Interview with Donna Roe Daniell, Author of A Midlife Voyage to Transformation

 Interview with Donna Roe Daniell Author of A Midlife Voyage to Transformation

How long have you been writing?

I’ve only been writing seriously since I turned 60, but I have written poetry and attempted a children’s book earlier. 

What is your writing schedule? 

I put writing into my schedule as 2 3hour blocks at least 2 times a week. 

What genres do  you write and why?  

I would like to write a guidebook or self-help book for women in midlife or a companion to my memoir.  I would like to write fiction for children and adult fiction as well.  I need to get started on these projects. 

Is there a specific ritualistic thing you do during your writing time?

I make sure I meditate for at least 30 minutes and move my body, drink 1-2 cups of coffee and go outside to meet the day.  Then I’m ready.  I try to stop every hour and stretch, walk around and deep breathe.  Sometimes I do my yoga practice before I start up again.

Do you have another profession besides writing?

Yes, I have been a psychotherapist and coach for almost 30 years.  I have written blogs and really enjoyed writing, but this is my first project for publication. 

Do you wish you had written something earlier in your life?

Yes, but I never could find the time to focus enough to get it done.  I am a multi-passionate or a gifted person with tons of energy and interests, and it’s been hard to settle into writing because I had so many things I want to do outdoors and with others.  Writing is a solitary process, and I wasn’t ready for it until now.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

Well I’ve not thought about it until recently while watching Outlander on Netflix.  I would like to go to Italy during the Renaissance and meet Michaelangelo and assist him in painting his frescoes and helping him sculpt.  I would like to go to Chile and Peru and be with the indigenous women there and learn how to worship Pacamama; to grow seeds and wander the mountains. 

Do you feel travel inspires your writing in any way?

Totally!  Reading about a place inspires me to want to go there.  Once I have visited, I have such powerful visioning about stories I could write.  Touching the land and the people of places I visit through deep treks and ceremony, being on the land and away from tourist areas, is the most powerful way to feel myself more deeply and my life fully. 

What is the most courageous thing you have done?

Climbing Mt. Killimanjaro and going to Africa

What is the silliest thing you have done?

Ride a unicycle in parades all through high school – also really fun!