Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Jeannette de Beauvoir

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jeannette de Beauvoir. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Jeannette, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Oh, absolutely and always: reading. Over the course of my life stories have entertained, informed, challenged and even rescued me. I can get so lost in a novel that I forget to eat, to (ahem!) return phone calls, to go to sleep, to have any idea of time passing. Reading is one of the greatest joys I’ve ever experienced. I do hope in a small way the stories and poetry I write might play that role in others’ lives.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a novelist who writes mystery/thriller and historical fiction… and stories in which the two intersect. I’m also a poet a whose work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. I’ve written/am writing three mystery series along with a number of standalone novels; according to the Midwest Book Review, my work “demonstrates a total mastery of the mystery/suspense genre.” I’m a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. I live and work in a seaside cottage on Cape Cod where I’m also a local theatre critic and host an arts-related program on WOMR, a Pacifica Radio affiliate. More at jeannettedebeauvoir.com

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I’m going to be deadly dull and give the response most people do: a teacher. In fourth grade, my teacher told me at the end of the year that he expected me to use words to change my life and the lives of others—a heady mission that I certainly didn’t understand, then, or even agree with. He read a poem once in class and I asked him if I could copy it. He said, “No. But you can memorize it.” That was a phenomenal moment for me, when I realized I could carry beautiful words with me all the time, to summon at will as occasions arose.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
No, never one time… *many* times! I didn’t believe that my writing was something that would interest anyone else. So I’ve pursued other ways of making a living, deciding to channel my education and experience and thoughts in safer ways. I kept dipping into writing, and then thinking, “no, that won’t work,” and doing something else. That was giving up the mission my fourth-grade teacher had given me. Fortunately, my better angels intervened.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
This wasn’t always true… but it is now. I am incredibly lucky in that: I’m living a life that I love, and when that happens, there’s nothing you need to hide.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing? 
My only regret, really, is that I didn’t seize opportunities to create a life I love until relatively recently. I would have been happier and more fulfilled much sooner if I had. I regret other things, of course—unkind words I’ve spoken, times when I’ve not been generous or loving or altruistic. I try to remember that when I’m on the verge of doing those things again.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.jeannettedebeauvoir.com
• Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/jeannettedebeauvoir
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannettedebeauvoir/
• Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com.jeannettedebeauvoir
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@JeannettedeBeauvoir
• Other: http://www.Amazon.com/author/jeannette.de.beauvoir

  https://medium.com/@jeannettedebeauvoir