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Local Author Showcase spotlights Skokie-area writers and their work. This month, we talked with L. Sue Baugh. She'll be here on Monday, July 20, 2015 to discuss her award-winning book Echoes of Earth.

When did you start writing? What inspired you to start?

The Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson talked about having story-making "elves and brownies" in his head working all the time. That must be common to writers, because the elves and brownies arrived when I was about 5 or 6. I started writing stories down when I was about 8. It always seemed the natural thing to do--fashion stories out of the wonder and fear the world inspires.

Your book, Echoes of Earth, is kind of a mash-up of a travelogue and science writing. Was that your original intent?

I had no idea what the book would be when I started out, or even if there would be a book. It was unusually difficult to write, because much of the story I received was non-verbal, straight from the land. It took 10 years to translate into English. The science information was part of two streams of knowledge: one from the land, and one from our Western understanding of the land. Blending the two happened as the project evolved; fascinating to watch the process develop.

Are you working on anything now?

Yes, the second volume in the Echoes of Earth series, this one called Soul of theEarth. This volume is about the people we met from native cultures at every site we visited. We were incredibly fortunate to talk with generous leaders and elders. In the first book, I had to translate what we learned from the land into English. In the second one, I have to try to translate a native world view into English--very difficult because we not only have no words for some of their terms, we don't even have equivalent concepts--for instance, the idea we are related to all things, not just to people. In our Westernized viewpoint, we can imagine feeling close to a tree, for example, but to believe it is an actual relative and can talk to you? That's considered the province of slightly dotty people.

What authors inspire you?

Any author wrestling with who we are, where we come from, where we're going--writers like Annie Dillard, Sherman Alexie, John Perkins, Derrick Jacobs, Neil Gaiman, Eben Alexander, J.K. Rowling, Donna Tartt, Ursula Le Guin. I think all questions about purpose and meaning, connection and loss, mortality and eternity boil down to that central concept. Most people deeply want to know why we're here and how to live and what happens when we die. In our Echoes of Earth journey, the ancient land and the people we met had a lot to say about that.

Since you will also be presenting a Writing Academy at the library, what is your number one piece of advice for new writers?

Two pieces of advice, actually. First, write about what fascinates or haunts you. People generally find their themes early and develop them as they grow in their writing. Secondly, read anything and everything from classic and contemporary writers from comics to food labels. You never know what knowledge will prove valuable for a story.