Featured Interview With Author Glenda Pliler
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
At age 77, I am proud to say that I have overcome extensive handicaps in life, some so severe that they required years of therapy. But, anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I've gained a lot of insights into how life works and I consider it a great accomplishment to have published my book, "Diplomat to the Galaxy: Confessions of a UFO Dingbat" which has currently has 4.8 stars on Amazon.
I always had a lot of drive to succeed, in part because I didn't see I had much choice. It was either keep going forward or…what? There was no other option except to keep trying to rise out of the muck.
Neither of my parents graduated from high school, yet I was driven to gain knowledge. I ended up with an undergraduate degree in Western philosophy and a master's in professional writing from Maharishi International University. I almost finished a Ph.D. in psychology but a fall from a horse left me with a fractured spine. It seems like the story of my life–I screw up and then, in getting out of the mess, I have to develop a lot of new muscles in terms of life skills.
Besides overcoming great physical and mental obstacles, I also had a lot of challenges as a writer. I gave up many times.
I was born in a farmhouse in SW Missouri but I now live in my heart's home in a high-rise for seniors overlooking West Palm Beach, Florida. To write, I have to use a hospital bed or a recliner stacked with a bunch of supports. But writing is what gets me out of bed in the mornings. I also write for and have a following on Quora.com.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been fascinated with the idea of writing since I was maybe six years old. I remember being fascinated by the name and logo of a publishing house in one of my grandmother's books, and thinking, with longing, about how wonderful it would be to be an author.
However, I assumed that to be an author one had to be someone special, and I was just a country girl, a nobody. The first time I felt serious about being a writer was when I was 11 and I wrote my first short story. In college, I won a writing contest and tended to make top grades in classes that called for essays.
However, I think I probably had/have attention deficit disorder because it is truly difficult for me to crunch ideas down into meaningful, focused writing. Ideas seemed to bleed in every direction without coalescing into wholeness. It is still a handicap but the desire to be a writer, the sense that I had worthwhile things to say, had been so strong that persistence and training finally paid off.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As someone who finally stopped paying the shipping to haul countless boxes of physical books from one location to another, I own nearly a thousand audiobooks and hundreds of kindle books, I can't say I have a "favorite" author. I have leaned toward non-fiction and have devoured many books related to understanding the mind, enlightenment and spirituality, and the mysteries of the universe, including psychology, both Western and Eastern philosophy, science and quantum physics, history, and human experience. I now find myself drawn to fiction as less work, where I look for anything with depth and unusual perspectives. I can't praise Jodi Taylor as a great writer but her time-travel books and sense of humor kept me interested becasue her ideas had depth, multiple layers of meaning, and interesting insights. I dislike "arty" style literature, love classics, and hunger for original, creative fantasy that doesn't depend on violence. Good writing, interesting ideas, depth of insight, and honesty in the telling, that is what I look for.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book, "Diplomat to the Galaxy: Confessions of a UFO Dingbat," is a memoir, a true story written in the he-said/she-said creative non-fiction style. It's fun read with more depth than a lot of ufology books. Those who have no interest in UFOs have reported finding my book fascinating and original. As part of my research, I became a MUTUAL UFO NETWORK (MUFON) UFO field investigator so I have credentials, too.
This is a memoir, a true story. What got me, the spiritual-seeking philosopher, to start researching was that something really crazy happened, a guy told me I was an alien. Yes, I laughed too. But I have what I call Rubik's Cube syndrome–the inability to tolerate a mystery. I must figure it out. When I started investigating, I kept finding things that awakened more mystery, all the way to the unexpected ending.
"Diplomat to the Galaxy" is factual without consisting of boring facts. It is a psychological mystery and a spiritual journey that ultimately explains who extraterrestrials are and why they are here but it is much more. By the end of the book, readers discover they have a handle on the historical and current situation while having been entertained and, as one reader said, "pleasantly haunted with the memories" about it.
Those already familiar with the UFO field have said that my story reflects their own experience of overcoming "layers" of disbelief. The complexity of ideas is one reason that it took 22 years to write because I had to make simple sense of mind-expanding unusual concepts while supporting them with scientific facts, all while being entertaining. As someone who has been driven to understand everything (and the theory of everything) and who has had so many extraordinary experiences in life, to pull all this together into a coherent wholeness, that was hard. Really hard. But, I think I did it. 🙂
This is what another UFO investigator wrote about "DIplomat to the Galaxy" in his review: "I have been investigating UFOs since the early '60s and this is the most unique and interesting personal story I have come across in all my readings. Very well-written and engaging. If you are new to the UFO phenomenon, this is the book for you."
Another reader wrote: "I found great wisdom and a lot of laughter in the author's perspective on her ever-unfolding experience with and discovery of ET intelligence."
Tellingly, another wrote: "Very interesting even if this isn't your thing, very well-written and you will be looking for UFO's by the end of it."
"Diplomat to the Galaxy" not only tells an entertaining story about how I was bedazzled into investigating such a dingbat subject but by the end of it, you will have learned how to think intelligently about such things.
What is my advice to other writers? The most important secret to getting a book written and published is, WHERE YOU PUT THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS (i.e., in front of the computer). It's all about writing at least a few sentences every single day, even when it feels like it isn't working, even when it doesn't feel inspired. When you finally see a book emerging out of all those hours, all those days of doing the "grunt" work, having solved the challenges, that is when it starts to be fun. Also, its about. more than just writing. It is also about developing one's own character and understanding of life. Psychotherapy and Transcendental Meditation kept cutting away at my shortcomings to make success possible.
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