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Spotlight on Celia Rivenbark: Lady and author of laughs

posted by ChickSpeak
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 2:28pm EDT

Ladies and gentlemen, shield your eyes if you take offense to hysterical banter and a sarcastic tone.

In a world where only the dramatic movies win at the Oscars, where tear-jerker books are admired most, Celia Rivenbark has arrived, and she’s shaking the entertainment world up by being anything but your average author.

Rivenbark encompasses all the components of being the Southern Belle she prides herself on being - with a twist: she’s honest, upfront and downright witty.

Her books, Bless Your Heart, Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments; We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle; Stop Dressing Your Six-Year Old Like a Skank and Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom; and Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits, have helped to culminate her own cult of dedicated readers.

While her following may not be as big as, say, David Sedaris, we’re hoping she never stops writing about her life-stories, and continues to draw in as many fans as her fellow noteworthy authors.

ChickSpeak sat down with Rivenbark and took a glimpse into her life where she resides in a foreign country that’s mysterious to some but considered home to many: the South.

ChickSpeak: There needs to be more women journalists like you, with a sharp-tongue, wit and not afraid to say what’s on her mind. Do you find it hard to be yourself in such a male-dominated world?

Celia Rivenbark: Not at all. A man could never write the stuff I do. When’s the last time Dave Barry or even David Sedaris did a plausible riff on menopause, for instance? I have a huge advantage in the coveted “hot flash” demographic.

CS: Did you ever feel there was a time in your life when you wanted to pursue your dreams but were too scared to jump at the chance to make it happen?

CR: You bet. I’m feeling that way right now as I consider trying my hand at writing a script for TV. There are always scary challenges out there but without them, you’d be sitting around eating cold Taco Bell and watching too much HG-TV. Oops. That was me last night. Never mind.

CS: According to your biography on your website, you were “happily knocked up at age 40.” This is a very difficult situation that women are put in; to choose a career or start a family. Did your career get in the way of starting a family?

CR: No, not really. I started working in newspapers full-time when I was 19, so I would’ve been happy to start a family much earlier than 40, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I knew that I would quit work to stay home with a baby and I prayed long and hard for that baby. When I found out, at 40, that I was pregnant, it felt like such a well-timed miracle. With two decades of daily journalism behind me, I was ready to stay home and raise my daughter. When she was about 3, I started writing from home and I haven’t stopped.

CS: Did you think the title of your book, Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank, would rile up a lot of people because of the title?

CR: I was surprised at how many people thought it was going to be a serious look at the whole prosti-tot trend in kids’ clothing. That was one essay in a book of many others on many subjects. No matter. Entertainment Weekly said it was the best title of the year. Not best book, best title. Whatever.

CS: Are your highly-amusing stories 100 percent true encounters?

CR: God no. But they all spring from a real event. I’m, as Southerners say, “bad to embellish.” Usually they say this in the context of “bad to drink” or “bad to run around, but I’m “bad to embellish.” Which, now that I write that, doesn’t sound nearly as dangerous as the others.

CS: Have you ever had a family or friend confront you about an issue you addressed in your book that they thought was inappropriate?

CR: Not in any kind of serious way. Most people get that I write humor and that I stretch the truth a lot for effect. Occasionally, some don’t get the joke and this leads to a lot of “and your little dog, too” type emails. I don’t let it bother me. It’s humor, people.

CS: Many women are considered “bitches” for being brutally honest. How is it that you still remain classy, while being so upfront?

CR: I’m as classy as a Porta John. You sure you read my stuff? Although I’m truly flattered and my grandmama would be thrilled by your description.

CS: What are you currently reading?

CR: Here’s what’s on my nightstand right now: My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler; The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen; Nothing with Strings by Bailey White; Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl; and Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards.

CS: What do you do in your spare time?

CR: Spare time? There’s not a lot of that. I’m the classic sandwich generation’er. Run errands and do stuff for mom (81) during the day and take care of the Princess (12) the rest of the time. In between, I have a contract for two more books, a weekly humor column to write, an 85-year-old house to maintain, etc., etc. I barely have time to wipe when I pee!

CS: Do you have any advice for future journalists who are feeling discouraged by the economy?

CR: I’m not the best person to ask because there’s this thing called “new media” that is leaving us print dino’s behind. In the old days, I would’ve advised writing for anyone and everyone who will publish you, even if it’s just a penny-saver flier at the grocery store. But things are different now. It’s not just about getting published in a newspaper; it’s about blogging and tweeting and all the rest. I do think that journalism is a calling. No one goes into it for the money. I never, ever wanted to do anything else.

CS: I’m dying to read more of your books! Do you have anything in the works currently?

CR: My fifth book, You Can’t Drink All Day If You Don’t Start in the Morning will be out September 1 and I’ll tour with that for a month or so. It was a fun book to write and, for the first time, I’m including recipes, mostly Southern stuff like pecan pie, chicken salad, and a kid-pleasing ice cream sandwich pie. Damn! I’m hungry.

For more information on Rivenbark, or to purchase her books, visit her website.

Paula Spiletycz is a recent graduate from Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She wants nothing more in life than to move to Disney World, write a children’s book, and own a bakery.