An Interview with Peggy Gerber
Peggy Gerber hails from Teaneck, NJ, and enjoys traveling, reading, and anything magical. Most mornings you’ll find her indulging her love of weird things by writing stories of time travel, friendly aliens, and other phantasmagoria. She is the author of the two poetry chapbooks, Stumbling in CrazyTown and The Big Indignity, and is proud to introduce her new collection of speculative fiction entitled Once Upon a Time Machine.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
One minute I was a young mother with three kids, and the next thing I knew I was an empty nester. As I tried to navigate what to do with my extra time, I decided to take a writing class at the local community center. As I began doing my homework assignments, writing poetry and memoirs and fiction, I discovered that I loved to write, and a new career was born.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I am actually a registered dietitian, and much of my early writing was non-fiction articles about nutrition.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
It was actually quite easy to come up with the title Once Upon a Time Machine. Many of my stories deal with time travel, but they are also stories I dreamt up, like a fairy tale.
How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?
I used an amazing designer to create my book cover and I couldn’t be happier. I told her exactly what I wanted, and she gave it to me in a spectacular fashion. I couldn’t be happier and I still smile every time I look at it.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
My perfect reader is the kind of person that likes to think. Each one of the stories in my collection of speculative fiction gives us a scenario in which a character has to make an important decision. How would my readers deal with it? Well, it is up to them.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
Every one of my stories comes from my heart and soul, and seeing them come together in a book was a dream of mine.
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