Author Interview with Opa Hysea Wise

ABOUT THE BOOK “No Place to Hide”

Against hope, Smythe Windwalker Daniels’ anonymity is compromised, and a threat has been made against her life. The danger impacts not only her life but the lives of those around her. She reluctantly accepts the FBI’s protection, hoping to testify and bring a promise of justice to a community. Smythe is a woman with vision in her eyes and fire in her soul. From a young age, Smythe was discriminated against as a mixed-race girl in a predominantly white neighborhood. She travels to Hawaii to escape the corporate rat race, only to get entangled in a pesticide poisoning cover-up attempt by a mega-corporation. While on the run, she seeks to find meaning in events that now threaten her life. Through a series of misadventures, she discovers how all events are all woven together in this tapestry called “life.” As she uses her past experience to find meaning in her present, she begins to see beauty in the midst of chaos. But the harder she tries to hide, the more difficult it is to survive.

About Opa Hysea Wise

Opa Hysea Wise is an American author, born to mixed race parents. Like so many people of color, she came to experience a sense of “otherness,” which fueled her desire to discuss diversity as the woven fabric within the American tapestry. She worked as a Training and Development specialist and manager in Government and Corporate organizations. Often tasked to develop and deliver diversity courses, Opa brought a sense of understanding, compassion and a call to action to her audience, with the firm knowledge that returning to the connection we all have would be but one step to returning to love. As both a Jack Canfield Success Coach and an author, Opa Hysea Wise looks to set a fire within the hearts of both her students and her readers. Her book No Place to Hide released on Nov. 3, 2020.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

https://opahyseawise.com

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

It is sad to say, but I do not travel for literary pilgrimages. I travel for the sheer love of it. That love of travel comes from my parents who took my brother and I on vacation at least once every year. We would travel by car or plane to some far off land, stay for several days and enjoy the food, the people and the culture.

As an adult, I use my travel to jot down little details of a favorite spot I wander into — a favorite cafe, park, hotel, bar, the choices endless. My last journey took me to a quaint village in California. I traveled with my best friend, who I learned used to visit the village yearly for retreat. My hope is to move there in the next few years.

What is the first book that made you cry?

The Shack. I remember crying for joy at the description of God. Finally, someone wrote what I have longed for — a depiction of God that was something other than male, white and heterosexual.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

I am mostly energized when I write, but I think that is by design. I arrange my schedule so that I have the space to write. That time is always early morning and always in a quiet spot in my apartment. Although slightly groggy, once I have poured myself a warm cup of earl grey tea I am ready to write. It is not uncommon for several hours to pass by before I move my chair, completely engrossed in my work.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Social media. I find both divisiveness and belonging contained within the space of social media. Lately however, it seems to be more the illusion of divisiveness that drains life out my inspiration. Therefore if I feel the urge to click open an app., I do a drive by at the end of my day. My other writing Kryptonite is a lack of sleep. If I have felt unwell, physically, spiritually, or psychologically, and sleep eludes me, I purposefully avoid writing.

Have you ever gotten reader’s block?

Yes I have gotten reader’s block, especially if the subject matter hits a little to close my personal experience. There have been those moments where I have become breathless, feeling a sense of panic set in. In those times, I put the book down — spend time in meditation, perhaps go for a walk. I sit with the question, how does completing this work of art serve me? Sometimes I am able to continue the read, but at other times, I set the art aside. And that is ok.

Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?

Yes.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I write what I want to read and with an avatar of the reader I wish to impact. I wonder what wisdom the avatar needs to read. My desire is to both entertain and allow the reader to see themselves in aspects of any given situation I place my protagonist within — perhaps gleaning a nugget of information for their own life. Mostly I write what I want to read. If that makes the work original — great!

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Do not put that pen down and continue to sulk. You may not have the knowledge, or skills to do the thing you want to do, but you can acquire that which you need — but you must not give up. I was roughly twelve years old. I remember feeling, for lack of a better word, a “call” to write. I grabbed my journal and made my way through the rooms of my parents’ Colonial home, settling onto a sofa in the front living room. A beautiful story (I thought then) was emerging from my imagination and I wanted to capture it on paper. However, when I attempted to write the first few sentences, the words would not flow. What was on paper felt clunky and stilted. After a few hours and feeling terribly disheartened, I ripped out the paper from the journal. I sat silently with my imagination torn to shreds and told myself I could not write — that I was not a writer.

It would be decades before I made the attempt to write again. This first novel is the effort of trying again.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Deadlines. Up until I met my publisher, I did not have a deadline — or at least a concrete deadline. Once I became enmeshed within the schedule of my publisher, I found myself rising much earlier every morning — often 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. to attend to the activities that were a part of my routine, so that I could dedicate several morning hours to writing, before meeting with clients in the afternoon.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

My spirit animal is a wolf. I tend to understand the world from an instinctual perspective. I have a strong need for freedom and an awareness of the need for social connections. And if…I am aware of my lack of trust in others. That part of me is work in progress.

WEBSITES & SOCIAL INFO:

Author Website: https://opahyseawise.com

Facebook: @opahyseawise

BOOK PURCHASING DETAILS:

“No Place to Hide” is available wherever books are sold including:

· Amazon

· Indiebound

· Bookshop

· Walmart

· Barnes & Noble