City Chick Magazine

Leah Starr Baker
Author of The Bunko Babes

New voice in fiction Leah Starr Baker has made a brilliant debut with her novel The Bunk Babes (Emerald Pointe Books, Oklahoma, 2007). Inspired by real life experiences and her appreciation of family, friends, and faith in her life, Leah tells the story of a happily married woman, Rebecca Thornton, who suffers from a painful disease and mental anguish in her personal and social life but counts on her friends, family, and faith to emerge successful and stronger than before. The title The Bunk Babes represents the group of friends who regularly come together to play Bunko while also providing social support to one another through their hard times. Former Miss Oklahoma Leah Starr Baker shows all the effulgence of a gifted writer and the spirit of human friendliness. Following is my e-mail interview with this wonderful person.

Ernest: Leah, let me congratulate you first on making a brilliant debut with The Bunko Babes. Please tell us a little about your education, profession, family, and your interest in writing.

Leah Baker: Thanks so much for your kind words and congratulations. I can't tell you how much it means to me to read such positive reviews over something that I have poured my heart and soul into.
Most of my education comes from the school of life. I do have 60 or so credit hours at a multitude of colleges in an array of majors. I have pursued careers in a variety of fields from country music to real estate and now as a novelist. This is definitely my favorite thus far, though singing comes in at a very close second.
As far as my family is concerned, I grew up in the home of a minister and I absolutely loved it. Being a role model came second nature for me and I never really looked at being a P.K. (preacher's kid) as anything but a blessing. My Mom and Dad still are in the ministry and they travel worldwide, speaking and teaching.
I am happily married to Douglas Baker and we have two children. Alexandria Starr is 7 years old and Deuce is 6 years old. They are the joy of my life as well as being my most challenging adventure yet to date. I've already warned them that anything they say or do is apt to be used in one of my books and they are okay with that, at least for right now (smiles).

Ernest: When and how was the idea of The Bunko Babes conceived and what does the Bunko game personally mean to you?

Leah Baker: This is one of my favorite stories to share. The title of the book I owe entirely to my husband Douglas. One night, we were soaking in the hot tub enjoying a little one-on-one time when out of the blue he says, 'I've got an idea for a book that you need to write.' Knowing of his own creativity (we have written several songs together prior to this), I asked him to lay it on me. He then proceeded to tell me that the title of the book should be 'Bunko' and the story would revolve around a group of women who are using their Bunko group as a cover for a methamphetamine ring. I thought it sounded quite interesting and I was definitely drawn to the title. It would be months later that God would begin birthing in me the story to go along with the title. And of course, as I began to write, the Bunko Babes emerged.
When I began writing The Bunko Babes, I was bedridden/housebound, and had been so for well over a year. I had never played the game of Bunko or really even knew anybody who had. So for all accounts and purposes, it could have been Bridge or Dominoes. But the title that God had given us had to do with Bunko. So I had to get on the internet and research this game of dice. I actually learned how to play Bunko via Google.com. In reality, being a part of a group like this was simply a dream. To be able to commit to being somewhere once a week was something that at this point was absolutely impossible. But through The Bunko Babes, I got to step outside of myself, out of my world, and experience the joy these women received from this simple game and their wonderful friends. It wasn't until nearly a year later that I was able to put a group together myself and we now play once a month on the 3rd Thursday of each month. I can tell you that it is much more fun to play it in reality as opposed to via the internet.

Ernest: So why did you choose fiction to explore the issues of family, friendship, and faith in a modern woman's life?

Leah Baker: In my own personal experience, people are more open to deal with serious or uncomfortable issues if they are reading a story as opposed to a non-fiction book. Jesus himself understood this as well. I personally believe that is why He spoke to unbelievers in parables. Besides, it is much easier to be completely open and honest when you are protected by the mask of a character.

Many of the people in The Bunko Babes are loosely based on people that I do know and love. I have found, as a writer, that in order to create a believable, three-dimensional character, it needs to be built around the characteristics of others you may know. I have been extremely blessed in my life to have a host of friends that I can depend upon to help me through the tough times in life and to celebrate the good times.
As you may know already, Becca is based upon some of my own trials and experiences. As a chronic disease sufferer, I knew first hand the pain and frustrations that you face as you walk down that road. So it was much easier for me to put myself in her shoes as I wrote this story.

Ernest: The lead character in the story, Rebecca Thornton, is a woman who faces multiple problems with her life but who gets over them with the support of her friends and her personal faith and courage. What is the primary strength of Becca: family, friends, or faith?

Leah Baker: Wow! What a great question. I believe that family, faith and friends build one upon another. Jesus Christ is and always will be the solid foundation that Becca draws upon but it is her family that gives her the reason and motivation to move past the struggles and move forward into her future. In the same vein, without her 'Babes' to call upon, Becca could have gotten stuck in the muck of her illness. Sometimes our friends can say things to us that we would, without a doubt, reject coming from our own family. Ya'll know what I'm talkin' about. My best friend can tell me I look a little chubby in that outfit or I'm being a little snippy and it will cause me to step back and examine myself a little closer. But if my husband Douglas said that to me, I might be tempted to knock him clear back to last week. I don't know why that is but it is what it is.

Ernest: An important issue in Becca's story is her widowed mother's remarriage. Becca is angry with her mom. How do you comment on Becca's feelings, justified or irrational? We do agree that her mother had all the right to love and remarry, isn't it?

Leah Baker: Becca's Mom had every right to remarry. That goes without say. But having the right to marry did not change the feelings of abandonment that Becca was wrestling with. The death of a parent is one of the hardest things to face in life. The changes brought about by that death are many and they are devastating. You mix those emotions with an unexplained illness tearing at your body and you are not going to always be rational in how you feel or respond. Becca just wanted life to go back to the way it was before her father passed away and before she got ill.

Ernest: Becca's daughter Brooklyn is an opinionated and strong-willed child and we see Becca as being more careful in dealing with her. As a mom yourself, would you like to offer bit of advice regarding the treatment of strong-headed children, especially those in their teens?

Leah Baker: Well, my strong willed-child is only 7 but I can tell you that already the kid gloves are on. Early on in her life (like 6 months old), I had to learn to pick my battles. Was it really worth the effort and heartache to make sure she always had a bow in her hair, or should I just let it go? For me in dealing with Alexandria, I have divided issues up into two categories: life threatening and hangnails. If it isn't going to detrimentally affect her physically, emotionally or spiritually, then I try to let it go.
There is only one day a week that I demand that she dress in a nice dress, roll her hair and put in a clip or bow to keep her bangs out of her eyes and that is of course, on Sunday mornings. And sometimes even then, if she is being incredibly difficult, I try to take a deep breath and remind myself that this is not life threatening. That is my recommendation for mothers of headstrong children or teens. Fight only the battles that truly are of utmost importance.

Ernest: At one point, Becca wonders how her friends, the Bunko Babes, can pretend to be in control while so much has gone amiss in their lives. Do you suggest that women bring their problems up before their friends or just assume a hush and try to cope with their problems on their own?

Leah Baker: This is a delicate line. I believe in being real and honest with what is going on in your life but I also believe in there being a time and a place for this honesty. You certainly don't want to come in to a party or gathering and verbally vomit on your friends. If you do this often, they are going to come to dread being in your company. But then you also don't want to push aside your feelings until you are so bottled up inside that you explode.
Friends are here to support you, to love you, and to pray for you. If you don't reach out and ask for this blessing, then you are selling yourself and your friends short. If you are having a bad day, tell your friends or your husband. Say something like, 'Boy, you might want to watch your step today because I am in just one of those moods and can't seem to snap out of it.' I'll bet that once it's out and you're not trying to pretend to be in a great mood that simply being around someone who loves you, in spite of who you can be, will change your attitude.

I strongly believe in reaching out when you need help. Reaching out to God and reaching out to others can save you from yourself. If Becca never sought the support of her friends then she may have found herself wallowing in her misery, locked in the deadly grip of depression. We are not meant to be solitary creatures. God confirms this when in Genesis 2:18 he says, 'It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'

Ernest: Becca reacts to her husband's attempt of avoiding a discussion of her possible death. Should we appreciate her husband's love that doesn't allow this discussion or side with Becca in discussing disturbing possibilities?

Leah Baker: Denying something doesn't make it go away. There are times in life when we have to look our problems straight in the face and deal with them. Putting on a happy face and always making Becca laugh was actually building a wall between them. Thomas was shutting her out, denying her feelings and therefore isolating Becca from him in her deepest time of need. We must process things in order to be able to properly approach them and move beyond them. Discussing the possibility of death will not bring it to fruition but it can take some of the fear and bite out of it.

Ernest: In one chapter, we see Becca feeling jealous of Mercedes for being so much better able to mange Becca's house and kids. How do you comment on jealousy and friendship?

Leah Baker: That ugly green monster can rear its head any moment. Learning to own up to that feeling, take it under control, and process it will help you to move beyond it. A lot of times in my life, simply giving voice to my jealousy put it out of my mind. Most of the times, our jealousy is a hint of some hidden need or wound that we need to face. Learning to love ourselves in just the wonder and beauty that God created us in is one of life's most difficult challenges. Being jealous doesn't mean that you aren't friends or that you are an evil person, it just means that you need God to help you see yourself as He sees you.

Ernest: The Bunko Babes is a heart-warming book with some good humor and no indecent language that is so often a part of many contemporary books of fiction. You seem to value the good old times when decency was cherished in all literature, right?

Leah Baker: Boy, do I. I miss the days when you could turn on the television and not worry what channel it was on as long as it was before 10 o'clock. I miss the time when a four-letter word wasn't the first thing that popped into your mind when you stubbed your toe. But unfortunately, we are now living in a society where the inappropriate is glorified and the appropriate is scorned. Read Gone With the Wind. It is a book fraught with war, love lost, jealousy, and all the ugly of this world and yet it was dealt with in such an appropriate way. You can leave some things up to the imagination. A great writer can introduce you to a place and a character that is outside your domain and without using a single curse word can alert you to the fact that their language is fowl. My father taught me that.

Ernest: We can hardly think of you not planning to write another novel. In fact, I would rather have you write several each year. Any ideas for another wonderful book?

Leah Baker: I have been praying for quite some time about the possibility of a follow-up to The Bunko Babes but I didn't just want to write it for the sake of having a series. I wanted it to really move the story forward and to have a message as well. And now finally, I can say that I have the story and I am eager to start on it as soon as possible. So say a little prayer for me that God will open the doors of my mind and allow me to touch others again with my storytelling.

Ernest: Thank you Leah for this wonderful conversation!

Leah Baker: Many blessings to you!

To learn more about Leah Baker and The Bunk Babes, visit www.bunkobabe.gather.com and/or www.thebunkobabes.biz.

Leah Baker was interviewed for City Chick Mag by Ernest Dempsey.

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