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Thursday, April 23, 2020

Twenty Questions for J Lenni Dorner ( #AtoZChallenge )


Time to meet our A to Z Team captain, J Lenni  Dorner!   Here's what I want to know and maybe you might be interested as well.   Hello, J!



#AtoZChallenge 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge letter T


Twenty Questions for J Lenni Dorner:


1)  Why did you start blogging in the first place?

The A to Z challenge! I found it while surfing around and knew I wanted to take place in the next one. It looked like a great way to connect with people online, and yup, it turned out that it totally is!

2)   How has blogging been helpful to you?

To give me a place to express myself. Also, as I learned more, it became a way to refine my "author brand." Blogging has also given me a reason to write more short stories.

3)   What brought you to the A to Z Challenge in the first place?

The sense of community online. 

4)   Why would you recommend A to Z to other bloggers?

To connect with other bloggers and to set a goal for yourself. Finishing something, even a month of posts, feels a lot better than quitting your own blog. The challenge gives you a reason to write, the optional theme aspect gives focus, and the timeline gives a deadline. Hopping around gets you a community, entertainment, and new knowledge. 

5)   Besides writing, what interests consume you the most?

There are several. Reading, obviously. Being out in the woods. I was really into Pinterest (until the number of ads quadrupled). I tried photographing inanimate objects for about a year. I like to try new activities and explore new interests.

If anyone wants to suggest a new possible hobby, activity, or interest in the comments, that'd be awesome!


6)   If you could choose one place in the world to visit at this time of your life, where would that be?

Armando al Pantheon- Screenshot from Google - March 2020
Armando al Pantheon- Screenshot from Google - March 2020
This is normally easy to answer. But... Armando al Pantheon in Rome is closed right now.

I've also always wanted to go to Mount Sinai, in Egypt. (Gebel Musa / Jabal Musa) See the sites, ride a camel, climb to the top, take the 3750 steps back down. It just seems like a really interesting experience.

But travel is restricted (as of the day I'm answering this), so right now I'd just like to go back into the woods. Actually, on any given day at any given time, I just want to go back into the woods. 


7)   How do you get to your happy place?  (What relaxes you or allows you to find the greatest calm or focus?)

The woods, going there is my happy place. Go beyond where the cars go by, past the well-worn trails, into the rare spaces where the trees outnumber the people. Where nature is still wild. A place where clocks and calendars don't matter much. 🌲🌳🐇🐦🐻🐢🐺🦃🌳🌲

8)   If you could spend a few hours in conversation with any person, famous or not, who would it be and why?

The Grandfathers, the Lenni-Lenape from thousands of years ago. Our legends have been passed down. But there was a whole time period (the mid-1700's until the late-1900's at least) when our language, culture, history, and stories were outlawed. Many of my people died to keep the legends I grew up on alive. As much as I appreciate that incredible gift, I'd love to be able to go back in time and learn them first hand. So much was erased. I'd love to recover those stories.

9)   What would you consider to be the consummate form of artistic expression?

Truth, and anything that brings an unexpected truth to the audience (even if the audience is only the artist). This is why we sometimes remember creative expressions differently. (Apologies to every teacher who has had to make students remember anything creative with perfect accuracy.) I've written flash fiction where the main character was male, named after an ancient male deity; ask a dozen people who read it, ten will tell you the character was a woman. We see what we need to see to find a truth in the art, one to which we can relate. Any artist who helps their audience find that has given the world the ultimate gift. 

10)   What innovations of writing might you expect to see in the future?

The return to carving in stone. 😆 I'm mostly kidding. But if you digest too many dystopian and apocalyptic stories, you might notice a trend where all the digital information is inaccessible. And then bad things happen to paper. Break out the chisel, kids! 😉


Here are a few lightning round questions:


11)   Sweet or salty?

🧂 The majority of my favorite foods are salty.

12)   East or west?

Toward the sunrise (east). 🌅

13)   Travel or home bound?

Travel 🚅🚕

14)   New York City or New Mexico?

The original lands of the Lenni-Lenape include NYC! 
🏙

15)   Books or movies?

Text in print 📚

16)   Fiction or non-fiction?

Tall-tales  of fiction. (Though I presently have published two works of fiction, the novel Fractions of Existence and the short story Lumber Of The Kuweakunks, and two works of non-fiction, Preparing to Write Settings That Feel Like Characters and Writing Book Reviews As An Author: Inspiration To Make It Easier.)

17)   Plays or poetry?

Taylor, Edward - poetry


Almost done!   Here are a few more to enlighten us with:


18)    What do you see in your blogging future?

The new blog needs several years of posts. I see me writing them, perhaps with a bit more focus on certain topics this time.

19)     What are you currently working on in your writing life?

Too many projects. I know I need to pick one and focus. 💎 Oh look, something shiny! 🤣

20)    What do you see as your biggest project/achievement still waiting ahead of you?

To finish writing, and to publish, the rest of the Existence series. 





You can see the list of all Blogs on our Master List!








20 comments:

  1. I remember playing 20 questions to make my students practice among themselves. Unfortunately, there is no way to connect this interview to my post, so I'll have to be blunt.

    What can we find in #Tarkir that we can use in our #DnD campaign? A monastic tradition that reveres dragons.

    http://codexanathema.com/2020/04/23/t-is-for-tarkir/

    ReplyDelete
  2. great interview!
    https://ladyleemanilablog.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/t-is-for-tanka/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great interview, and all the answers starting with a T, beautiful!
    T is for Taupe

    ReplyDelete
  4. A fascinating interview. J Lenni Dorner is a name I have known for years through the A to Z Challenge, but now I know more about the person. :-)
    I like woods and trees and the flowers, which manage to grow there. This year I am particularly noticing how leaves unfurl as the buds open and making a photographic record. (Lockdown project for me and possible new hobby for J!)
    https://suestrifles.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/t-is-for-temple-and-trial/

    ReplyDelete
  5. A great insight into one of the awesome team behind the A-Z Challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stating the obvious is clichéd. The mystery is in hiding the truth in plain sight! https://hopelesslyyhopefull.blogspot.com/2020/04/truth-hidden-in-plain-sight.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. great interview, nice tips shared for bloggers.

    -Ujjwal Mishra
    http://mywordsmywisdom.com/trip-to-you-favorite-place-dream-about-zoo-museum-and-even-to-adventure-park-have-you-been-there-atozchallenge/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fun read, great questions, great answers. New hobby? Grow kitchen veg scraps on your windowsill:
    https://www.eater.com/2020/4/16/21224012/quarantine-trend-growing-scallions-vegetables-jars-water-kitchen-scraps

    This quote: " We see what we need to see to find a truth in the art, one to which we can relate. Any artist who helps their audience find that has given the world the ultimate gift." THANK YOU!

    Come find your A-Z truth:
    Back ends of trucks (4th year)

    https://annembray.wordpress.com/
    “Stitching the World” A-Z (embroidery project)

    https://repeatsamb.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. It was neat learning more about JLenni! Blogging started off as a means to self-promote my first and only children's book but soon developed into a place for me to simply share with others. The A2Z challenge is certainly an excellent way to meet other bloggers. The thing is trying to keep up with them after the blog fest. It seems I find that we reconnect annually and sporadically throughout the rest of the year. This is okay. At least we travel the same circle eventually making our way back to each other for a brief time. :) Have a good day!

    Cathy's Pinup Girl Art Sketch Series 'T'

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  10. Great interview with J. Lenni. He is a very interesting person. Thanks for sharing. My "T" is for Toto.

    Janet’s Smiles

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  11. Wishing you the best in your future projects!!!
    Thanks for doing this challenge each year its appreciated.
    Time

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  12. Fun interview.
    Today I wrote about two books I read recently - The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Read T : The Infinite Game and Siddhartha - Book Reviews by clicking here

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  13. This was fun. I loved learning more from these twenty questions.

    I went with T is for Theme

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  14. My peeps were outlawed in but in Missouri--for a time. Great grandma would admit we were native, but then changed the subject to her grandfather who was an underground Mason in the Old Country. She just couldn't be proud of all of her heritage. Sad
    My link:
    https://katytrailcreations.com/2020/04/23/tips-and-tricks-letter-t/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful Interview
    T for Take with a Grain of Salt

    https://imagery77.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-garbage-one-meets.html

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mm, seems we both love the woods and have new-shiny-object-syndrome :-) Great interview.

    An A-Z of Faerie: Thin Places

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing yet another great interview with J Lenni
    I loved the T answers.

    My T post

    https://praguntatwa.com/t-that-came-in-our-life-last-decade/

    ReplyDelete
  18. Like you I gave up on Pinterest, and I haven't really replaced it with any other "hobby." Sorry. I'd share if I could.

    Another of your Q and A's is spot on. Without Truth at its core, art is hallow.

    Great interview, and you're almost at the finish line!

    ReplyDelete

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