Tina Sloan was a soap opera star for nearly 35 years. She has written a play “Changing Shoes,” a memoir of the same name, and a novel Chasing Cleopatra.
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Q: How did you get started in your career?
A: As an actress, I was in a tiny, off-off-Broadway play, which was seen by an agent who liked me and it went from there. As a writer, I wrote a book called Changing Shoes about going from sexy high heels to black flats as we age and finding the meaning of life in the bottom of one’s closet. It took off and became a one-woman play, so I played myself all over the country. I wore a ton of shoes onstage, changing my life as I changed the shoes I was wearing.
Q: What advice you would give someone interested in a similar career path?
A: The obvious: persistence and more persistence. The not-so-obvious: Step outside the expected. Be original. Don’t agree with the answers others give. Find a new way to do your job.
Q: Where do you find inspiration?
A: Reading all the time. Usually I walk with friends, but walking alone is where creativity comes in, so I get ideas as I wander.
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Q: What inspired you to become a writer?
A: I love making up stories and then as I write, I can become each character, which is where my acting comes in.
Q: What’s one song you know all the lyrics to?
A: “You Are My Sunshine,” which I sang to my son and grandchildren.
Q: Name a novel that you recommend to all your friends?
A: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng.
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Q: What’s your favorite home-cooked meal?
A: Turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce.
Q: What’s one thing people don’t know about you?
A: I’m a marathon runner and climbed 20,000-foot mountain peaks in Nepal and Africa.
