Andrea White is the author of
four novels for teenagers – her first book, Surviving Antarctica, was awarded the Golden Spur Award in 2006
by the Texas State Reading Association – and one picture book for young
children. She was the First Lady of Houston 2004-2009 when her husband, Bill
White was Mayor. She has three children – Will, Elena and Stephen.
What’s your story, Andrea?
I grew up in Houston, though I only moved here from Louisiana when I
was eight. After college, I went to law school and was a partner at a law firm
here in Houston at a time when not many women were partners. But I always wanted to be a writer and I’m so
grateful to have been able to walk down that path.
I’m a mother to three kids and that’s probably the most important part
of my life. I’ve also been involved in education reform, and of course when
Bill was Mayor, that introduced a new interesting side to my life, supporting
him in politics and getting to know this city. I think in some way, I grew most
during that time.
Had my kids been older – I
still had a kid in middle school and two in high school – I might have been
involved in Bill’s political life in a different way. At that point, I decided that I was going to
make a contribution but I chose more of an observer role than, say, Elyse
Lanier had done. She had an office next to her husband, Bob, and she really was
involved in the work of the city. Staying close to home was a good decision at the
time for my family.
I started to write when I
was forty and it took me ten years to get anything published. I was writing
short stories and getting them published in literary journals that nobody ever
read, or at least no one I’ve ever talked to has read them. But it gave me a
little confidence. Although I was writing adult novels, when I tried writing
for children, I found that maybe I was a bit better at that. I think I have a
better than average imagination, though I’m an average prose stylist. It’s so
hard in this day and market to really stand out, so I decided to start focusing
on children books. I went to Barnes and Noble and got a book of agents and just
started sending out at random down the list, and that’s how I got my first book
published in 2006, Surviving Antarctica.
I thought my problems were over, but when Harper Collins turned me down
on my second book (Window Boy) I went
to a Texas publisher. Getting something published isn’t the end of the hard
work, it’s just the beginning! I’m now doing a low-residency course at Vermont
College to get a post-doctorate degree in creative writing. I’ve never studied
creative writing but they accepted my law degree as my masters and the fact
that I had published some books. Recently, I gave my faculty advisor a 300-page
book and got a 40-page email back with nothing good to be said about it, so you
have to love it to do it! As a friend of mine told me, “If you can quit, do!” But
you know, people like me can’t quit, I’m addicted.
What advice would you give to a
new writer?
You know, I think it’s true that you can’t write just for the money. That
might come, but you just have to write because you love it, because you enjoy
the process and trust that something is going to work out. It is a long daunting road, and just when you think that you are at the
top – you know, you think your draft is finally there – somebody says, “Yeah,
but what about that mountain?” Then you get to that other peak and you think,
“I’ve finally done it, this is a great draft,” and somebody says “But what
about that?” and you realize it’s a
huge mountain range! You are so sick of
the books by the time you have finished that you never read them again!
Having said that, there are moments when you get into the groove of it
and there is nothing more fun. It’s pure play. Yes, it can be tortured, but it
can also be so fun.
Who has been the greatest influence on your life?
Who has been the greatest influence on your life?
Professionally, it’s Stephen Roxburgh, my current publisher, but
personally, I think it really has been my husband, Bill. When we married, he
loved me unconditionally and that did something inside of me that healed
something that I didn’t even know was broken. We’ve been married 28 years this
year.
How to do you find, or seek to
find, balance in your life?
I wish there was some easy thing. It is sort of like a stew where you
are throwing in spices. Some days you taste it and say, “I need more
intellectual challenge in here” or, “Boy, I haven’t seen my friends lately!” or,
“When was the last time I made a new friend?”
I do like to have a big focus though, so for the past few years, that’s
been my writing. If that goes away, I’m going to need something that I can
really sink my teeth into. I do some work with different education groups and I
like that but I don’t play a major role. I’ve always needed something to do
that feels like if I weren’t pushing this rock up this hill, the rock would
just roll back, and it’s important to me that it get up the hill.
What does Houston mean to you?
When we moved to Washington DC for a while, I realized how much the
beauty of a city could be like a friend. Houston is not a friend to me in that
way, but when I leave Houston I miss it. I miss the diversity of the city. You
can go to a lot of big cities and you are just not interacting with all the
levels and different groups of people from different backgrounds. Houston is
just a really great city in that way and if you leave that, even to go to
beautiful places, you miss it.
Where is your happy place in
Houston?
I like to walk in Memorial Park, either on the loop trail or through
the woods? I like both of them. I do it
with friends and I have had so many great conversations out there, but I also do
it alone and I’ve had great conversations with myself. I listen to audiobooks
and I’ve gotten so fascinated by so many books there that I’ve gone another
loop.
What is your favorite
restaurant?
Right now my favorite spot to meet is the Black Walnut Café on Memorial
Drive. I love that space. They have good food, ice-cream, a wine bar. They have
booths, outdoor seating and a comfy area and it’s all light and airy. I just
love sitting over there.
What is your Houston secret?
My secret is that I like to walk in the heat of the summer – I’m one of
the only people I know that will go out there in 100 degrees and walk. I don’t
know why. I know that people think that’s very strange or bad for your health,
but I just like it.
If you could change one thing
about Houston…
I hope Houston always stays green, and it may, but I found that drought
a couple of years ago very painful, heartbreaking really. I think I would find
it very hard to live in a place that had been green and became New
Mexico-esque. I don’t know that we have to change Houston and it may be in its
own little eco-system with the Gulf, but so much of the country seems to be
experiencing drought. I don’t mind seeing the lawns go, but I’d really be sad
if the trees went.
Who would be your own Inspiring Houston
Woman?
Naomi Warren is a holocaust survivor – she’s in her early 90s now. She
is a very loving woman who had her mother torn away from her and lost her
family, but she came here and made a really big success with a meat company
that her husband was running. He died too young too. Seeing people who can
overcome adversity without any bitterness, I admire that very much. To read Inspiring Houston Women's interview with Naomi Warren, click here.
I love this blog, Caroline! Good on you!
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