Bestselling author and poet Loreen de Kort chatted about her critically-acclaimed book “Notes On The Train.”
She is an author, wife, mother of four wonderful women, and grandmother to three teenagers. She has lived in a suburb north of Seattle for the past 18 years. Traveling was a part of her joys when I was younger.
As an adult, she lived in Turkey for about a year and lived in the Netherlands for almost as long. If she had to choose where she would wish to live the most, she would probably pick the Pacific Northwest though.
She grew up in Washington, DC. She is the second eldest of four children. She attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown where she played clarinet and violin. During that time, she worked as a writer and photographer for the school newspaper. The photography didn’t stick, but her love of writing blossomed from there.
In addition to her love of music, she has always been and always shall be a Star Trek fanatic. She is a die-hard card-carrying trekker since the original series and on through the rest of the world of Trek. Her spirit animal is a dragon. Her gamer tags all have some sort of dragon name.
Once upon a time, she combined her love of Trek and her love of gaming and she ran a Star Trek multi-user dungeon (MUD) called the United Federation of Planets MUD. That was a text-based dungeons and dragons type game based on a Star Trek theme.
Book Description
From a talking pigeon to a mirror that sees all, “Notes on the Train” brings you closer to the author’s struggle with depression and change through the landscape of life. Not all battles are fought with weapons of war. Some battles rage within the mind and soul and take no prisoners. This book is a collection of poems and prose written by the author on her journey of self-discovery.
‘Notes On The Train’ recently hit the bestseller list, which was well deserved given this book’s depth and innate beauty. What was that like for you on a professional and personal level?
It is an amazing feeling to see that my book is so well received. I’m humbled to see the reception of it. It was my hope that people would respond to my poems and see the best seller status achieved goes towards that goal.
‘Notes on the Train’ Is an evocative read, one that has deeply touched readers and reviewers alike, can you talk a bit about why you decided to share such a personal journey with the world?
I decided that if I could have these deep, sometimes dark, feelings, perhaps others did also. I felt that if a person could read my thoughts and find some solace, contentment, or an answer then it was worth baring my soul to the world.
I believe that knowing someone else is on the same journey you are on can oftentimes make a difference. I wrote Notes on the Train in answer to my own journey through therapy and finding ways to express what I was feeling to get it out and examine things.
‘Notes on the Train’ is a rather amazing collection of poetry. How long did it take for you to write it? What was one of the challenges you faced while writing it, and conversely one of your successes?
It actually took me two years to write these poems, but it took 20 years to write the book. I lost all copies of my work over 20 years ago and had figured them lost forever. In talking with my friends, someone suggested I see if my original repository at the Library of Congress still existed and to my everlasting joy, it did.
I was able to contact them, despite the pandemic closing all government offices, and obtain copies after about a year’s wait. After that, it was a very easy task of navigating the self-publishing tools at Amazon KDP. When I had made the library deposit, at the time, I felt it was rather presumptuous of me, but that foresight saved the day in the end.
This book has resonated so clearly with readers, and gathered so much attention, including getting a BIBA award, what was the most interesting feedback or question you have received from a reader?
The feedback I continually receive is readers asking when I will write my second book of poems. I feel I must have touched people to have generated such interest in hearing more of my work. It’s humbling but exciting at the same time. I would say the most surprising feedback I received was on my poem Hitting and Missing.
When I did a zoom reading of this poem, the facilitator rather than applaud started crying. I didn’t know how to process that reaction, but she said the poem had moved her to tears because it brought up so many deep feelings. I was very honored.
When you did the final read-through for ‘Notes on the Train’ what was your favorite part and why?
My favorite part of the final read-through and editing process was hearing positive feedback from my editor. She finished her edits and further commented that she enjoyed reading the material a lot. That went a long way to making me feel more confident in what I was doing and hoping to achieve.
This book has been a hit with readers do you have another book in the works you can tell us about? I am sure your fans are dying to know what’s next.
The next book I am working on is not a book of poetry. It is a fantasy novel love story. It features dragons, damsels in distress, and warrior chiefs. It is set in ancient times. I am about a third way in the process of story writing at this point.
Her bestselling book “Notes On The Train” is available on Amazon by clicking here.
