E:
Jayne! What is your skating/writing background?
J: Skating
(background) is pretty non-spectacular. I was just your average
rink rat as a kid and I stopped. I joined roller derby to meet
like minded people. I didn’t know what I was getting into
but that’s half the fun. I’m a copywriter by trade,
I was happy to have my first book be something that is so close
to my heart, and it was a really great opportunity.
E:
So what will people learn from your book
J: I hope
that people will learn a little bit about the history. Most rollergirls
know a decent amount so I tried to include some interesting elements,
but the book is not just for rollergirls, but for fans and support
staff. I think a lot of people will learn a lot about the history
and our culture from reading my book. I had a review that said
that my book is great for friends of those that are so entrenched
in roller derby. It helps those people in our lives that are a
little more on the outskirts, understand us better.
E:
Tell me about the first moment you realized you wanted to record
the roller derby revival?
J: Ppprh…
I think the second we started the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls
in Denver, the 1st revival league in CO. Once I started realizing
the bigger picture and the alternative to the gym I wanted to
give insight to the a world. And that is what I did with the book.
E: Where
did you get all of the amazing pictures?
J: Y’
know it was hard. My editor did a lot of work on that. The historical
photos are from people’s private collections. I owe a huge
thank you to our modern photographers because they did it for
their love of the sport and everyone’s really honest about
that,… that’s where we got them. We put a big representation
of banked track and flat track photos.
E: What
were some of the first steps you took to get this on the press?
J: Um I
think the 1st thing was meeting with my publisher and they were
really understanding. They did so much work, before embarking
on the journey there was a lot of learning that they did, going
to the bouts learning about the culture, they’ve done a
really great job. That exciting moment where I wrote the first
chapter and it was terrifying in the beginning and I was afraid
to turn it in. They’re really cool, they are very much in
line w/ roller derby ethic exposing people to subcultures that
others view as niche. I think their tagline is fighting monoculture
one book at a time. They’ve written about burlesque and
scooter culture. I knew of them because I owned some of their
books. Another one of their authors wrote a book about burlesque
and suggested me.
E: ( In
her most genuine voice Jayne says, “I feel really lucky.”
J: They
still come to RMRG bouts and they’re total derby converts
and that’s what roller derby is about. They really practice
what they preach.
E:
how did roller derby change your life before the book?
J: In so
many ways,…. It’s such a hard question to answer and
it’s the 1st thing I talk about in the book. You walk away
w/ a whole lotta friends, and the feeling of no matter where you
go there are others able to make that connection sounds trite
but it’s actually really comforting and exciting. It’s
a connection that I’m really proud to have and I’m
thankful to have.
E:
How has roller derby changed your life after the book?
J: I’m
definitely still skating and I’m ready to read more books.
It’s a good beginning and I’m proud of it. I’m
happy but I want to see ten other girls write ten more books.
I like the idea of the art book and who wouldn’t want that
on the their coffee table
E: How
long did it take you, start to finish?
J: A little
over a year. It was along time when you are working, playing,
plus being an officer in the league so I was lucky w/ Speck and
that they understood.
E:
Favorite skater to watch?
J: OMG
that’s a tough question…. Trouble from TXRG. I think
she has a unique and so effective style. She’s just fun
to watch and a good all around skater.
E: Did
you travel much to seek info on the book and who supported you?
J: I didn’t—right
in the middle of all of that and my transition to Phoenix and
I did my share of traveling with fight club but it went
hand in hand. I put it together through friends and most of the
contact was online and over the phone
E:
Can you tell those that don’t
already know, how to heal a skate to the crotch?
J: I had
one and I can’t… I’ll say time and a bag of
frozen peas
E: Anyone
you want to thank?
J: OH god
there’s so many,.. I would say the biggest one is Ivanna
who wrote the foreward, and definitely RMRG, oh god I am getting
weepy,.. I miss them so much… (now, crying) The skaters
and the photographers that made it for me. I want to thank everyone
for their labor of love and I appreciate it so much. Everyone
was honest about there own perspective on things and I really
appreciate them.
***Via
will be selling this book in the Bootique in November. |
