rather see a printing typo in a book than an author's misplaced modifier, a sentence that ends with a preposition, or a redundance (as in, "he reflected back"!) I'm surprised when I catch a poorly constructed sentence in a NY Times bestseller and realize it survived an editor's eye. But then, I also wonder, how many of my sentences survive my critical edits and how many finer writers than I wince over my constructions!

23. What do you do when you need to get away from it all? I cherish my home. Although it's a bonus to leave town for a weekend with my husband, I can escape my home office even while remaining in my house. I work in my garden (my second book was What I Learned from God While Gardening, Barbour Publishing), or hop on my bicycle, or climb in bed with a book and a cup of organic, loose-leaf tea. I'm capable of ignoring the windowed door to my home office that reveals all the work waiting on my big oak desk.

24. Are there any professional associations that you belong to? I'm a long-time member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and will attend their conference for the first this year. Last year I joined the Cat Writers Association, a growing constituency of freelancers, veterinarians, pet behaviorists, and pet industry professionals. I attended their conference in Atlanta in 2008. I'm also a retired member of the National League of Pen Women.

25. What are your short and long range career goals? With my husband in semi-retirement, I'm hoping to redesign the shape and scope of my career. I'm excited about how God will sort it out during this new season of life. For now, my goal is the promotion of my new book.

26. What sort of educational background do you have? I attended a liberal arts college for two years and then moved to a small Bible school in Texas. Afterwards, I enrolled at Elim Bible Institute and Missionary Assemblies in Lima, New York for one year where I trained and later departed for missionary service in Kenya for 14 months.

27. How do you spend your weekends and off-duty hours? On Saturdays I do what fills me up. No strict lists of to-dos, except for a note of fun things I want to do or people or family I want to call or visit. Composing drains my mind and emotions, and sitting at my computer is increasingly hard on my body. So I like physical activity on weekends. For relaxation, I also bake. Once when I was in a spell of depression, I discovered baking for therapy. I don't plan anything for Sundays; it's my Sabbath habit. After worship service, we come home and just let the day happen. If we go or do, it's because it's a restful choice.

Website Content & News for September/October

Teaching at the American Christian Writers conference in Spokane

September 25-26; register to attend at 1-800-21-WRITE

Autograph Party page: October 10th, "Cats Everything" dessert, signing, door prize, gifts, music (reservations by 10/6); 10th person to purchase tickets wins a copy of Whiskers, Wit, and Wisdom

About Cats page: Cats Stats Both Good & Bad