The Interview with Donald Pennington

"Heather, why do you need to check your e-mail AGAIN?" asks my husband as I anxiously connect to the wireless network and pray my electricity won't go out.

"Well, you know I write for AC, right? On AC there's this guy, Donald Pennington. He's one of the coolest authors I know, well 'know' through the internet ya know, and part of what he does on AC is interview other authors to get them some more exposure. Seriously, he's a genius when it comes to networking. He's got over 400 articles and more than 280 fans."

"How many fans do you have?"

"Um....I think thirty-something."

"So 280 is a lot then?"

"Yeah. I mean anyone who is anyone on AC knows about Donald Pennington, and the coolest thing is that any AC author can do an interview with him and he'll publish it. It's like instant AC fame."

"How did you do the interview, did you call him or something?"

"He's got this website set up just for interviews. It's great, because you can fill it in on your own time. I actually started doing it in, like, September, but I obsessed so much over answering each question it took me 'til March to finish....Hey, look! See that, the interview Donald published, Saying Hello to Heather Carreiro, is showing up in the most commented section! That is so cool. And look at all the comments! Seems like people are really reading and enjoying my interview!"

My husband Duarte sits down to read the interview and see what I'm raving about. He's entering the world of AC, and he seems intrigued.

"Wow, he says you're 'an inspiration.' Who is this guy anyway?"

"Oh you'd totally like him. He listens to Alex Jones like you do. Seriously, if things are going the way you think they are, you should read Donald's articles on gardening. You should totally friend him on Facebook."

This was pretty much the conversation I actually had with my husband, as I had to explain my nervous excitement about seeing my interview with Donald Pennington published and running to check the new comments every half an hour. It was a huge confidence boost to see many of the other authors who already read my work leaving encouraging comments and raving about my work. In a lot of ways, the AC community has really spurred me on to write more and to recognize my potential.

Donald Pennington himself is an inspiration to so many of us aspiring writers here at AC, and I was honored to have a chance to do the interview with him. I only wish we could have met face to face, because I'm sure we would have some interesting conversations! Unfortunately, Donald has let me know that he has NO desire to come to Pakistan. Why ever would you not want to come here? Silly US travel warning lists and crazy Fox news coverage. I insisted on having a guestroom in our place, and alas, nobody has wanted to come.