Jonica Tramposch is originally from the Pacific Northwest and is a nomad by nature, although she has been based in Orlando for several years at this point (which boggles her mind).
As someone who loves to travel, is this reflected in your writing projects?
(JT): Very much so. Location and nature are always characters for me. Traits from people and cultures around the world also weave in. I don’t think of it as write what you know as much as write what you love. I love the markers within different cultures and have been an immigrant myself, where visas and embassies are part of normal conversation. I’m polishing a book now that takes place on four continents and has characters from 9 countries.
What inspires you to write?
(JT): Life. I think eternity would be overkill, but I could easily keep myself entertained for a few hundred years.
What have you written about before? Do you have a favorite project?
(JT): For a year I ran and wrote an online monthly subscription service. Those stories focused on little moments that happen in daily life. Feelings of connectedness are real treasures, and it can be as simple as an inside joke. A whole story may build up to that priceless interchange.
As for a favorite project, I told a local, true story onstage for a Story District project in Washington, DC, which was then turned into a short film. To say that people putting energy and love into a story I wrote was an honor is a drastic understatement. Then seeing myself being interpreted as a character on screen, responding to my unique name, was just short of an identity crisis. Catalog that under things you don’t see coming.
What is your favorite genre(s) to read and write in?
(JT): I studied literature in college, until I realized that I was being trained to critique instead of create. I also got sick of reading books by men who had weak female characters with no more depth than the shape of their breasts. When I complained about this, my male classmates told me I was wrong. I wasn’t. I stopped reading fiction and became a scientist instead. Now, far more female writers are published in a range of genres. I identify with many of their characters. They feel authentic and truthful, told from a range of perspectives. I love that.
How have your experiences influenced you as a writer?
(JT): “You’re not normal.” That’s been said to me enough times for me to at least play with the idea that I experience life in ways many others don’t. Through writing and photography, my goal is to share what I experience. Life is a collection of possibilities, and stories are the chronicles of what characters decide to go after.
Jonica has bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington in Comparative History of Ideas and Astronomy/Physics, and master’s degrees from Paul Sabatier III in Toulouse, France and the Lulea Institute of Technology in Kiruna, Sweden. Her day job is in the space industry. She used to be a personal trainer. Hobbies include languages, flamenco, surfing, hiking, photography, singing (she has a karaoke stage name), and yoga. Honestly, just about everything interests her.
Leave a Reply