This is a guest post by Kate Walser. I’m thrilled to feature my fabulous friend and wise woman. Kate and I volunteered and lived together ages ago in Chicago with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. You can follow Kate on Twitter.

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Back when I met Laura, we were bright-eyed Jesuit Volunteers, eager to change the world. It seemed like a “simple” goal, after all, who wouldn’t want the world to be better?

Then we discovered how many obstacles get in the way. And after leaving such an intense experience like JVC, you’re changed in a way that’s hard to explain. I sort of set aside those memories and experiences a bit because if I didn’t, I was distracted by thoughts of all the things I should be doing to continue making a difference.

I’m active in my community, don’t get me wrong, but I’d “retired” from wanting to make a major difference.

That is until I read Three Cups of Tea.

After a failed attempt at climbing K2 in Pakistan in 1993, Greg [since reading this book, I feel like I personally know author Greg Mortenson, so will refer to him as Greg] stumbles into a village where the villagers who will nurse him back to health change his life ambitions and path.

When was the last time you could say that about a “nature hike?”

Rather than take the conventional path – return to the U.S., find a nice corporate job, marry, live in the ‘burbs – Greg returns to Korphe, Pakistan repeatedly over the course of 13 years to build a school there and in surrounding areas for people whose culture, religion, and language he knew little about. The governments in Pakistan and Afghanistan couldn’t be counted on to provide money for schooling, let alone educating girls.

In the re-telling of his travels and how much he has achieved for his new friends, Greg has taught me more about the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Islam, refugees, and even Arabic (which is saying a lot since I recently finished an Intro to Arabic class) than I could ever have learned – simply, because he tells stories and shares discussions with the people whose lives he changes.

And the humble way in which he participates in and recounts these simple discussions, including those surrounding major events like 9/11 and the US invasion of Iraq, will leave you speechless and, for lack of a better or more fitting word, “vaklempt.”

I follow the news like everyone else – Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc., all seem to have their problems. I didn’t put together the way the situations in these areas impact our sense of safety here, and more importantly, the way the world views Americans.

But until I read Greg Mortenson’s first-hand accounts and vignettes of the simple yet complicated-by-militia-with-big-guns lives of the people he’s helped in that area, I really wasn’t paying enough attention. Or realizing, as Greg has, how critical a chance at education is to changing the lives, fate, and state of peace in that region, and in the larger world community.

Greg’s journeys and stories, and especially the way in which David Oliver Relin pieces them together, will change you.

You’ll suddenly wonder how much you could do to either make a difference in the world yourself, or to make a difference vicariously through helping Greg and his organization, Central Asia Institute, who seem to understand how to work cooperatively in an area where we have made a mess.

The book has changed me – I tell anyone and everyone I run into about it, and most are intrigued at the idea of one man making such a major difference in an area that is not known for its love of America.

One man has established over 78 schools, providing education to over 28,000 children, including 18,000 girls. And by doing so, Greg’s restored my belief and that brightness in my eyes that one person really can make a difference with a little bit of determination, a sense of humility, and a sense of commitment to others.

You can buy the book using this link (Greg’s organization will receive up to 7% of the proceeds.)

You can read more about Greg in his bio.

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Thanks Kate!

We’d love to hear others’ perspectives on the book if you’ve already had a chance to dive into this motivational, inspirational work.

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As some of you know, I also blog about writing at Examiner.com. I get to cover a bit about the Chicago writing scene, but also include interviews with Chicago-based authors.

Last week, I posted two new interviews at Examiner.com – one with Thomas Pavel, an award-winning author and writing professor at the University of Chicago and Luis Alberto Urrea, a UIC professor and Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction.

The super exciting news is my recent interview with Audrey Niffenegger, author of bestselling novel The Time Traveler’s Wife. We discussed her career as a writer, as well as her advice to other writers looking to continue or launch their practice.

A Chicago resident, Niffenegger also is an artist whose work has been featured at The Art Institute of Chicago as well as Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

I thought I’d share it with you all as well.

For all you readers out there – from talking with you, I know many of you have read The Time Traveler’s Wife. I invite you to share your thoughts on the book – I’d love to hear your personal reviews and opinions. We can create our own collaborative book review.

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Laura Cococcia: You’ve had amazing success as an author, particularly with your best-selling book, The Time Traveler’s Wife. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Audrey Niffenegger: I have been writing since I was a child, and never quit. In high school, when everyone was madly trying to figure out what to do when we all grew up, I kept insisting that I was going to be an artist, I was going to write. And some adults, including my mom, encouraged that, even though it must have seemed delusional at the time.

Laura Cococcia: What would you say is the most challenging part of the writing process? The most rewarding?

Audrey Niffenegger: I have a difficult time beginning the actual writing. I love to invent stuff, to lay out the rules of the book, to imagine the characters for the first time, but I get the jim-jams when it’s time to put it down on the page. On the other hand, once I have something, I can keep it going for years and have to be told sternly to finish the book already, damn it.

Laura Cococcia: You’re also a visual artist whose work has been featured at The Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. You also have an upcoming exhibition in July at Printworks Gallery in Chicago. Where do you get the inspiration for most of your artwork?

Audrey Niffenegger: My imagination is rather literary even when I am making art. Most of what I do is narrative. I think each artist trains themselves to receive certain kinds of ideas; we tend to get what we ask for. I try to ask for things I don’t already know about, just to surprise myself.

Laura Cococcia: What would be your advice to aspiring writers looking to start out on their writing journey?

Audrey Niffenegger:

1) Do not quit.
2) Talent is fun, but hard work is what gets you there in the end.
3) Remember to play, too.
4) If you are bored with your own mind, go learn something.
5) Be respectful to readers and critics, even if you don’t agree with their take on your work.
6) Read the best writers; read widely in all genres; read critically.
7) Writing should be about something beyond your own self. In order to write well, become a curious person.

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Many thanks to Audrey for sharing her thoughts and tips with those of us on the writer’s journey.

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I have a Jane Green book shelf in my house. I’ve read all of her books, except for one, which reminds me that I need to buy it today.

I’m thrilled to feature my recent interview with bestselling author Jane Green.

Jane Green’s last novel, The Beach House, was an instant New York Times bestseller and captured her largest audience yet.

Her latest novel, Dune Road, will be released in June 2009.

Jane Green Warburg, who writes as Jane Green, was born in London and has lived in Connecticut for seven years. Green now writes novels that reflect the lives of real women today, telling her stories with stunning wit and exceptional wisdom.

She began her writing career in entertainment journalism and P.R. and soon become a feature writer at The Daily Express in London, where she became known for her “wry take” on dating and relationships.

Green then took the leap to follow her dream of becoming a writer. She left the The Daily Express to freelance, and started work on a novel. In August of 1996 there was a bidding war for her first novel, Straight Talking; Jemima J, her second novel, was an international bestseller. Green has written 11 novels.

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Laura Cococcia: Where do you get all of your ideas for your characters? Is it just from writing about what and who you know or are their other techniques that help drive your storytelling?

Jane Green: I’m usually inspired by something, or someone, but they very quickly become their own people. Nan in The Beach House was inspired by a woman I used to see cycling around the beach at midnight with a cigarette in hand, and I took that picture and created a character, who I imagine is quite different from the woman I used to see – I used her as a snapshot, which is how I so often start.

Laura Cococcia: You began your writing career in journalism, but followed your dream, wrote a novel and ended up publishing multiple bestsellers. Was that a difficult transition or did it come naturally since you had a writing background?

Jane Green: The part of journalism I always loved was the writing. The actual getting of the story never interested me as much as sitting down and playing with the words. I was also a huge reader, ever since I was tiny, and in many ways I think that was the greater training. Where the journalism has proved invaluable, however, is in discipline. I was trained to write 1,000 words at a moments notice, whether I was inspired or not, and that has served me better than anything.

Laura Cococcia: What are you reading right now? Any particular authors that are your favorites?

Jane Green: A lot of non-fiction books, but am excited about Pat Conroy’s new book, out later this summer, South of Broad.

Laura Cococcia: I know many of our readers are not in journalism or writing careers but want to follow their writing passion. What advice do you have for new writers who are unsure of how to get started?

Jane Green: Just do it. And then…finish it. So many people start out with great intentions, and whilst I believe anyone can start a book, few actually go on to finish one. Writing requires enormous discipline, but if you are passionate, you must follow it. I would also pass on great advice that was given to me years ago: start with the characters, for once you have your characters, they will tell their own stories.

Laura Cococcia: Your new book, Dune Road, is coming out in June. I grew up in Connecticut so I’m always excited to see your characterizations of it. Was there any particular inspiration for this novel that you can share with us as we gear up for its release?

Jane Green: I started out thinking I was going to try my hand at a mystery, but it turns out I wasn’t quite as comfortable with the genre as I had hoped. It is now a fairly classic Jane Green – single mothers, estranged relatives, difficult relationships with ex’s – with a little more of a twist…

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Many thanks to Jane Green for taking the time to share her thoughts with us. Her words of wisdom remind us that anything is possible.

For more on Jane Green, you can visit her website or see her list of books.

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