So Here I Am, with Jarlene Culiner

Today, I am so excited to share J. Arlene Culiner (or Jill Culiner) with you! She has had an amazing, adventurous life! And she’s gorgeous to boot! But, like many writers, she doesn’t like to “toot her own horn” even though she has every right to. Thank you so much for joining us today, J. Arlene Culiner!

By J. Arlene Culiner, and Being the Great Procrastinator

So here I am, a writer as well as being “The Great Procrastinator”. Before actually sitting down to work on a story or article, I’ll cook something, fool around, brush the dogs, wander here and there, think about tackling the heaps of papers everywhere. Eventually, I’ll force myself to get started, but writing this article for you, Angela, has meant weeks of procrastination. Why? Perhaps because the title is so daunting: Real Stories by Real People? How much easier it is to invent characters (even if they are often disguised self-portraits), and drum up plots. But write openly about myself? Sheesh… I had no idea it would be so difficult.

Perhaps because the title is so daunting: Real Stories by Real People? How much easier it is to invent characters (even if they are often disguised self-portraits), and drum up plots. But write openly about myself? Sheesh… I had no idea it would be so difficult.

Why? I suppose because it will sound like bragging, it will be tooting my own horn, and I’m not fond of doing that in public.

Well, here goes: I was one of those kids who ran away from home at seventeen. I craved a big life. I wanted city lights, country lanes, endless romance, and adventure. No ideas of a big comfy home and security could lure me. I wanted to see the inside of a coal mine, to walk (alone) across much of Europe on dirt lanes and paths, to sleep in fields, spend time in the Sahara desert, trudge through Ukrainian snowstorms, be a belly dancer in Turkey, an artist, a writer, a musician, an actress, a photographer, and, of course, be an international femme fatale.

So I did all of those things.

Okay, I’m not saying I’m brilliant at everything. I’m not. But I’ve done/am doing exactly what I set out to do. These days, I play oboe, English horn, flute, tuba, and baroque oboe in four different (amateur) orchestras, I am a contemporary social critical artist which has meant I have traveled all across Europe with my shows, I live in a mini-museum (http://www.jill-culiner.com) in a small French village. I very occasionally work as an actress (https://vimeo.com/188556966), I narrate audiobooks, and I’m a writer of romances, mysteries, and non-fiction (http://www.j-arleneculiner.com). I also tell stories on Sound Cloud ( https://soundcloud.com/j-arlene-culiner). My photography exhibition about the vanished Jewish community, La Mémoire Oubliée, traveled through Europe and went to Canada under the auspices of UNESCO and the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and these days, I often go do research in very strange, forgotten places where I can’t speak a word of the language.

I’ve lived on the English moors, in a Bavarian castle, in an adobe house in Hungary, in a Turkish cave, on a Greek island, in London, Paris, New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and in many small villages all over the place. Yes, I’ve taken silly risks, I’ve been in grave danger far too often, I’ve been a complete failure at many things, I’ve never had enough money to do anything the easy way, or to stay in flashy places, or to own a car that is worth more than five hundred dollars, but I sure do have fun. And, by the way, I’ve never owned a television: why would I want to sit passively in front of one?

Like Agnieszka Szumska, another one of your guests, I’m a vegetarian because the idea of being responsible for animal suffering is terrible. I also eat organic food, and I love and rescue dogs and cats. I protect as many animal, plant, insect, and reptile species as I can, and live very simply. I make my own bread, sauerkraut, pickles, and fruit juices; I bottle food for the winter; and I avoid air travel and use public transportation. For us, going on a holiday means walking out of the house and taking an ancient pathway to another village — something that is possible all over Europe. I try to be nice to everyone, and I smile at the people I pass on the street. If anyone wants to chat, I’ll lend an ear.

I suppose it will be no surprise that, although I also write romance books (it’s a rather conventional branch), I do create unconventional heroines. Yes, they are real people, but they are always older — in their 40s, 50s, and 60s — and they take chances, dare to follow dreams. Of course, my heroes aren’t slouches either. I also try to make my romance books as rich as possible, in vocabulary, plot, information, and with sentences that flow and are beautiful.

You, Angela, say you write romance in order to solve love’s mystery. What a lovely goal. I write romance simply because falling in love (despite its complications) is truly delightful.

I suppose I’ve said it all.

Thanks, for letting me visit.