Conversations with Jamie Siebrase

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Siebrase

Hi Jamie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve wanted to be a professional writer since at least 6th grade, when I handed my Language Arts teacher a dream journal titled “I Dream of Being a Writter.” My dad saw the journal when I was leaving for school the morning the assignment was due and said, “Jamie, if you want to be a writer, maybe you should learn how to spell the word writer.”

It was too late to redo my journal, and I was mortified when I presented to the class that afternoon. I tried covering that extra “t” with my thumb, but I’m sure my Mr. Winston was onto me. Years later, I can see that my wise, old father was simply doing his part to prepare me for a lifetime of rejection and humiliation.

I majored in Creative Writing. That’s an actual degree. As you can imagine, I wasn’t qualified to do much when I graduated, so I served with AmeriCorps St. Louis for a year before landing in Denver. I thought of myself as a writer. I called myself a writer. Never mind that I wasn’t getting much work or doing much actual writing. When an editor I’d been interning with passed me up for a staff job, I went to law school in a fit of rage.

Law school was fun enough, but then I had my first son, and he was also fun, so I quit my job at a firm and took time to recalibrate. There was a monthly paper called The Profile with a one-room office tucked in the back of a little promenade, just a couple of blocks from my house, a dilapidated 1890s craftsman my husband and I were fixing up. Every month I’d put on some lipstick, skip over to The Profile, knock on the white door, and ask the editor and publisher if I could please write for them. They’d politely decline, and I’d walk home then return a few weeks later. Amazingly, nobody filed a restraining order against me, and after several months of this nonsense I wore down then-publisher and current city council member Paul Kashmann.

I started writing for The Profile, and that opened doors and windows to other opportunities. Sometimes it was just a cat door that somebody had unlocked, and I’d have to suck everything in and squeeze through. I’ve spent the last 15 years freelancing for a variety of local, regional, and national publications. Local newspapers and magazines are the best. I wish more people understood that.

I’d always wanted to write a book, and in 2018 I was at a press event when a friend introduced me to an editor. I pitched my first guidebook, Hiking with Kids Colorado: 52 Great Hikes for Families, on the spot. I wasn’t sure if I could actually write a book, but it turned out that book writing is a little like learning to do kipping pull-ups. You don’t think you’ll ever get the rhythm down, but then after about 6,789 billion tries you do, and you can’t understand why you ever had trouble in the first place. I’m currently working on my 5th nonfiction book for Globe Pequot, and I’ve got a 6th in the pipeline.

That was a really long, convoluted way of saying that I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but my journey to becoming a published author wasn’t exactly the linear trip I’d planned for back in middle school.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been bumpy and filled with potholes and I just can’t understand why the Federal Highway Administration hadn’t done its part to pave the way. I pay my taxes!

Writers are up against a lifetime of self-loathing and doubt, and those of us who love writing just have to suck it up and endure because there’s nothing else we enjoy doing. I tried getting out of writing — (remember law school?) — but here I am, still writing, still getting rejection letters on a regular basis. What I can say is, it keeps me humble, and despite all the setbacks, it’s a joy to wake up every morning, make a cup of coffee (okay, more like a pot), and do what I love.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a freelance journalist and traditionally published author who is currently working on a book about mental health and the outdoors. That last sentence sounded way more boring than I expected. I’m sorry about that. I don’t think my books are nearly this stodgy.

I’ve also written guidebooks about hiking with kids and exploring Colorado with kids, and I have a book of outdoors essays, Mythbusting the Great Outdoors, that only my dad, his friend Ian, and my editor have actually read. I’ve covered a lot of beats over the years, but nowadays I focus mostly on travel and the outdoors.

I’m most proud of a cover story I wrote for Westword in 2015 about the Rossonian Hotel in downtown Denver. I spent way too much time on that story, and ended up on the top floor of Denver’s Central Library at one point, scrolling through the microfiche to figure out what patrons ate at the legendary jazz club at the Rossonian. (Gumbo, among other culinary delights!) I was the first journalist to tour the hotel in decades, so that was even more exciting than the old newspaper articles. Nothing much has happed with the Rossonian since my story came out, but you should still read it, if only to hear former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb talk about sneaking into the club underage.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’ve had too many standout mentors and editors to name, and I don’t really want to answer this question and risk forgetting somebody. But alright, here we go…

My editor Mason Gadd at Falcon is amazing. I feel sorry for authors who don’t get to work with Mason. Eric Peterson, who is one of our more prolific local writers, helped me out really early in my career and has given me lots of work over the years. My writing friends Mindy Sink, Monica Stockbridge, Lydia Rueger, Debbie Mock, Steph Wolf, Carmela Coyle, Laura Perdew, and Jolene Gutiérrez have provided support, advice, and much-needed companionship. These journalists and authors are the best of the best, and if you’re not reading their articles and books, you’re seriously missing out. I’m also thankful for my friends Kelly Kates and Erin Lewellen. I have the best parents in the world, and I’m not just saying that because they provide free meals and childcare. My husband, Ben, is really tolerant and has been putting up with my neurosis for almost 20 years. I love him most days, and that’s pretty damn good for being married with kids.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jamie-siebrase.com/
• Instagram: @JamieSiebrase
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamie.siebrase