Lally Pia
Lally Pia was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in Ghana, and made it halfway through medical school before political turmoil closed down her university and she learned that her American Green Card had been bungled. She went on to work as a church organist, teacher, and ice cream decorator, as well as a scientist in a molecular biology lab. Her next stint was as the director of UC Davis’s Body Donation Program, where she embalmed cadavers and maintained a freezer full of human specimens (a thankless job that she was glad to leave after three years). Lally is a mother, grandmother, and child psychiatrist who lives in Davis, California, with her husband, Tim.
Twitter: @lallypiamd
Favorite non-reading activity?
A cup of tea with a friend to catch up on their life and how it is working out for them (or not!) I love to view my world through the lens of others, share ideas, disagree, get a fresh perspective, listen to suggestions if I have a problem. This communion of ideas warms my world.
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
Not more than about 5 to 10 pages at the most. Unfortunately I am extremely impatient. It upsets and irritates me that the writer has not tried harder to engage me or provide something more exciting from the start. I fear that this tepid writing will continue to characterize the story. I have multiple interests, so I treat my time as perhaps the most precious commodity.
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
A writer is a technician. Words are thrown on the page for an audience of one–––the writer. I become an author when I synthesize, shape, massage and overall edit the material to tell a tale with a specific audience in mind. I begin every story as a writer, then morph into an author when I put on editing polish.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
I took classical piano lessons and passed eight years of examinations from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. I also have a side hobby of making greeting cards for family members with a (typically) funny poem that I have composed for them. I’ve been doing this since I was about 11 years old.
What do you worry about?
I worry about the danger of climate change to all the intricate ecosystems we have on this planet, and the ongoing threat to all our amazing animals and plants. I worry that as children become over-immersed in video games and meaningful engagement with both family and friends, they will lose empathy. I fear that this will make them more prone to violent and antisocial behavior.
