"As the daughter of a writer, I was born with a little mechanical pencil in my left hand. Writing is in me."
Welcome to #RavsWriters, an opportunity for you to get to know some of the outstanding human beings who fervently type to make Ravishly the awesome place it is.
1. Name
Sandy. Sands. Sandsmama. Babe. Mum. Mama. Mommy. Mom mom mom mommy mom mama mum hey mamamamamama I'M HUNGRY. (I answer to a lot of things.)
2. Tell us about your family, or your cats, or your elaborate paper napkin collection.
My first family is comprised of my mom and my dad (but don't tell them that; they'd rather be dead than be associated with one another), and my two stinky, annoying little sisters. I mean, they're in their 30s now, so they're not little anymore, and by all accounts they are two of the most hilarious and beautiful people on the face of the planet, but any two people who raid my closet and lend MY clothing to THEIR friends, and who sneak in my room to read my diary and help themselves to licks of my personal, baseball-sized, never-ending gobstopper are stinky and annoying for life.
My homemade family is comprised of my husband of 12 years, Daryl, and our four-year-old hooligan daughter Margot. To my knowledge, they do not steal my clothes or read my diary, so they're in my good books. (For now.)
3. When did you start writing? Why?
As the daughter of a writer, I was born with a little mechanical pencil in my left hand. Writing is in me. I'm a feelings factory, and getting my mind and heart down on paper is a must (or, let's be honest: on my computer, since my penmanship started falling by the wayside as soon as I acquainted myself with Mavis Beacon back in 1990). A year ago, I was laid off from a corporate job I loathed, and since then I've been freelance writing full-time. I spend my time writing about my experience with motherhood, with grief following a pregnancy loss and a secondary infertility diagnosis, and with identity and body image. And I'm the poorest and happiest I've been in as long as I can remember.
4. What do you like to do when you're not doing the thing you have to do?
I'm an introvert through and through; so in all honesty, when the day's responsibilities are over, my favorite things to do are curl up on the couch in my sweat pants, scroll through my social media feeds, binge-watch TV shows, and shove my face with snacks and IPA while I TALK TO NO ONE. Except via text. Go ahead and text me. Just don't ask me to hang out with you.
5. What music do you love? (Barry Manilow is an acceptable answer.)
Oh, where do I begin? Music moves me. It's a part of my daily life. Martin Sexton is my absolute favorite, but he's got throngs of people gathered right behind him in line. I can't get enough of people like Patrick Watson, James Taylor, James Blake, Asgeir, Hozier, Bon Iver, Django Reinhardt, Rufus Wainwright, Leonard Cohen, ...um, is that enough? I could go on for days.
6. Favorite pizza topping.
Cheese. Just all the cheese.
7. Favorite donut.
You'll never woo me with any of your fancy novelty donuts. Buy me a honey crueller from Tim Horton's (oh, I'm Canadian, by the way), and I'll absolutely adore you for it.
8. Last book you read.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I have a love-hate relationship with that beautiful book; it teaches me that I absolutely MUST write what's in me (YES THANK YOU I KNOW), but that I'm an absolute fool if I think I can make a living wage off of doing precisely that very thing (CURSE YOU, ELIZABETH, I NEED THIS TO WORK).
9. What's your sign?
I'm a Leo, but don't ask me what that means.
10. One word to describe you.
Open. I spent my entire life a pretty private person until one day I snapped out of it and couldn't come up with a single worthwhile reason for why continuing to live that way was best for me or anyone around me. So ask me anything, and I'll answer you candidly and forthrightly. I'm an open book.
We love you, Sandy! Want more Sandy? Check out her Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, & more of her writings for Ravishly.
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