Meet Gayla Turner | Author – Don’t You Dare – Uncovering Lost Love

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gayla Turner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gayla, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I found my passion for writing late in life. I was in my fifties when I started writing my first book, Don’t You Dare. Before that, it had been years since I had done any creative writing. However, after finding my grandmother’s secret wedding photos from 1915, I became compelled to share her story. It turned out that the groom standing next to my grandmother in those photos was not my grandfather, but a woman dressed in men’s clothing.

When I discovered my grandmother’s photos, I knew they were important to me. However, it was not until I started putting the pieces together that I realized how important the pictures and story were to our LGBTQ+ history.

Initially, the story was only going to be about my Grandma Ruby. However, as I researched her past, a bigger story started forming that needed to be told. Her photos and captions tell a story. They are funny, witty, beautiful, and loving—unlike the typical stoic photos taken back then. The pictures were not just one event; instead, they depicted a series of events that involved a substantial group of people.

I often think about how difficult it must have been for them. Even keeping the photos was very dangerous. If anyone outside the circle of friends found out how deep their relationships really were, everything would change. They could be forced to marry a man their parents selected, run out of town, put into a mental institution, or physically attacked. If my grandmother was brave enough to keep the photos, I would be brave enough to tell her story.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
While researching for my book, I approached it much like I would do a large work project. I’m a bank examiner by day and that entails evaluating and inquiring about financial information to make sure banks comply with the rules. It was important to me to link actual events and people when telling the story.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I talked with several talented writer friends and told them my grandmother’s story as I showed her photos. I hoped they would offer to write the story for me, but each one told me the same thing, “Gayla, this is your story to tell.” However, writing a book was not on my list of things to do in life. I have worked in a technical profession for the last thirty years, and the only writing I had done was for reports or procedure manuals. Because writing a book was too far outside my comfort zone, so I tried to forget the story. However, the story did not give up on me. After a year of waking up in the middle of the night thinking about my Grandma Ruby and the other gals in the photos, I started writing. My friends were right. It is a story that only I could tell.

However, the writing process was not easy for me, and I required outside help. This included hiring a writing coach, joining a writing group, and becoming a Wisconsin Historical Society member.

It turned out to be a ten-year project, and I still feel like I am beginning to understand and trust the writing process. I traveled to Amherst a couple of times because I had a deep need to see, in person, the house where my grandmother lived and to walk the streets she had walked. Most importantly, I felt I needed to breathe the air and smell the ground where everything happened. Although I’m not an academically trained historian, I am passionate about LGBTQ+ history.

I hit many roadblocks along the way. The funny thing is, every time I thought I could not move forward in the story, information I did not see before would be revealed to me. I began expecting the roadblocks and always thanked Grandma Ruby for supplying me with the right hint when I needed it most.

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