Meet the Author –
Terry Hans
Happy crisp autumn everyone! The days are
getting chillier, time for heavier clothes and a fire in the fireplace. And what
good is a fireplace without a good book to cuddle up with? It just so happens,
I have a book to suggest to you. I’m sitting here with its author, Terry Hans.
Terry has a book out called, Laugh, Rinse, Repeat.
Good afternoon, Terry; it’s so great to have you here. Tell
us a little bit about yourself.
Terry: I grew up in Buffalo, New York, and attended
Erie County Technical Institute’s dental hygiene program. I completed my studies,
took the state and national licensing exams, and became a Registered Dental
Hygienist (RDH). It was there I found my calling. I realized most people were
nervous and fearful of dental treatment, so I began using humor to relax my
patients.
I married Harry after college and had two
daughters, Tracey and Christy. We moved from Buffalo to Rochester, NY, when the
girls were 4 and 7. They married, and each had two sons. The youngest is
15, and the oldest is now 22.
Me: For the record, I’m one of those who hates
going to the dentist. Wish I’d known you when you were a dental hygienist. Have
you been writing long?
Terry: I always enjoyed writing
but never really got serious until my first grandson was due to arrive. I
composed poems and created scrapbooks to capture his childhood. Along came
three more grandsons, prompting me to continue developing my writing skills and
expand the types of things I wrote.
Me: What prompted you to write the hilarious Laugh,
Rinse, Repeat?
Terry: There were so many stories I told over the
years that were just so unbelievable that I had to get them down on paper. Dr.
Norman, my employer of 25years had the greatest influence over me. His office
staff and his family have become like my family. I wanted to capture his
mischievous spirit.
Me: How long did it take you to write the book?
Terry: I
started writing the stories when I moved to NC in 2013, but I never really
expected to publish them or do anything with them. At first, some stories were up
to 3000 words, and I learned with the helpful guidance of my writing group, NC
Scribes, that sometimes less is more. About three years ago, I decided my goal
was to write this in book form. I procrastinated, a lot. Even read your book,
STOP PROCRASTINATING – GET PUBLISHED multiple times, but I still was hesitant.
It wasn’t until authors in my writing group started pouring out novels
that I knew I needed to get serious.
Me: Give us a synopsis of the book.
Terry: Laugh, Rinse, Repeat is a collection
of stories of unusual events that happened in the dental office; tales patients
have shared. I kept things light-hearted and tried to draw out the humor from
every situation. I wrote about experiences my patients have shared and
revealed comical occurrences that transpired while working in a dental office.
With the assistance of these award-winning authors in my writer's group, this
compilation of stories came to life.
Me: Do you have a favorite story from the book?
Terry: I
have a few favorite stories. In some instances, I embellished or combined two
or three incidents into one story or have it happen on the same day. The story titled
A Southern Belle’s Exhumation takes the cake for being the funniest and most
bizarre story and is verbatim. There was nothing I could add to make it better.
I ended the book with this story because you, my dear friend,
suggested that I leave the readers saying, “This is the funniest book I’ve ever
read!”
Me: And it is! Is it published and by whom?
Terry: Since I really wanted to get the book out
this year, I did not even try the publishing route; instead, I went to Amazon
and their KDP self-publishing site. It took some help navigating the site, but
in the long run, I am very pleased with the outcome. I am so grateful that KDP
allows me to change my book content since I found many spacing errors in the
proof copy. I corrected them and then
hit publish. What a thrill.
Me: How can my readers get a copy?
Terry: The book is
available on Amazon, either under my name, Terry Hans, or under the book title.
I have book signings scheduled and would love to autograph books for
anyone who can attend.
Me: What else have you written?
Terry: My
first published story was in Chicken Soup for the Soul in 2019, and
since that first book, I have had ten stories in Chicken Soup books. I
also contributed poems and articles for the award-winning book NC Scribes put
together to commemorate 9/11, titled, 9/11 That Beautiful Broken Day.
Me: What other interests do you have?
Terry: I
love scrapbooking the old-fashioned traditional way. I have captured the grandsons’
childhoods since before they were born. Now that they are grown, I concentrate
on scrapbooking and documenting their sports, including games, write-ups etc. I
have always taken a ton of pictures. A cute story is when I took our New York
grandsons to the beach for the first time with the NC grandsons, and it was
dusk. Of course, I wanted to take pictures. One grandson yelled, “It’s
lightning!” The other said, “No, it's just grandma.”
I love to travel and spend a great deal of time
away from home visiting friends and family. I have had wonderful opportunities
to travel extensively throughout Europe and the US.
Me: Do you have any advice for would-be writers?
Terry: Just
start writing- put down your thoughts. They don’t have to be in any specific
order. Editing and organizing can come later, but you will find that you will
forget some of the finer points you want to make if you don’t just jot down all
your ideas and memories first.
Me: What do you wish you knew when you started your
writing career?
Terry: I guess I wish I knew how to use technology
better. I now use an editing program and a grammar program to help me with
punctuation, etc. I wish I knew that sometimes shortening my stories has a
greater impact.
Me: What’s next for you?
Terry: I
will continue to write short pieces for Chicken Soup, but I might just
start thinking of the stories I forgot to tell in Laugh, Rinse Repeat.
Who knows where this will take me.
Me: Thank you Terry for spending time with me. I
highly recommend everyone get your book. They’ll be glad they did.
Quote of the Day: I envisioned
a fairytale wedding; instead, I got a scene from the Wild West. Excerpt from “The
Imperfect-Perfect Wedding” in Laugh, Rinse, Repeat.
