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MEET LARAINE ELIZABETH TURNER
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Laraine Elizabeth Turner

I was raised in a family of twelve children in a strict, Catholic home.  Our house was purchased (literally) as an ex-convent and my two aunts were nuns.  But answering that question—I tried to copy the lives of the saints (seriously)—and I (honestly) have to say—not to put down the Catholic church—sometimes it did
a lot more harm than good.  I liked to do drama as a child—acted in some school
plays and began writing plays also (and songs).  I was very insecure and shy.  My parents enrolled me at the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre when I was ten—and being from such a large family, I thought that was pretty admirable.

What books influenced you the most when you were growing up?

The books that influenced me a great deal were often books written by my favorite author, Charles Dickens.  I wish I could say it was the Bible (my favorite book   today).  As I said in answer to the first question, I read some books about the lives of saints—Saint Teresa and Saint Rose of Lima, for example which influenced me a lot in my thinking.  I also enjoyed humorous books which I often borrowed from my older brothers’ (nearby) bedroom—satirical and just outright funny books that poked fun at things.  I was a “Mad Magazine” fan and enjoyed writing songs to popular hits, as they did in the magazine.  One day it backfired, however, when one of my teachers (won’t say her name)—also a nun—found some “songs” I wrote about her, that somebody meanfully put on her desk.  The songs really weren’t mean though (about her).  I actually felt really bad about it, because she
was a nice teacher and didn’t really punish me in a vengeful way.

Did you write stories when you were growing up?  At school?  Or at home as a hobby?  As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

 Yes, as I said, I started writing “The Witch on the Bayou” when I was about 12   (and also three songs that were directly related to it—including “Song of the   Bayou”).  I was caring for my baby (twin) brothers, while both my parents worked fulltime—often a lonely time for me then.  Tragically for me, my manuscript  (for WITCH OF THE BAYOU}—although unfinished) was thrown into the trash—which discouraged me quite a bit.  When I was 13, I began fantasizing about my story, SPANKY, but I was embarrassed to write it, because my father
saw me reading  THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and gave me the book THE SCARLET LETTER to read instead—and do a book report on it.  I know he meant well.  He was a wonderful father.  When I turned 19, I became a Christian,   then a Seventh day Adventist—whose prophet admonishes against fiction writing.  So guess what—then I quit doing any kind of fiction writing for a long time after that.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that  were going to be a writer when you grew up?

No, not really.  I’ve had a kind of strange and complicated life.  I wanted to be a   teacher, then other times I wanted to be a performer  This included being an author.  But I remember wanting to serve society in some way also—in the Peace Corp. or something like that.

What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer – adult or
children?

I usually thought of myself as a children’s writer—but also open to adults.  I’ve always hoped my writing would overlap into the adult market as well.

When was your book published?

It happened only a few months after I wrote it in 2000.  I had attempted to write  it again when I was about 30 or so, after graduating from college with a B.A. in journalism.  However, I was determined to finally write the entire book after I had been bed-ridden for about a month after a fall that caused me to have a pinched nerve in my leg, which scared the wits out of me.  My husband encouraged me through it all.  It was finally published in 2001 (December).

Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?

I love to research—but sometimes, I’ve found that my intuition is a much better guide.  For example, I mentioned that I began penning WITCH ON THE BAYOU when I was about 12.  Well, that was when I was living (and growing up) in Indiana.  I had never set foot or been near Louisiana, (where my book THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WITCH ON THE BAYOU is set).  It even amazed me when I went on my Bayou Book Tour in 2002—setting foot for the first
time in Louisiana.  I was so terribly nervous, doing TV interviews and book signings there.  Would they criticize me about what I wrote—that it was inaccurate, etc.?  No, they loved it—and I was amazed that what I had written
(with the Lord’s leading) was so accurate, when I actually set foot there.

Which of your books did you most enjoy writing? 

As I said, I was actually nervous about writing THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WITCH ON THE BAYOU, because I wanted to be accurate, etc.  But it was so incredibly fun writing it, because when I write, it’s like I’m in another world.And my husband really enjoyed the creative process with me, because he’s older than I am and from the South.  I was surprised how fun it was to write WESTERN SUNRISE (not published yet), which is a western, but has a lot of humor in it.  I love to be able to inject humor along with drama.