Today’s guest, Amy Sprenger, is the winner of the fiction competition with her book, Baby Bumps: The Almost, Barely, Not-Quite-True Story of
Pregnancy, Bed Rest and One Batshit Crazy Family.
Bio:
Amy Sprenger is the author of the award-winning blog, SnarkyMommy.com,
where she tells it like it is and isn't afraid to make fun of herself or her
questionable parenting prowess. She has three kids under eight years old and a
penchant for getting herself into ridiculous situations. A former news and
sports reporter, Amy lives with her husband and children in Chicago's Lincoln
Park neighborhood where she silently judges all the other parents.
Welcome, Amy, and congratulations! Please
tell us about your current release.
When I was
twenty weeks pregnant with my first child eight years ago, a doctor told me I
had an incompetent cervix, scheduled emergency surgery to stitch it shut the
next day, and strapped me to a bed for the next four months. While we were
worrying about getting through the next twenty weeks of the pregnancy in this state,
we were also gut-rehabbing our house (we had no walls, no stove, and no
fridge), my husband traveled for work and my mother had to move in with us.
Along the way we found laughter really is the best medicine, especially when it
comes to using bedpans. I guess I would call this your typical “humorous
high-risk pregnancy book” – that’s a genre, right?
What inspired you to write this book?
When I was
living this nightmare, it was a scary time in my life. Every book I read about
pregnancy complications scared the beejesus out of me. I wished I would have
had this book to read when I was stuck in bed for months on end so I would know
that not everything has to be doom and gloom all the time. Although, peeing
yourself when pregnant is a very real possibility with this book, so buyer
beware.
What exciting story are you working on
next?
I recently
published a short collection of humorous essays on potty training, called Over My Dead Potty, and I’m currently
finishing up a memoir tentatively titled, Yes
Mommy, about the month I spent saying nothing but yes to my children. It
was as crazy as it sounds. However, spoiler alert, I’m still alive so they
obviously didn’t kill me.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
I was
actually a journalism major in college and worked as a news and sports reporter
for most of my adult life before becoming a mom. Seeing my byline on the front
page of the paper or the main story of a website was always a thrill, but
seeing my name on the front of my first book was incredible.
Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?
If you ask
my husband, he would tell you I procrastinate full-time, but that’s because he
doesn’t understand the life of a stay-at-home mom/author. Yoga is as important
as writing, yo. I have roughly six child-free hours per day while my kids are
in school and I try to write for at least two of those hours. Although “try”
doesn’t always mean “do” as I have the attention span of a gnat and am easily
distracted – oooh look, a quarter! Shiny! Besides, there’s laundry to be done,
dinners to be cooked, groceries to be bought, lunches to be made, children to
be bathed, homework to be helped with, fights to be refereed, time-outs to be
given, dishwashers to be unloaded, skinned knees to be kissed, and bedtime
stories to be read. My writing still takes a backseat to my mom duties most
days, and that’s OK with me.
What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I laugh at
my own jokes. I’ve never been one of those tortured writers who sit and stare
at the screen, agonizing over every single word choice. I sit down, bang out whatever
comes to mind and then re-read it, convinced it’s the funniest thing ever.
Narcissistic much?
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
I just
wanted to be a grown-up, period, so I could make all my own rules and do
whatever I wanted. However, I don’t eat cake for dinner or stay up all night
watching TV, so my childhood self would probably be very disappointed in my
adult choices.
Anything additional you want to share
with the readers?
Here are
some ways to connect with me:
Thanks, Amy!
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