Real Words in Made Up Places — Episode Three: Andrea Chmelik
Tonight, we share the spotlight with someone who, as an inspirational public speaker, has proudly lifted an entire generation of people for women’s advocacy and civil rights of all. Co-founder of the Women’s March of 2016, she brings her passion for social activism into her writing craft.
Before she agreed to the interview, she needed to know how proficient I am with virtual video games. Dear readers, this is one of those glorious moments that emojis are made for, but I will tell you that I was overjoyed with this mysterious inquiry.
“The game is Earth Before, and it’s how I would like to share the interview.”
After downloading, I suit up with my VR glasses and gloves. The virtual lobby is filled with knights in full armor, robed wizards with pointy hats, dragons roaring, and a couple of lynxes sitting proudly at the feet of an Amazonian warrior Queen.
“Bruce, over here!” the Queen waves her arm over at me. I look down at my hands that are covered in brown bear hair, complete with stained blood claws.
“I let my guest gamers be grizzly bears, so I always know who they are. I don’t want to unleash my beasts on the wrong players.”
Earth Before is the hottest commodity these days in the gaming industry. Since the pandemic has covered the earth, people everywhere are using this social distancing game as a way to meet friends from all over the world, safely. Andrea received beta copies of the game, so her avatar has literally changed this virtual world where she resides as Queen.
As the lobby doors open, we are met with a scene of a utopian village set at the foot of a grand castle. Everywhere I look I see male and female avatars working together in a strange peacefulness.
Sensing my energy, the Queen stops just before entering the castle walls. “Earth Before is not your typical gaming world. It’s become a community of peace in a fantasy land. Real classes are being taught. Life Skill classes are literally hands-on, where each player gets a chance to learn cooking, hunting, budgeting, history, and even what it means to raise a family. Sure, there are some families with Orcs, faeries, horses, and even a dragon or two. The information is real, it’s only the setting that gets chosen.”
Walking with her around the castle is surreal in its details and makes me never want to leave. She leads me to a breakfast nook that is set against a grand window that overlooks “her kingdom”.
“There’s something magical to see how our world could be,” the Queen says with a prideful sigh. “Communities can share their wisdom, share their skills, their humor and ultimately, their love for each other regardless of this being ‘fake’ or not. I see men teaching women how to hunt, and women teaching men how to raise families. This game isn’t the only way, of course, but it is a way of adapting.”
Cups of tea are served by a butler who looks a lot like Mr. T in a sleeveless tuxedo.
With my joy and awe of this world finally subsided, I settle back in my chair. “Shall we begin?”
She looks once more out the window to her kingdom below and nods ever so royally.
What happened when you were young that told you that you had to write?
Nothing when I was young, as a matter of fact. I never imagined myself as a writer when I was young. I never even kept a journal. But I loved books. I read constantly. I enjoyed writing letters (and later emails), crafting each sentence with a goal of entertainment, mostly to make people laugh. It wasn’t until my son was born that I felt an urge to write. We had just moved to California, I didn’t know anyone, and I was stuck at home with an infant who never slept. It was then when I started blogging. Writing became an outlet for me to form my thoughts, explore my emotions, and express my anxieties and my hopes. Seeing that my words resonated with others kept me going.
Which authors were your greatest inspiration?
As a kid, I read everything I could get my hands on. I’d come home from the library with seven books and read five at the same time, then reread the ones I liked the most, over and over until I had parts memorized. Astrid Lindgren stands out from that time. Lucy Maud Montgomery. Betty MacDonald. My Dad loved detective stories, so I grew up with Agatha Christie, Ed McBain, Ellery Queen, Arthur Hailey. Later on, it was Salman Rushdie, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, JK Rowling, and later yet Anthony Doerr, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Liane Moriarty, Ocean Vuong, Nayyirah Waheed, Fredrik Backman…OK — there’s too many to name! I could go on all day. However — as I get older, I also get pickier and I read less than I used to.
If you could snap your fingers and have one of your work in progress/ideas be done — which would it be?
The one that changes the world for the better, of course.
Where do you write?
Mostly at home, at my desk, in the bedroom with ocean views, and two cats purring in my lap…OK, who am I kidding, they walk all over my keyboard sticking their butts in my face. I also have (or used to have, before the pandemic) designated days when I meet with my writer girlfriends in a cafe to write.
Why do you write?
This is something I’ve thought about a lot — why do I write? And why do I write in English, my second language? To me, writing is sharing the truth that I otherwise wouldn’t have the courage to share, and the English language allows me to expose more of my soul than I ever could in my mother’s tongue. I don’t always feel like I have to write. I can go for long periods without an urge or a particular inspiration to write. But when it arrives, there is no way of ignoring it. It has to come out.
Why should someone come to a writers conference?
For so many reasons! From learning new things to making connections, to getting inspired about their own work. And to seek magic, although I think it can only be found at the Central Coast Writers Conference. That conference legitimately changed my life. It made me a writer, it made me an author, it brought my best friends into my life, and it keeps on giving.
Rejection comes for us all. What is/what was your way to cope with rejection?
My mom always said that I was born under a lucky star. Of course, I’ve been through shattering rejections in my life, but for the most part, I’ve learned that if you put your will, your heart, and your hard work into something, your moment will come. And that moment does not have to be a famous bestseller or a six-figure deal. For me, that moment was when my short story was printed in the local press. Then you reach higher and keep pushing further. To piggy-back on the previous question — one should come to a writers conference because one will get to meet well-known authors who all have stories of rejections, and they are not afraid to share them. Once you know that’s simply how the writing world works, you can rest easier at night and just… …keep on writing, editing, submitting, dreaming, living.
Dear readers, our interview was cut short due to internet connectivity issues. As I quickly logged back in and reappeared in my grizzly avatar, I am standing on the ramparts of the castle standing next to the Amazonian Warrior Queen in full combat gear. Her lynxes stand at her side prepared to lunge at the sight before us.
“A modder has invaded the game with this abomination!” Andrea, the Queen shouts through her headset. A flying, fire-breathing, armored Godzilla stares back at us.
“It’ll be okay, Mr. Bruce.” A soft, young child’s voice comes from the snarling lynx to the Queen’s right.
“Stay in character, Sister!” Another young child’s voice squeaks from the second.
