Peggy Tibbetts is an author and freelance editor. She was managing editor and columnist at Writing-World.com. She has also worked as an associate producer of educational videos for Upper Midwest Films, contributing editor for Children's Magic Window magazine, and Children's Writing Resource Editor at Inkspot.com.
The manuscript Letters to Juniper by Peggy Tibbetts won the YAFiction.com Middle Grade Novel Contest.
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Peggy answers writers's questions, interviews authors,
and reviews books at
Read her series, Crazy Bitch about how she rehabilitated her Akbash/Lab mix, Venus who has Canine Compulsive Disorder (CCD) with aggression.
Since I’ve been interviewed several times for print and online publications, I’ve compiled some of the most common questions into an interview with myself.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
No way. I wanted to be a veterinarian, a teacher, a painter – anything BUT a writer. The problem is, I AM a writer. I have always BEEN a writer. And I will ALWAYS be a writer. I can’t help myself. It's a blessing and a curse. I need it like breathing, and it haunts me like an addiction.
When did you start writing?
From the moment I picked up a pencil I copied words from books, even before I went to school – which obviously led to a rather quiet childhood sitting around copying books. Perhaps I was a scribe in a past life who died tragically at his desk after his scroll burst into flames when he knocked over the candle reaching for his mug of ale. Because I also have a preternatural predilection toward pyrophobia. Anyway maybe I was just picking up where I left off in the story.
Seriously, my first grade teacher Miss Knight wrote the Today Story on the chalkboard. Every day was a huge competition to see who could make up the biggest whopper and get it into the day’s news. After we lied our little hearts out, we copied it onto the blue lines on newsprint paper with big fat yellow pencils, which was right up my alley. I loved it!
Who has had the biggest influence on your writing?
As a very young writer, I attended an intensive workshop with Madeleine L'Engle at Wheaton College, Illinois. She crammed a lifetime of writing and publishing knowledge and experience into 2 weeks. I arrived at the workshop all green and doughy, thinking I was a writer. Then Madeleine taught me that talent is one thing, but it takes a lifetime to build a writing career. She changed my life.
Do you write from an outline, or do write “off the top of your head”?
Oh, if only there was such a place as “off the top of my head” where I could go and get all these stories and write them down effortlessly. It would certainly make my life a lot easier. Unfortunately I’m stuck with the boring old outline, which is a lot like a road map to the top of my head.
What are the best and worst parts of a writer’s life?
The late night parties, the booze, the drugs, the shallow hangers on, the nagging self doubt – actually none of that. I guess the worst part is living like a troll. My husband says I don’t get out much. And the best part is – well – living like a troll. I kind of like it.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Lighten up! Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Do you have any promotional tips for writers?
Yes! I compiled all my promotional tips into a free ebook, How to Spread the Word-of-Mouse. Click on the link to download it now.
Where do call home and how has that setting influenced your writing?
I live in Silt, Colorado, nestled along the banks of the Colorado River and gateway to the Flattops Wilderness. I love everything about living in the Rockies – the gorgeous scenery and breathtaking sunsets. My sacred place is a little island in the Colorado River we locals named Dogland because we take our dogs there and let them run around crazy. On long walks with Zeus (Alaskan Malamute) and Venus (Akbash/Lab mix), I plot and plan my books.
You can find out more about my little mountain town in my blog: From the Styx
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I run around crazy. I love skiing – both downhill and cross-country. When I’m not skiing, I ride bike, hike and swim. In the summer I take off for the mountains, or Lake Powell, with my husband and dogs and go camping.
What’s on your desk?
My desk is a mess! One night I curled up on the couch in my living room to write the rough draft of a chapter. An hour and a half later, when I returned to my desk, a herd of teensy brown spiders had spun a web over the lamp. Woven into the web was the word: MESSY. Creepy little Charlotte wannabes.
Mainly my desk is papered with Post-it notes – and Post-it flags. They are both decorative and functional. Oh sure, I could keep much better track of my schedule if I wrote it down in a date book. But where's the fun in that? This way when one task is complete, I get to pull down the pretty pink note and replace it with a beautiful blue note. Or when I remove one appointment card taped with a purple flag, I can stick up the next card with a lime green flag.
Did I mention I lead a cloistered life copying words into books?
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Advice from a Caterpillar archives at
