Author Interview with Jamie Baywood author of Getting Rooted in New Zealand

We're going to switch up the reading styles a bit today and showcase Author Jamie Baywood and her non-fiction book Getting Rooted in New Zealand. Her book has come highly recommended by many on other review sites and I've recently had the pleasure of interviewing the new author. Her book Getting Rooted in New Zealand is a personal account of her trials and tribulations, and alas triumph. Find out more about Jamie and what inspired her to write in the following piece:

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 (Blurb): Craving change and lacking logic, at 26, Jamie, a cute and quirky Californian, impulsively moves to New Zealand to avoid dating after reading that the country’s population has 100,000 fewer men. In her journal, she captures a hysterically honest look at herself, her past and her new wonderfully weird world filled with curious characters and slapstick situations in unbelievably bizarre jobs. It takes a zany jaunt to the end of the Earth and a serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler before Jamie learns what it really means to get rooted.


Book Information:

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Date available: April 21, 2013
Version: eBook or paperback
Length: 224 pages
Genre: Non-fiction, self-account





Interview with Jamie Baywood:


I do not want to give away anything from the book, but I’m curious as to what inspired you to jump ship and move from the US to New Zealand? Were there some personal issues or was it really just “the time” to do something different?

I’m from California. In my mid-twenties, I had bad dating experiences in California and a dream to live abroad. I read in a tour book that New Zealand’s population had 100,000 fewer men than women. In an attempt to have some me time and an adventure I moved to New Zealand.

Have you always been a writer? What inspired you to write your first book, Getting Rooted in New Zealand?

I consider myself an accidental author. I didn’t go to New Zealand with the intentions of writing a book about my life there.  I had funny experiences that I had trouble believing were true. I wrote the stories down to stay sane. I wrote situations down that were happening around me and shared them with friends.

My education is in fine arts. I had a lot of art shows in California and New Zealand and even managed an art collective in Auckland.  I was bored with the fine art scene. Everything has already been done before in painting, but I am the only person that can tell my own story. Writing feels like a more honest form of art than any other method I’ve tried. While I was in New Zealand I meet a director named Thomas Sainsbury, he asked me what I was doing in New Zealand. My everyday stories made him laugh and he asked me to write a monologue for him. I had never done anything like that before. I was shocked by the adrenaline rush that came with storytelling and making people laugh.

The stories made people laugh so I decided to organize the stories into a book and publish in the hopes to make others laugh too.

Is your book Getting Rooted in New Zealand a literal take on your experiences? Or is it a character based on your experiences?

All the stories I wrote in Getting Rooted in New Zealand are true. I had good, bad and weird experiences in both California and New Zealand and was honest about them. I am a flawed human being and not attempting to hide it.  Although I hope that I have learned from my mistakes, I wouldn’t change anything. My experiences have turned me into a writer and I am extremely grateful for that. 

Do you have a specific writing style? Getting Rooted in New Zealand seems to have a bit of a humorous factor to it. Do you tend to write in a style that represents your personality?

I’ve always annoyed my mother being a bit of a smart ass and sarcastic. Reading my book would be similar to receiving emails from a friend living abroad. I didn’t decide on a specific writing style. It’s just how I honestly observed things and described them.

What was the most challenging part about writing Getting Rooted in New Zealand?

I love making people laugh more than anything else. I love hearing from readers that my book is making people laugh out loud. The hardest part has been when people don’t understand my humor. I have been in a lot of situations where I had two choices: laugh or cry. I’ve chosen to laugh. I write my experiences from a purely personal standpoint. Compared to other travelers who worked abroad in New Zealand my experiences have been very unusual. I would highly recommend everyone goes to New Zealand to experience their own adventure.

Writing a book like this often results in a little self discovery. What was one thing you learned about yourself in the process of completing your first book?

I’ve just completed an MA in Design. Designing, publishing and marketing my book was my dissertation project. Because my book was my dissertation project I had to do everything within a couple of months. Self-publishing is one person taking on all of the responsibilities typically held by teams of people in traditional publishing companies. It has been a steep learning curve. The biggest thing I learned about myself in the process was that I was capable of all of the above.

I love the cover of Getting Rooted in New Zealand. It has a very simple and chic look. Who was the cover designer?

Thank you very much! I designed my book cover myself. The girl with the suitcase is a drawing of me. The striped dress and red hat was my first outfit I bought when I moved to New Zealand. The birds are New Zealand native birds like the kiwi and fan tail. The city is Auckland and the tower is New Zealand’s Skytower. The sky in the back ground and the water are pieces of a watercolor painting I did of the New Zealand coastline.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Publishing my book was my way of transforming poison into medicine. I hope that it can help people that have had bad dating experiences or bad work experiences – make them laugh and not give up hope. Sometimes the grass is actually greener on the other side. If things aren’t working out for you at home with relationships, instead of staying at home crying that you’re single, consider yourself free. You are free to do whatever you want.

Your brief author profile states that you’re currently in the UK. Have you re-rooted or just globe trotting?

I never moved back to California. For the past three years, I’ve been disassembling and reassembling my life by moving to different countries. I’ve lived in five countries now; America, American Samoa, New Zealand, Scotland and now England.

What are your current projects? Rumor is that you are working on book number two.

I plan to publish another book next year about attempting to settle in Scotland.

Will the next book be similar to Getting Rooted in New Zealand or are you going for something different?

I only know how to write my truth.

What books have most influence your life most? Are there any authors that you gather inspiration from?
Traveling alone and being celibate for a year was how Elizabeth Gilbert found her husband in Eat, Pray, Love. I probably took it too literally like an instructions manual, but it worked for me.  I also enjoyed reading Area Code 212 by Tama Janowitz, The Buddha, Geoff and Me by Edward Canfor-Dumas, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins.

Writers block is inevitable. How do you push yourself past that? Do you have a special routine?

Most of the book was written as the events happened; it just took me a few years to work up the nerve to publish. To write my book Getting Rooted In New Zealand, I relied upon my personal journals, e-mails, and memories. In February 2013, I organized my stories into a cohesive narrative. It went through several rounds of editing and then I published in April.

I constantly make myself notes. This summer in Wales, I was scribbling stories on the backs of maps and Google directions as a passenger in the car. I also send myself text messages or emails riding in trains or buses. It might not look like I’m writing a book if one was to observe me, but I am constantly watching, listening and thinking about writing. 

What types of books do you enjoy reading? Is there a particular book or author on your radar that you’d like to give a shout out to?

Please read my lovely friend and character in Getting Rooted in New Zealand Cyan Corwine's book May I ask you Something? Cyan is a beautiful writer, illustrator and sincerely one of the nicest people in the world.
Are you taking part in any promotional events or signings of your book?

I am currently booking meet the author events at libraries and book clubs throughout England and Wales between October 2013 and June 2014. If you are living in the UK and would like me to come to your library or book club email me at jamiebaywood@gmail.com. All of my events are listed on my Facebook.

Getting Rooted in New Zealand is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon.


 

Jamie can be followed on the following sites:

Facebook.com/jamiebaywood
Twitter.com/jamiebaywood
Pinterest.com/jamiebaywood
GoodReads

Interviewed by: Jessi