Friday, June 1, 2012

CHRW Meet The Member:

Gerri Bowen

How long have you been a member of Celtic Hearts?
I believe for six or seven years.

What prompted you to join this chapter?
To learn information a writer would deem necessary and interesting.

In what genre do you prefer to write and why?
I write in the historical fantasy/ paranormal genre. Historical because I love history and love to read historicals. I lean toward writing fantasy and the paranormal because I have so many ideas about how to include those elements in my stories and make them entertaining. I have an entire world worked out, which I call My Wild-Blooded World.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Too many to list, but Laura Kinsale is one of my favorites. I also read westerns, mystery, contemporary, suspense and horror. I love humor in books. If I read a book and love it, I’ll tweet and share it, and it doesn’t matter the genre. But I’m terrible at reviews, writing them and posting them.

When you are not writing, what are your hobbies, passions, etc?
Genealogy. My maternal haplotype is ‘J’, and I love trying to find and connect with others that share my heritage.

What place inspires you the most?
Southwest England.

Have you ever been to Ireland, Scotland, Wales etc? Tell us about this trip and what you came away with afterwards.
I’ve been to England twice, but never visited the north, something I’d like to do. Haven’t been to Wales or Scotland either, but I also want to visit there. I’ve been to Ireland, loved it, but only managed the south and west. If I visited each of those countries for a year, I don’t think that would be enough time to explore and see all that interested me. Never enough time.

If you could be transported back in time for a day, when and where would you want to go?
I’d love to meet my maternal ancestor, the one that started my ‘J’ haplotype. I’d want to see what she looked like, how she lived and understand what she believed.

Do you have any pets?
Oh yes, my dog, Minnie, and three rescue cats, Sophie, Loupie and Sally.

9 comments:

Alexa said...

Great to learn more about you, Gerri! I agree that there's never enough time in any of those countries.

Paisley Kirkpatrick said...

Could you explain what 'J' haplotype means, Gerri. That's a new one for me. My mother did ten years of genealogy and gave us such a gift of our ancestry. I hope you are able to get to 'know' your maternal ancestor who has guided you.

Fun getting to know you better. :)

Victoria Roberts said...

Hi Gerri! I love researching family. We were able to trace my husband's lineage back to Germany in the early 1500's.

Fun post.

Gossip Cowgirl said...

Gerri! It's fantastic to see all this information about you on here. Thanks so much for doing the interview!

-Rebecca Lynn

Dawn Marie Hamilron said...

Nice to meet you, Gerri. Like Paisley, I'm curious what 'J' haplotype means. My sister traced my father's side to Scotland. I look at the chart and smile.

Gerri Bowen said...

Thank you for commenting, Alexa. Never enough time or money.

Thank you Paisley and Dawn. Some years ago I did the swabby thing (cheek swabbing) with Oxford Ancestry, and then later participated in the Genographic Project in association with National Geographic to determine where my maternal line originated. There are many markers for mtDNA, going from 100,000 to 15,000 years ago. When the genes mutate, a new line is formed. I am 'J', which branched off from another line, which had branched off another line, and so on back to "Eve". Not long ago I found Family Finder, and although they offer to do the swabby things, they accept the results from the Genographic Project. They match up markers and you are able to get in touch with others who share the same markers and see if there is a connection, and a paper trail to help track down ancestors.

Thank you Victoria, I love researching, too.

Thank you, Rebecca. It was a pleasure.

Paisley Kirkpatrick said...

Interesting, Gerri. I think I have heard of it before. Good luck finding all those branches on your family tree. My Mom spent the last ten years of her life putting together five, three-inch binders for us. It is a treasure to have.

Pat McDermott said...
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