What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.
PREFACE: I was the Love Doc for MTV, the weekly columnist for the Today Show’s, “30-Second Therapist,” and the “Ask Dr. Gilda” columnist for Match.com. I routinely hear from the heartbroken and the lovelorn. Especially troubling for me is the 1 in 4 number of girls raped at our nation’s colleges—and nothing is being done about that. So I wrote my 17th book for young women so: “Don’t Lie on Your Back for a Guy Who Doesn’t Have Yours.” It is filled with real emails from real girls, with my responses, self-assessments, and facts about gender relationships. All towards healthy interacting. Finally!
Tell us something about yourself.
I began as a teacher in the ghettos of the South Bronx. After I got my Ph.D. from New York University, I began training corporate executives in the street smarts I had learned from the rough and tumble New York streets. Then TV found me, and I was a staple on every national talk and news show, from Sally Jessy Raphael to Dateline to Howard Stern. Suddenly, my audience swelled, and I felt compelled to offer healthy relationship advice in a culture where relationships are continually at risk. I have a private practice online and I advise teens to executives throughout the world.
What inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired to write this book because of the numbers of people begging me for healthy relationship solutions for their pain.
How did you celebrate when you finished writing the book? When it was published?
It was published at the end of 2016, but I just sat with it because I felt I needed to add to its information with a companion journal. I created 365 Gilda-Grams, and put it into “My Rants and Ramblings Journal,” one Gilda-Gram for every day of the week. Young women tell me their journal has lots of tear stains. As the companion to “Don’t Lie on Your Back for a Guy Who Doesn’t Have Yours,” I appear in the media with both books.
How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?
I’ve been writing since I was in grammar school, but I didn’t know my life would take off the way it had, with TV and my books!
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I usually sit down and pour onto the computer what’s in my mind, and what’s on random notes I’ve been collecting regarding the human condition of relationships. Then I return to what I’ve written and get it organized.
Do you have a daily or weekly writing schedule, or do you write only when you are inspired? How many words or pages do you complete in a typical day?
Whenever I have a block of time, I devote it to my writing.
How many drafts did you write before publishing your most recent book?
I am forever editing, and re-editing. Even when I think I’m done, I’m not. I have dreams of what I forgot to put into a manuscript, and sometimes I jump out of bed to jot down my dreams on the pad at the side of my bed.
What software do you use to write? Or do you prefer to write longhand or dictate your work? What made you choose the method you use?
I use Word.
What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?
Don’t just THINK you want to write. WRITE!!
Where can readers learn more about you and your book?
My books are on Amazon.
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