WHO IS 'THE INK GYPSY'?
Gypsy Thornton, a.k.a. ‘The Ink
Gypsy’, spent more years than she’d like to count working in different
forms of theater and dance - performing, writing, directing, coaching
and working in multimedia - along with a huge variety of odd-jobs to
make sure the bills got paid. Between rehearsing dancers, rewriting
actors’ scenes and editing film footage, her experience ranges from
rescuing feral kittens to eradicating stranger’s dust-bunnies and from
writing instruction manuals for mysterious filing systems to pounding
dough into pizza shapes. She's written plays (that got performed), articles (that got published), short stories and poems (that got included in little magazines), manuals (that are still being used), helped write pitches and dabbled with screenplays (both of which never made it further than Hollywood Executives - yet!) and collaborated on many other projects. She took her pen from one side of Australia to
the other and to many countries in South America and back before
deciding to brave the wilds of California and the animation industry in
LA. After seven years of making drawings walk and talk she gave in and
married an animator then started the challenging new career of Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations (also known as full-time-24-hour-Mama). With baby in tow she is now concentrating on writing
various works of fiction (i.e. novels) and making puppets out of
household items whenever she can. She likes to mix up her genres on the go to see what sort of stories she can cook up, though her concoctions tend to start from a myth or folktale base, get a sprinkling of fantasy and a dash or two of suspense.
She resides in Southern California (at least for the moment!) with her husband, baby boy, furry protectors and a mountain of books that keeps growing...
You can find out more about her writing influences, the books she's worn the covers off through re-reading HERE (as well as to the left under the links) and keep up-to-date on her activities (writing and non) in her main blog HERE. A short list of 'likes' can be found on the home page HERE and there's more information in the 'What's This Site All About?' section below, noting of course that her little family is what she loves best of all (furry members included).
Her aim is to keep her sense of humor intact through the publishing process and beyond, no matter where her adventures lead her.
WHO ARE THE INK GYPSY'S FAVORITE AUTHORS & WRITING INFLUENCES?
Here are a multitude of authors I admire and am inspired by as well as those I'm drawn to for a 'great read - guaranteed':
Stephen Donaldson Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Kij Johnson Patricia
McKillip Dean Koontz Lisa Tuttle Jane Yolen Bruce Colville AUTHORS Donna Jo Napoli John Wyndham Joss Wheadon Catherynne M.Valente Charles Dickens Christopher Golden Jim Butcher Holly Lisle Amy Tan Ray Bradbury John Connolley Angela Carter Priscilla Galloway Gerald Durrell
Below you'll find some idea of the influences that have helped shape my writing, including a scattering of authors and creators who always made me want to go pick up a pen and scribble down my own stories:
Myths, Tales & Legends Pre-Raphaelites Dad telling me stories when I was little Julie Taymor Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fairy Tales George MacDonald NaNoWriMo Arthur Rackham Weird Nature WRITING INFLUENCES C.S. Lewis My son Jack Retold Fairy Tales Misty Annuals The Arts Terry Brooks Musical Theater Jim Henson Andrew Lang's Fairy Books Walt Disney Picture Books Folktales Alfred Hitchcock
And because I'm a very visual person here are some visual sources of inspiration for me - from film to theater, from illustrators to dancers and other random things:
Trina Schart Hyman Arthur Rackham NickBrandt 'Labyrinth' Alan Lee John William Waterhouse Edward Burne Jones Albrecht Durer 'Moulin Rouge' 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet' Herbs& Spices ' Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography' Momix VISUAL INSPIRATION Mercer Mayer Kinuko Y. Craft E.H. Shephard Laurel Long BeatrixPotter Marilee Heyer Furiae Socar Myles H.J. Ford Disney Animation Development Art P.J. Lynch Jung (for 'Kwaidan') Alvin Ailey Company Lottie Reiniger Art Supply Stores Pilobulis Gregory Colbert (ashesandsnow.org) Jim Henson's The Storyteller The Lion King (Broadway)
I know I'm forgetting some...
WHAT'S THIS SITE ALL ABOUT?
Writing. Specifically my writing - my process, progress, discoveries, challenges, inspirations, joys and everything else related (see my Home Page) - but also looking at other authors processes, tips, tricks and recommendations.
Um... CARE TO ELABORATE?
Sure!
On this website I plan to include all the weird and
wonderful little ideas, discoveries and news that I have to share in
this crazy, unpredictable life of mine as I knuckle down and finally pursue that writing dream of mine.
Here will be news on my writing - all my writing! Not just the themed writing of my Tales of The Ink Gypsyblog (though you may like to check it out - especially if you, like me,
are drawn to folk and fairy tales, myths and legends) but all the other
projects I'm juggling as well as things I'm experimenting with. You can check my updates on the Inklings blog.
You'll also get more personal updates on me and mine and of course I'm including a link to the blog I have been keeping for my almost-not-a -baby-anymore son. It's called Spit the Dummy... Mudsock Styleand has been a lot of fun to play around with, thanks to experiments in Photoshop and a fun program called ComicLife. This blog is very personal, often silly (we celebrate silly in our house) and chronicles the big happenings we deal with as a family. Initially started so my husband could have regular new pictures of our new son and my overseas family could keep in touch, it's become a fun little memoir of his first year-plus and will hopefully be something he'll enjoy looking back on - perhaps not until flying cars become available but hey! Check it out. I do my best to not have it be a 'look-how-cute-our-baby-is-today' blog (though any new parent knows how irresistible that impulse is).
Back at TheInkGypsy.com, I'll also share my weird and wonderful discoveries of talented people, amazing writing and artwork and other random-but-worth-your-time-to-peek-at stuff.
You'll hear about my ever growing library and my I-wish-I-had-that-book list (because one can never have too many!) and fiction and non - that I've enjoyed, hated, been bored by, inspired by or floored by.
Then, of course, you'll hear about my other creative ventures - from dancing to collage, sketching to decorating - my philosophy is to live a whole and balanced life and to approach everything with creativity and curiosity. Except perhaps sleep. The baby isn't helping on that one either but hey - a perpetual state of tiredness means my dreams are never far away!
So come with me as I chase those tales, hunt down those crazy ideas and try to figure out the best way for an organic writer to write well and get published. Whatever happens, you know there'll be a story in the end!
Now please excuse me while I put on my idea-hunting cap and get back on track...
BEFORE YOU GO, HOW ABOUT SOME RANDOM QUESTIONS?
OK - hit me.
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
I immediately want to say 'invisibility' or 'talk fluently in any language (including animal speak)' but then when I start thinking about it I come up with things like 'ability to make people break into song and dance at will', 'be able to make autonomously animated creatures (that do my bidding of course) out of any objects', 'take on the likeness of anyone I choose for up to three hours', and then there's always the 'teleport anywhere I choose' thing which would be cool - as long as I could take someone (or two) with me...
What do you label yourself as?
Hand wash only - Do not iron.
Favorite fake memory from when you were little?
When I made friends with the monster under my bed and we shared a peanut butter sandwich (super-crunchy of course). The monster also ate my homework that night - before I did it, thank goodness!
If you could be any character for a day which one would it be and why?
Um, that depends on my mood, the day of the week and just how adventurous I'm feeling. Mondays I'd be prone to being 'Bat Girl' - I could get so much done, keep everyone guessing and look fabulous in any kind of suit! The rest of the week I wouldn't mind being Thursday Next (from the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde) for amazing literary knowledge and juggling mysterious adventures that I'd always triumph at (in the end anyway) or a female version of Atticus (from To Kill A Mockingbird) for a level head, excellent parenting, bravery and calmness.
Favorite season?
Halloween. According to the stores it starts in about August and lasts till midnight on October 31st.
Collect any weird things?
Purple kitchen appliances & items like toasters, kettles and microwaves (I kid you not).
Just how many books DO you have going at once?
Currently I have 5 - no, 6! novels. Not just idea-scribbles but actual writing. One is the first in a big series, another is at least one of a trilogy and others have big potential to expand beyond the current story... All at different stages and yes, I want to finish them all... Non-fiction I have at least two projects in the works but they're in the fledgling stages. As far as novels I WANT to write? Hmm... at last count I had 24 titles with notes attached and since writing 'BALLET DANCERS' I have another idea which is a reworking of an old film-project of mine... I could be doing this for a while!
Why IS a raven like a writing desk?
I haven't the slightest idea... of course it should be noted that neither are good substitutes for a pogo stick...
I think that about covers it but if you have any more questions you can ask me HERE and I'll do my best to answer them promptly.
NOW BACK TO MY WRITING.
(you can check how I'm doing with that in my BLOG...)
