Interview with Merryn Witherspoon: Part 2

Monika: It has been over a year since our first interview. You look fantastic! What has changed in your life since then?

Merryn: Many thanks, Monika! It’s nice to keep in touch. Yes, a lot has certainly happened since our first interview in March 2014 and which occurred at a time of great uncertainty just after my father had died and my mother was in a nursing home. She actually also then died early and I then had to decide whether or not to continue with my move back to North Yorkshire.

Ultimately, I did move back in early July, having decided to move into my late parent's house and convert it into a B&B as it’s located in a prime tourist area close to the North Yorkshire National Park and the historic city of York as well as being close to my birthplace of Scarborough on the north coast of England. It’s a very small rural hamlet with only about ten houses and I did wonder what the neighbors would make of me!

Interview with Valerie Lyn Brooks

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Valerie Lyn Brooks, a former US Navy Gunner, photographer, historian, and veteran advocate. Hello Valerie!

Valerie: Good Morning, Monika. It’s a pleasure to be interviewed.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Valerie: I am a Navy veteran, photographer, historian, veteran advocate and currently work in the field of Disaster Recovery.

Monika: At which stage of the transition are you right now?

Valerie: Actually, I am hitting my 1-year mark on HRT on April 2nd, 2015.

Interview with Violet Bernarde

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Violet Bernarde, a young video blogger that documents her transition on YouTube. Hello Violet!

Violet: Who me? ;P

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Violet: I’m an average girl. I just happen to have a trait that other girls don’t, but we all have something that makes us unique in some way.

Monika: Why did you decide to share your transition details on YouTube?

Violet: I shared myself for a few different reasons. I wanted to document my own transition and make a diary of sorts. I wanted to give back to the community and make videos that helped others. I wanted to connect with people for my own sake and it also gave me a little spending money to pay for food which I didn’t have much of in the beginning.

Interview with Sophia Gubb

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Sophia Gubb, a writer who is British by birth but living in Germany, the author of the biographical book titled “Stubborn Soul” (2015). Hello Sophia!

Sophia: Hi there :)

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Sophia: Um, I have lots of identities, but I'm not sure what to say that really speaks about who I am. I'm a writer, a speaker when I can manage it, and am very passionate about trying to help the world however I can. I'm into spirituality, personal development, animal rights (including vegetarianism/veganism), and LGBT topics. That said, right now I'm recovering from the most intense part of my gender transition and trying to find some kind of stability in my life, so I'm not working at full capacity.

Interview with Teri Louise Kelly

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Teri Louise Kelly, an Australian writer, poet, the author of many books, including the biographical books titled: “Sex, Knives & Bouillabaisse” (2008), “Last Bed on Earth” (2009) “American Blow Job” (2010) and “Bent” (2014). Hello Teri!

Teri: Hi Monika.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Teri: I like to write, garden and drink, although not necessarily in that order. 

Monika: Your books cover very diverse topics: loneliness as in “The Last Bed on Earth” (2009), immigration as in “American Blow Job: A Novel” (2010), war and blood as in “The Colour of Your Blood” (2012). How do you find subjects for your books?

Teri: Mainly they’re based on my life, just stories and memories and reminiscence, sometimes they’re clear and other times out of focus so the theme develops perhaps from one single memory into a mishmash of recollections joined with narrative.

Interview with Karen Adell Scot

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Karen Adell Scot. Miss Scot is a very diverse woman. She is an award-winning California high school science teacher, a movie producer, and screenwriter of feature films, a former Major in the military, a law enforcement officer, and recently a beauty queen. Hello Karen Adell!

Karen Adell: Hi there Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Karen Adell: Thank you so much for interviewing me. It is an honor to share a little bit of my life with your readers.

Monika: You hit the headlines in December 2014 when the American media covered your coming-out story. Were you satisfied with the way the media covered your transition? 

Karen Adell: Absolutely not. I was outed against my will on the front pages of many newspapers, on over twenty local news broadcasts and then was outed on all the major American national news broadcasts and went viral on the net. Many stories used male pronouns and then allowed comments where others called me a “thing” and “it” even calling for me to die as some sort of filthy piece of garbage. Some stories about me were so bad other news stories were written using my example of how NOT to write about transgender women.