Sophfronia Scott's Blog: Sophfronia Scott, Author, page 31

VCFA Puerto Rico Residency Day 2

[Posts from my Vermont College of Fine Arts winter residency.]

Saturday morning. I sit here at a stone checkers table in the shade of this fine old tree down by the marina. You see the garbage men taking a break from their work. I stare out over the water pretending to be a lost soul from centuries past waiting for a loved one’s ship to return from sea. To my right two elderly men play checkers while a woman, her toddler son, and the pigeons look on.


This morning we walked out to El Morro Fort. Actually first we took a lovely side trip strolling around the wall that was built along with the fort to guard the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico. Beautiful vegetation but it can be hazardous to history: the National Park Service folks must constantly pull plants from the cracks of the wall so their roots won’t compromise the stone and cause it to crumble.


The park ranger while delivering a bit of a history lesson also repeatedly reminded us that we are not cannons and should not climb out through the spaces on top of the fort’s walls meant for cannons! We held our talk in this lovely chapel. The saint in the painting watches over sailors.



Once inside the fort Mary Ruefle and I discovered the best view was actually through this odd nook in the women’s bathroom! Mary and I ventured out to see the hauntingly beautiful Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, across the lawn and just below the fort. I’ll let the art and majesty of this gorgeous place speak for it:





In the afternoon we had our first faculty lecture: Richard McCann on Grace Paley’s short short story “Mother.” We read it out loud multiple times and examined how Paley creates the emotion of the story and holds the piece together with a spine formed by very specific imagery. We also noted how the story was most likely inspired by a song Paley heard on the radio. Her mention of the song, “Oh, How I Long to See My Mother in the Doorway,” opens the piece. Mary pointed out how stories and poems come from real life inspiration–a good thing to keep in mind since we are continually being inspired here in this beautiful place.




Later we visited the home of author and journalist Hector Feliciano–he wrote The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy to Steal the World’s Greatest Works of Art. His eight-year investigation brought about the recovery of over 2,000 works of art. I loved hearing about Hector’s passion for the work. Often it took him years to get key people to do interviews with him. His hands floated up as he spoke of how helpless he was in the grip of the folly he knew it was to be so obsessed. But then, he said, “Any enterprise of writing is a folly. But for us (writers) it’s necessary.” Another great thing he told us: “Writing books is a deep and important matter. It remakes me again and again and again.” I sat there thinking of how sometimes the greatest work takes the most time and patience, well beyond what you already assume it will take. You must add more on top of it.
Afterwards Hector invited us up to the roof to enjoy the ocean view.




Tonight, just now, I hear a cruise ship’s horn and in an instant I am flung into that scene in “An Affair to Remember” where they have to leave Cary Grant’s grandmother and return to their ship. I realize the quiet, graceful beauty I’ve been feeling about Puerto Rico is the same as that place in the movie. I think they were in Italy? Anyway, funny what a sound can trigger. That’s all for tonight. Until later,

Sophfronia

VCFA Puerto Rico Residency Day 1

[Posts from my Vermont College of Fine Arts winter residency.] As I write this I have been in Puerto Rico for 24 hours. I think I am still getting acclimated. Still absorbed in the wonder of the fact that I am not cold!em Because of the heat I expect the day to go on forever, just like in the summer, but it still grows dark just after 5 pm as it does this time of year. Is that how they tell the seasons in a place like this? By the progression of the sun as it rolls across the sky? By how much rain pours from some heavenly fountain?


As I walk the streets of Old San Juan I do feel a general sense of well-being. The healing bright tropical colors seep into me.


We visited La Casa del Libro, the House of the Book. We learned about the late introduction of the printing press to Puerto Rico and its effect on writers. The press didn’t come to PR until 1806, but the first literary books weren’t published until 1850. Before that it was just newspapers and history books heavily censored by Spain. Our lecturer, Wilfredo A. Geigel, is a former lawyer now pursuing his passion for finding and preserving these books and Puerto Rico’s publishing history.




The rest of the day I wondered about what it meant to write with no hope of publishing. Did the writers make books for themselves, the pages tied together with string? I’m willing to believe the words would find their way into the world.

We had our first day of workshop, where we get to have our writing read and critiqued in a group setting. Mary Ruefle, the poet, is the leader of the group I’m in. At the regular Vermont residency in Montpelier I would not necessarily have such an opportunity to work with her–I’m a prose student. So she’s a big part of my decision to come to Puerto Rico. Workshop is a deep experience. My piece is not up for discussion yet, but I will share these two wonderful tidbits from Mary:

“Nothing teaches you but reading and writing. Nothing teaches you but the practice of your art.”

“When you write you are a conduit for energy but that energy does not belong to you.”

That’s all for now. More soon,

Sophfronia

The Time It Takes to Tell a Story

This week I’ve been helping a friend with a story he wanted to submit to the editors of Chicken Soup for the Soul for an upcoming book on caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. As he sat down to his computer I sent him a text: “If you get stuck, remember: you’re just telling me a story about your mom.” I didn’t know in that moment he really was stuck, and my note provided him with the necessary oil to get the gears moving. He eventually sent me a draft of a wonderful story that will be published this spring.

I wish I could say telling your story can always be this easy when you have the right help, but I know that’s not true. As I write this our community here in Sandy Hook, CT is observing the first anniversary of the tragedy that took place at my son’s school. I have yet to complete a piece of writing about the event. Yes, I’ve managed a few drafts over these 12 months and right now I’m probably closer to finishing something than I have been in a long time. But I don’t know if I will finish it. Sometimes writing is just hard, especially when you’re still in the middle of living what you’re writing about. I’m still processing, still making connections. I know I have to allow myself the time and space to do that.

Last summer the online literary journal Numero Cinq published my critical essay on how to connect with a reader when you’re writing about something personal. I stressed the importance of time and reflection. I recently read Sonali Deraniyagala’s memoir, Wave in which she writes of the tsunami that struck the southern coast of Sri Lanka nine years ago this month, killing her parents, her husband, and her two young sons. She survived but it took her three years before she could step foot in her London house again. At five years after the tragedy she still questioned who she was in a new world too strange and unfamiliar. While I don’t compare my grief with hers or anyone else’s, Deraniyagala has reminded me of the importance of time and reflection and why I must be patient and sit with the unknown.

The story you have to tell may come easily or with great difficulty–or perhaps both depending on the day and your disposition. But it is worth it to make the effort to write it. I spent the past year working with 21 women telling hard stories, many for the first time, about their lives. As the book, Women on Fire, Volume 2, neared publication, I know many of them felt apprehension about seeing their lives in print. This week they held the book in their hands for the first time and I have not heard one word of regret. If they can be so courageous I know I can do the same. As Debbie Phillips, who gathered these women for the book likes to say, it’s less scary when we all hold hands and jump into the pool together. Perhaps my writing this post is my way of reaching out and doing that with you. I’ll keep working. I’ll let you know what comes.

Autumn Update

First of all I’d like to welcome the wonderful friends I’ve met in my recent travels who have joined our conversation here. I hope you’ll be inspired to create your best work in the months to come! Have you been enjoying this glorious autumn? Here in Connecticut the trees have reached their peak color and I’m nearly done cooking all the apples we picked at a local orchard. Right now there’s apple crisp, apple pie, and apple upside-down coffee cake in our kitchen. Someone stop me before I bake again…

Here’s a big CONGRATULATIONS for Kim Dettmer of Berea, Ohio! Kim took my Self-Publishing 101 class last year, and next month she’s publishing her first children’s book, Moments Meant to Savor. Publishing a children’s book can be difficult–it presents many different issues because of the illustrations and sizing, so this is a huge accomplishment for Kim. You can learn more about her book and order it here.

Are you interested in self-publishing? The latest Poets & Writers magazine features a series of articles on “The Power of Self-Publishing” so even in the literary world authorities are beginning to see this process is more respected and here to stay. If you would like to know more about self-publishing, just send me an email (editor@doneforyouwriting.com) and tell me more about your project. I may offer the self-publishing class again in January if there’s enough interest.

Before I go further I must also mention that Tain has joined the Cub Scouts for the first time! He’s having fun this fall hanging out with his friends and exploring the beautiful forests and countryside here. He’s also enjoying his first experience in fundraising as he’s been selling popcorn door-to-door in our neighborhood to help fund his pack’s camping trips. If you’d like to support Tain’s troop, you can do so by going here now. They even have a great option where, if you don’t want popcorn for yourself, you can donate it to our military personnel based overseas. Several of our friends have done this and I think it’s a wonderful idea. Tain thanks you in advance!

I have good news on the publication front: I’ve had two short stories and an essay published in recent weeks. The first is my essay, “Tain in the Rain,” that appears in the Special Tribute Issue of The Newtowner. My short story, “Murder Will Not Be Tolerated,” is in Issue 9 of the Saranac Review and my short story, “Sometimes God Wears Orange Cowboy Boots,” appears in the new book, Paddle Shots: A River Pretty Anthology. All of these publications are full of excellent writing and, in the case of the Newtowner, awesome artwork, so I encourage you to use the links here and order your own copies. It’s about being a good literary citizen! More on that in another message.

My travels these past two months have taken me to the Catskills where I taught at the Hobart Book Village Festival of Women Writers (see photo here from my workshop on writing journals) and to Tecumseh, Missouri for the River Pretty Writers Retreat. The great thing about such events is getting to meet amazing writers such as Mary Johnson, who tells the story of her years spent as a nun in Mother Teresa’s order in the memoir An Unquenchable Thirst. Mary is also one of the founders of A Room Of Her Own Foundation which supports women in their quest to be creative writers. 

Two things you should know about this pair of events: 1.) They are both insanely inexpensive, yet staffed with well-published authors, and 2.) They will both take place again next year–River Pretty in April, and the Festival in September. So I encourage you to check them out, mark your calendars, and join me on the road. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much your writing will benefit.

Until then, as they say in The Writer’s Almanac, be well, do good work, and keep in touch!

Best Wishes,

Why Writers Must Travel

A few months ago I received a postcard from a writer friend I met just as he was graduating with his MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). He was traveling in Guatemala and said the new surroundings had affected him deeply. “When I wake up and step out my door and see such beautiful scenery or such color in what people wear I get this urge to write.” He then added, “I hope that when you finish the MFA you’ll give yourself the time to write in new and interesting places.”

He had planted a seed. I didn’t know what to do with it then, but it touched me enough that I keep his card in my writing journal. VCFA offers its writing students the opportunity to spend a residency abroad in either Slovenia or Puerto Rico. I honestly had no interest in these residencies before, but I can say for a fact that it seems, step-by-step, my learning process at VCFA has brought me to this point where I feel I must go.

It seems as though I started the program tightly focused on the page and the mechanics of writing. I wanted to learn about craft and read, read, read and I’m doing so. But I’ve also had teachers who have pulled my head out of the computer and said, “Look around you,” so I could see my writing is happening out there in my physical surroundings as well as within me, reverberating in my heart. Everything is bigger now–my ideas, my courage, my heart, my world. When I received a VCFA email recently announcing registration for the Puerto Rico residency it felt inevitable. “Yes,” I thought. “It’s time for me to go to Puerto Rico.” It’s time to go out like a Gauguin and see what happens to my art when I’m exposed to new voices and new influences.

I’ve always said one of the best things you can do for yourself as a writer is to get out. Before I was talking about showing up at writing events, meeting other amazing writers and learning as much as you can. This is all still very important. But I urge you to think about the travel component as well. You can either board a plane, take a train or drive someplace different in your car. Just do it. Here’s why:

 Being in a new place refocuses your writer eye. My friend mentioned the colors and clothing of Guatemala. I get a similar view sitting in a park when I visit New York City. Plunked down in all that diversity, I begin to see stories everywhere.
When you travel you may have experiences with unexpected outcomes. My essays took on a spiritual nature after I did a 3-hour solo sit in the snowy woods of Montpelier. It was a huge surprise and I’m still wrapping my brain around this work.
You develop an awareness of place. You’ll either want to write about the new environment you’ve discovered, or you’ll want to write more than ever about where you came from. Leaving home makes you more aware of the hold it has on you.

For myself I try to travel, near or far, a little bit every month. If all goes well I will be in Puerto Rico for my VCFA residency in January. This autumn I’m making two trips, one as a teacher and the other as a student. By the way, these trips are REALLY inexpensive opportunities. I’d love for you to join me if you can. It would be great to write together!

Here’s amazing writing event #1: September 6-8 I’ll be at the Hobart Book Village Festival of Women Writers in the gorgeous Catskills of upstate New York. I’m teaching a workshop on “My Big Fat Writing Journal and Other Ways of Organizing Your Creative Life.”  The huge and wonderful line up includes my dear friend and Time Magazine colleague Breena Clarke whose novel River Cross My Heart was an Oprah Book Club pick. You can find registration info at this link.

Here’s amazing writing event #2: October 11-13 I’ll travel to Tecumseh, Missouri (near Springfield) for the River Pretty Writers Retreat. The retreat takes place at the beautiful Dawt Mill river resort. I’d love to introduce you to many awesome writers, graduates and faculty, from my VCFA program. Again, this event is really inexpensive, I’m not kidding. Just 35 spots are available so you’ll definitely miss out if you wait too long. Learn more about it and register here.

If I don’t see you at these events that’s okay, but I will say to you what my friend said to me: I hope one day you will give yourself the time to write in new and interesting places.

Safe travels!

Personal Essays: Letting the World In

I’ll confess right now: I have a bee in my bonnet when it comes to certain works of nonfiction–memoirs and some personal essays in particular. These pieces tend to have the same issue which I’ll call a failure to communicate. The writer is telling a story, and many times it is a difficult, even harrowing, story but she hasn’t written it in a way that conveys meaning for the reader. I’ve often wondered what’s missing for this work and how to avoid similar pitfalls in my own writing so I explored the issue as part of my MFA studies at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. The result: a craft essay entitled, The Personal Essay and the Pain of Experience: Communicating to the Broadest Possible Audience. As models I examined three texts in particular: Elie Wiesel’s Night, Eula Biss’s Notes from No Man’s Land, and James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son. I’m happy to report the online literary journal Numero Cinq has published the piece in its July issue. You can read it at this link. If you’re a writer of creative nonfiction, I hope you’ll find it abundantly useful.

Cheers,

My Essay in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers

Look what arrived in the mail last week! These are my copies of my latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers. I have been a contributor to this popular series of books in the past (Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul) but recently a new publisher, Amy Newmark, purchased the brand and she has revitalized it and the look of the books in a smart, thoughtful way. I was honored when Amy and I connected and she asked me to write for this new project. What’s it about? The subtitle, as any good subtitle should do, says it all: “101 Motivational Stories for Writers–Budding or Bestselling–from Books to Blogs.” You’ll find my essay, “A Change in Direction,” on page 30 in the “Facing My Fears” section. I hope you’ll get it, enjoy it, and be inspired!

The book’s sale date is May 21, but you can pre-order it on Amazon now. Thanks, and let me know what you think of it!

Cheers,

Connecting by Heart at Writers Conferences

I’m back from spending several snowy days in Boston for the AWP Annual Conference & Bookfair. Next week I’m traveling to Ohio to teach at another writers conference, at Columbus State Community College on March 23. These trips aren’t easy when you consider the time away from my family and the expense they require so why do I do it? Because I like to show up in the world as a writer. Dan Kennedy, a well-known marketer in the entrepreneurial world, says to succeed in most endeavors you have to “be somewhere and be somebody.” For me that means showing up as the author Sophfronia Scott, reading my work, and teaching as much as possible.

For you, it could be the process of answering the questions most writers have: “How do I get an agent? How do I get an editor interested in my work?” Honestly, you can send queries until your computer breaks down–and that can be a start–but nothing beats meeting an agent or editor in person and making a sincere connection,  not just pitching your book.

AWP stands for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs and their gathering is the largest literary conference in North America. Last week’s session drew 12,000 writers, editors and exhibitors from schools, literary journals, and presses large and small. The conference also features hundreds of panels and readings. When I first saw the program, it was so thick it made me want to lie down and take a nap. I was exhausted just considering my schedule.

But that kind of thinking happened because this was my first AWP Conference and I momentarily had forgotten there were:

specific aspects of publishing or writing I wanted to learn
people I want to see or meet.

I didn’t have to do or attend anything else that didn’t fit in with these two points. So, with this focus in mind, I had a terrific time because I saw friends, met lovely social media contacts in person, and had great conversations with the editors of literary journals I admire.

Here’s a sampling of the journals I picked up or discussed at the conference. Some of these, such as AGNI, Hunger Mountain, Poetry, and Tin House, I already subscribe to. Others such as the Kenyon Review, the Indiana Review, Creative Nonfiction and the Missouri Review are journals I’d heard of where I want to submit work. Others were discoveries: Moon City Review, Lake Effect, Santa Clara Review. Online submission processes make it easy for writers to send work to tons of magazines sight unseen. However I prefer to send work to journals I know and admire. I want to hold the publication in my hands, leaf through the pages, read samples, and talk to the editors. The conference allowed me to do that.

Will this mean my work will be accepted automatically? No. But we have started a conversation–one I hope will continue as I continue to write and submit work. The editors will get to know my writing better as I hope to know their journals better. This is so much more agreeable than writing and submitting into a void.

I’ll write more about my experiences in coming days, but for now two highlights of my conference:

A student reading and then socializing with my beloved fellow writers from the Vermont College of Fine Arts .
Introducing a dear friend who happens to be a prize-winning writer, to one of my Harvard classmates who happens to be an editor at a top literary journal. There’s nothing better than helping others make great connections.

I encourage you to decide who you want to be as a writer and do your best to surround yourself with friends (yes, friends, not just networking contacts) with whom you can share support and connections. It might make you a more productive writer. For my part, I’m certainly a happier one! 

Here’s to your excellent writing life,

 

When Words Fail a Writer

The last time I wrote in this space I reported completing the rough draft of my next novel. That was December 5, 2012, and I was looking forward to reviewing the year past and honoring the work I’d completed over the year as well as that of my clients who published books as well. Then, nine days later, an armed gunman entered the halls of my son’s school, Sandy Hook Elementary, and blew apart our world.

My son’s godmother lost one of her sons, a little boy we loved greatly and whom Tain referred to as his “godbrother.” Our grief was and is unspeakable. I continued to repeat those words in the ensuing days as we fielded a torrent of calls from the media, some from former colleagues asking me to write about the event. “I have no words,” I told them. There I was, just about to celebrate a year of writing more than I’d written in the previous six years and suddenly it had all stopped. I had no words.

This grief is still fresh. We are less than eight weeks out and still trying to find this supposed “new normal.” However, I am grateful and surprised to feel the words returning. It began with a light shone unexpectedly at the end of December, right before I was scheduled to return to the Vermont College of Fine Arts for winter residency. I received an email from the author Gerald Duff. I had written a review of his novel, Blue Sabine, in the new issue of the literary journal The Mid-American Review and he had just read it. He wrote:

“I want to thank you for your wonderfully perceptive review of Blue Sabine, your insight into what I tried to do in the book, and your taking the time to think deeply and write so gracefully about another person’s work. You have got the goods, to put it simply, as a writer and critic. And I’m looking forward to reading your fiction. Given what I see here in your ability to fathom human intent, desire, failure and triumph, I know that what you put into your fiction will reverberate and shine.”

It took me a moment to realize, to remember, Mr. Duff was talking about me. I had been on a path before the morning of December 14–a path taking me on a glorious exploration of my abilities as a writer. In the midst of my own grief and helping our friends through theirs that path seemed a world away, irrecoverable. Suddenly here was help, like bread crumbs on the road, to show me I could find my way back to it again. And sure enough, the words are beginning to return, little by little. It will take time to see what these words become.

Until then, right now, I will honor the work done in 2012: the novel completed, the short stories and essays written, two published and one receiving an Honorable Mention in the Glimmer Train Fiction Open, and my appearance as a contributor in O, the Oprah Magazine, More Magazine, the New York Times.com and Numéro Cinq. I also say congratulations to clients and students of mine who have published or are about to publish:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing the Moment: A Leader’s Guide to Building Executive Presence One Interaction at a Time by Lisa Parker is being published this spring. Lisa was a private book coaching client and a student in my Self-Publishing 101 class.

What’s Your Rate?: How to Buy a Home and Secure Your Financial Future at the Same Time by Mark Maiocca came out last summer. Mark was a private client.

Be True Rich: 3 Simple Keys to Live Your Good Life Now by Katherine C.H.E. is newly published. Katherine attended my Writing Books That Change Lives Workshop.

Living Happier After: 20 Women Talk About Life After Divorce by Wilma Jones. Wilma also attended the Books That Change Lives Workshop.

If you would like assistance with your book project, please know I probably won’t take on any new clients until the spring. You may still send inquiries and get on my waiting list if you think you’ll be ready to go then. I hope you and I will be blessed with many, many, more words as the year goes on, and that we will continue to create work that will change lives.

Best wishes,

 

The Next Big Thing: What I’m Writing Now

Right at this moment I’m about ten days away from completing the first draft of my next novel. It’s an exciting, scary time, but I’ve learned that when fear steps in the best thing you can do is share it. So when my fellow Vermont College of Fine Arts writer Sion Dayson, author of the forthcoming novel When Things Were Green, asked me to participate in a blog chain of writers talking about their works-in-progress I seized the opportunity. Not all writers like talking about what’s on their screen or in their notebooks, but I believe there comes a time when it can be helpful if only to remind myself that the story running through my head is real.

This series, in which each writer has to answer 10 questions, also attracted me because I get to “tag” five other authors so they too can share their work and meet new readers. I love that because I’m all for making connections. So, here we go…

What is your working title of your book?

The Affairs of Midnight

Where did the idea come from for the book?

For the longest time I’ve had a quiet obsession with Choderlos de Laclos’s novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, originally published in 1781, and all the film and stage versions made from it. I finally realized I was simply fascinated with these characters and wanted to know more about why they behaved so scandalously. I decided the only way I could answer my questions would be to write my own version.

What genre does your book fall under?

Because my novel takes place in 1940s Harlem I consider it historical/literary fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Funny you should ask! I originally wrote the story as a screenplay. I had Denzel Washington constantly in my mind as I wrote the lead character of Valiant Jackson who is Valmont in the de Laclos version. At various times I pictured Halle Berry, Angela Bassett and Lynn Whitfield as the Madame Merteuil character, Mae Malveaux, and honestly, though you may not know her, I’ve always had my friend Leslie Lewis Sword (left) in mind for Elizabeth Townsend, the Madame de Tourvel character. Leslie has been my muse throughout this whole process. She arranged readings of the screenplay in both Los Angeles and New York and encouraged me to pursue the novel. I’ll eventually write a stage version as well because the work was so well-received by the actors in the readings, many of them Broadway actors such as John Eric Parker that I would love to give them the opportunity to bring the story to life in their unique ways.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Most people know the story of Dangerous Liaisons so I usually just say the book is “an African-American version of Dangerous Liaisons set in 1940s Harlem.” But if I had to summarize solely by plot I would say my novel is about a man who has toyed with women all his life, but finally loses his heart to a woman who proves there can be good in the world for him—including love.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be represented by an agency, possibly the same one that sold my first novel, All I Need to Get By to St. Martin’s Press but I haven’t made that decision yet.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’ve had several false starts, but this entire draft has been the focus of my current semester at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I’ll complete the draft with my last writing packet and that is due in December. So the answer is about six months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Love by Toni Morrison and Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve. Both authors have greatly influenced me in my development as a writer.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As I said earlier, I’ve had the idea percolating in my head for a long time, but it really took off when I met my friend, Leslie Lewis Sword, at a theater producing workshop in New York City. She’s a gorgeous woman to begin with, but there is just something about her vibrant energy that I recognized as similar to many of the women in the story. I loved her energy, loved her, and I wanted to write the screenplay for her. The novel naturally followed because it is my genre of choice and there were so many details that I couldn’t go into with a screenplay that I saw so clearly in my mind. It’s been satisfying putting it all into a book.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I think we’re all fascinated by the inner workings of love. Whether we realize it or not we are studying love when we follow the Petraeus affair in the news, when we watch a soap opera, when we read romance novels, when we read about fatal attractions in the newspaper, and when we see romantic comedies at the movie theater. I believe the interest goes beyond the physical, but that doesn’t mean I ignore the physical because that’s a huge part of this story as well. However I think my readers will be interested in being that fly on the wall as they watch how my characters love and what happens to them—how they change because of that love.

And now, introducing…

I’m happy to have you meet these wonderful writers and I hope you’ll check out their works-in-progress as well:

Breena Clarke, a dear friend and former colleague (we were at Time magazine together), is a fabulous writer and can tell the tale of having her debut novel, River, Cross My Heart chosen as an Oprah Book Club pick.

Katherine Scott Crawford hails from that fine tradition of southern women writers. She’s also an accomplished weaver of historical fiction. We’re both studying for our MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and her novel Keowee Valley has just been published.

Bren McClain is a Facebook friend and another southern writer whose novel tells the story of a woman whose relationship with a mother cow teaches her about life—but I’ll let her give you the details!

I met Jolina Petersheim via Twitter and she caught my eye because she’s one of the most positive tweeters out there. She too is writing her take on a venerable classic, The Scarlet Letter, so we have a bit in common.

Natalia Sylvester is a novelist and freelance journalist whose debut novel, Where We Once Belonged, goes to press in 2014. Her articles have appeared in Latina, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer magazines.

Message for tagged authors:

Rules of the Next Big Thing

***Use this format for your post

***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)

***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them. Be sure to line up your five people in advance. (Note from Sophfronia: FYI, I’ve seen these posts run with only three or four tagged writers.)

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

What genre does your book fall under?

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.