The Heart of the Law: An Interview with Edward Neveril

One a professional writer and the other a lawyer, a son and father bond over a shared appreciation of words and language.  ♦ 

At first glance, it might not've seemed to writer Sean Neveril that his and his father's chosen career paths had much in common. Sean is a senior studying Professional Writing at Miami University of Ohio with interests in technical writing, while his father, Ed Neveril, is a mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer who currently works for Boeing. But while taking a class his senior year on the broad range of career paths within the fields of writing and editing, Sean began to see just how much of his father's work depends upon writing and communication . . . and, in fact, just how much the two share in terms of professional writing.

"Lawyers are forced to master the English language," the younger Neveril says, "as using it effectively is a fundamental part of the work that they do." That work can include writing opinions which are subsequently published in United States Courts records databases; writing and reviewing contracts; managing groups of lawyers whose filings have to meet critical editorial and format standards; and much more. It was a light-bulb moment for Neveril, not only in realizing how fundamentally language is at the heart of the legal profession but also in seeing just how closely his and his father's work was related, after all.

In the following interview, which took place by phone and over multiple email exchanges, the two discuss the importance of critical thinking and precision of language in both business and the legal profession and discover how much their disciplines have in common. This transcript contains both word-for-word exchanges as well as summarized sections.

So, I don’t really know what a Chief Counsel of Mergers & Acquisitions does. I know you’re a lawyer, but can you explain what you do, or at least the key aspects of what you do?

“Mergers & acquisitions” is the term we use in business to describe generally the function of buying and selling businesses or companies, and in some cases, and recently, for me, many cases, creating new ones where we [Boeing] come together with another company to create a new company that we call a joint venture. I’m the lead lawyer at Boeing for that function. My team structures the deal, negotiates the deal and documents the deal. Most of the time, you’ll hear the term “M&A” as a shorthand for mergers & acquisitions.

What do you mean by structures the deal? I understand the negotiating and documenting, but how would you go about structuring something like that?

We work with business leaders and specialists like tax experts to decide, for example, what we’re buying and how we’re buying it. For example, let’s say the head of our military aircraft division has identified a company that’s really good at making landing gear that she’d like to buy. We help her figure out whether we should buy the whole company or only a part of it. If only a part of it, what part. And once we know what we want to buy, we need to figure out the best way of doing it. Do we buy the assets out of the company or do we buy the company’s stock. An example, but you get the point.

That’s not the kind of lawyer you see on TV all the time. I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a lawyer is one of the characters from My Cousin Vinny.

Litigators. We call trial lawyers litigators. My Cousin Vinny is actually pretty accurate as far as movie depictions of trials go. The subject matter of the trial is pure comedy of course, but the process in terms of how the lawyers conduct themselves . . . like when and how they ask questions as opposed to making the typical grandiose speeches we always see the lawyers making at trials. I just love the prosecutor in that movie.

How did you decide you wanted to be a mergers & acquisitions lawyer instead of a litigator? Did being a litigator not appeal to you?

I started off as a litigator. Law school is very slanted toward litigation. Maybe that’s because they teach you the law by having you read and analyze cases, which are the legal opinions written by judges to resolve disputes.

Why did you leave litigation?

The answer to that question is probably a bit too much for this interview, but it didn’t have anything to do with writing. Mostly, I liked the volitional aspect of negotiation more than the compulsory nature of litigation. People involved in litigation are mostly unhappy. They always feel like they’ve been forced into it. M&A is a process more about finding a way to make everyone happy, or at least happy enough.

Did you become a lawyer because of a love of writing?

Not at all. I hated writing growing up. It was my least favorite subject. I was a pure math and science guy. I was lousy at writing. Never knew what to say. I’d read sometimes what my friends would write and be amazed at how much they had to say that was interesting. I had nothing.

If you were so bad at writing, why would you decide to become a lawyer? Isn’t writing a big part of being a lawyer?

Absolutely. But legal writing came more naturally to me. In law school, we were taught how to write for litigation, which is all about persuasion through logic, and logic is the foundation of math and science. You’d get a set of facts and some laws or rules. Then you’d get some cases that showed how different judges over time applied those laws to facts that were in some ways similar to, and in some ways different from, your set of facts. The memos we’d write had to apply the law to the facts and argue why it was more logical and persuasive to focus on certain similarities or differences than others. You’d write the memo one way, and then your professor would make you turn around and write the memo coming out the other way. You had to be able to see both sides of it. Maybe that’s what pushed me to find the content for my writing. To defend your position, you had to identify and analyze every angle. A miss was an opportunity for the other side to exploit your position. Critical thinking opened up a whole new world for me as a writer.

You always get on me about not being precise enough in my writing. Did you also learn that in law school?

For sure. Law school professors would jump all over you for misuse of words. Accurately communicating your message is critical in legal writing. And it goes beyond your message. Word choice is at the heart of law. I remember my very first day of class at law school when my contracts professor wrote on the chalkboard the simple phrase “No Vehicles Allowed in the Park.” He baited all of us new students into agreeing openly that this was a very clear law. Then he started asking whether it prohibited bicycles, or skateboards, or matchbox cars, or even a painting of a car. I was totally hooked. Completely fascinated. I started thinking about every word I used or read or heard. And I’ve been doing it ever since.

How do you apply your legal writing skills in mergers & acquisitions, or how does your acquired attention to word choice influence your current work?

In a lot of ways. M&A deals are memorialized in written contracts. Writing and negotiating contracts for the massive and complex transactions that we do requires absolute mastery of the English language. Both sides come to the negotiation with a team of well-seasoned lawyers completely focused on using words to get their clients an advantage. The placement of a comma can completely change the meaning of a sentence. You have to be on your toes.

Would you say that your work as an M&A lawyer is similar to a copyeditor?

I’m not sure I know everything a copyeditor does, but I’d say yes to your question insofar as good copyeditors carefully review written work to ensure proper usage of the English language. Of course, it may depend a bit on what kind of writing the copyeditor is editing. I could see there being a big difference in how he approaches the editing of a medical text book versus a fictional murder mystery. It seems a little harder to say what’s exactly right or wrong in the latter case.

Do you think taking more English classes in college would better prepare you for being a lawyer?

I’m not sure. One of my colleagues said just the other day that she thought the most important thing you could do in college was to become well-educated in a broad sense. To learn how to be a critical thinker. To develop a thirst for learning. She didn’t think it was right to look at college like it was trade school. That resonated with me. How about you? Now that you’ve had a taste what it’s like to work at a business, how do you see your English classes helping you?

I believe my experience—my training in professional writing courses—has allowed me to more effectively communicate with others in a business environment, to form a voice that I believe represents me in the way that I would like to be presented. And from my experience as an engineering intern at an electrical construction company in Chicago, I gained insight into how a business functions, how effective communication is the most critical function of a proper business.

I wouldn’t say I disagree with what your colleague had to say about a college education, but I do believe that college English classes, especially the ones that I’ve taken through Miami, have taught me valuable information that will greatly influence my professional career.

Good points. Being a lawyer, I have to ask you about the legal writing class you took last year. I think you said you liked it a lot, but I don’t remember asking you why. Am I remembering this correctly? If so, what did you like about it so much?

Like you said earlier, legal writing has a lot to do with applying rules and other proceedings to a current issue. I would have to say that my favorite part of a legal writing class is the process of being a detective, in a sense. There was a sense of gratification I felt whenever I was able to build a case, either to prosecute or to defend someone. I was able to understand how one uses language in a legal setting to cause immediate change as well as, in some cases, influence legislation. Is this not similar to something that you have either felt in your past, or even still feel?

Sure. I think most everyone likes to feel that he or she is making a difference in the world, whether that’s in the community or the workplace.

Lawyers do that primarily through language.

About the Author

Sean Neveril is a senior Professional Writing major at Miami University. He is interested in more technical writing and applying his skillets to many different career paths. Sean's ideal day would consist of waking up early, driving into the Rocky Mountains, and fly fishing until dusk. Living in Chicago, Sean believes this will remain a dream until later in life.

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Betwixt and Between: An Interview with Dr. Jeb Card

In a new book, a professor of anthropology takes on weird history and our cultural, conspiratorial fascination with it.  ♦ 

Be honest: when you think of archaeology—more specifically, the search for lost civilizations, or the unveiling of hidden histories—you probably don’t think of an academic study first. More likely, you think of Indiana Jones raiding a temple for supernatural artifacts, or a History channel special on ancient aliens, or any number of YouTube channels you might’ve come across from pseudo-archaeologists who claim to unveil the “truth” about history “they” don’t want you to know. But why is it that archaeology, as a field of study, seems to particularly attract interest in the weird? And what does the attraction tell us not only about archaeology but about ourselves?

These are the questions Dr. Jeb Card, an anthropology professor at Miami University of Ohio and self-described “weird-shit-ologist,” explores in his book Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past (University of New Mexico Press, 2018), which “guides the reader through haunted museums, mysterious hieroglyphic inscriptions, [and] fragments of a lost continent that never existed” while also examining the question of “how and why archaeology continues to mystify.” Dr. Card has taught at Miami University since 2011 and, before that, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Tulane University, where he earned his PhD in anthropology in 2007. While being an effective instructor, scientist, and mentor for numerous students in research, Dr. Card has also succeeded as an author (his previous book, Lost City, Found Pyramid: Understanding Alternative Archaeologies and Pseudoscientific Practices, was published in 2016), has been both co-host and guest on numerous podcasts on weird archaeology, and has done extensive research and study of Central America and other areas.

Who were some of your biggest inspirations while writing your book Spooky Archaeology?

Spooky is about archaeology but is not a [textbook]; it is more of a history. From the academy, [professor of political science Michael Barkun] wrote a book called A Culture of Conspiracy, which is really a major light for me in how to approach what I sometimes call “weird-shit-ology.” He argues that rejected or stigmatized knowledge—once it is stigmatized—is kind of put in the same bin, trash bin, or gutter and is all mixed together, which makes sense if you look at everything from conspiracy theory to paranormal thought to radical political extremism [and] how they all overlap. Adrian Mayer, who is a historian who looks at the ancient world from sort of a scientific perspective, is also an influence. A weird one is actually Leonard Nimoy because of In Search Of…, which sort of inspired me as a kid, but I also critique things like it in the book.

What were some of the challenges you faced along the way when writing a book in such a distinct genre?

Everything I have ever done, academically speaking, has felt betwixt and between. I wanted to do Maya archaeology, and from the beginning I kind of screwed it up. You would think it would involve inscriptions and texts and whatnot, but the person who pokes around in the dirt is often not the person reading and interpreting these [ . . . ]. I gave up on this approach in grad school, so I then [did] historical archaeology in early Spanish colonial Central America.

This stuff, in Spooky, is betwixt and between squared.

There is no professorship of “weird-shit-ology.” It is important, and in the last three years people are beginning to understand . . . but there is still a lot of fumbling around, and that’s actually been one of the biggest fights I’ve been increasingly dealing with.

I’ve been in this for a long time, and for much of that time when I talk about [why people believe in conspiracy and pseudoscience], the sometimes-literally-said, often-implied response from many of my colleagues would be, “Why are you studying that? That only happens to people in trailers in Arkansas.” There is a huge class element, and that is why it has been ignored. Then the last three years all these sociology, anthropology, and especially psychology papers have come out [but] these don’t really have anything to do with the field. However, because they are coming from other theoretical bases, they are more likely to get listened to.

You have appeared on several podcasts and have written a number of articles and scientific papers; do you prefer speaking in ways like a podcast or presentation to spread knowledge or do you prefer using your writing? Do you feel that one of these methods is superior for spreading knowledge?

I am decent at performing, so I enjoy speaking. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best way. There are multiple approaches, and I think there is a value to the big blast and some value to getting out there on social media and trying to get people to see things. I think this is the least important, though, because I don’t think that we can win that fight. If you are trying to make your voice heard where everyone else is doing the same but doesn’t care about citation or something being true six months from now, but you do, you are inherently handicapped. I think there is a limited value here.

I think public speaking, including podcasts, very much [has] a value. I also think putting what we have out there on the record is really important. The absolute least useful thing you can do, and often is frankly negative, is getting into real-time fights or debates with people. It never goes well, because you are handicapping everything that scholarly work is good at: looking into hundreds of resources, doing the research, actually knowing the answers rather than having a small set of stock answers that you go back to because they work well on a crowd.

I strongly disagree with arguing over Twitter or something like that because it isn’t for the audience which many people think; I care more about convincing people [ . . . ]. We need to tell our own stories, and sometimes that needs to be in long form or sometimes it needs to be in speaking. What we can’t do is react. We can’t sit back, think people will listen to us, and then be shocked and answer in reaction.

What challenges did you face in the writing and publication processes of your book?

The actual writing and publishing process went fairly easily. Copyediting was fine, and there were fights of course—whether to use Maya or Mayan, which I lost. It’s supposed to be Maya, but if you read my book it is not. The bigger problems have been that there are issues in print publishing, in no small part due to the Amazon effect and things like that. I published with an academic press tied to a state university system which has had its funding cut, [and] which is symptomatic of the larger funding cuts to the state university systems throughout the US. Spooky was available in hardcover for $75, which is a ridiculous price but by no means the most expensive book I’ve worked on. It is now available in paperback for $39.95, and I would rather it be $29, but I can live with $39. Part of that is because the press has lost state support, not because they are bad or good but because we have decided as a society not to do these kinds of things [ . . . ]. The people there are overworked and understaffed, which have been the largest problems.

The reason I didn’t go the CreateSpace route is because this book was peer reviewed and people liked it; some of them even put their names on it, which I’ve never had before. The problem there was not peer review or creation, but that the publishing industry is being hammered.

People have read and reviewed this book, and if there was a giant red flag, they would have pointed it out. Maybe that isn’t the future, but I am glad I went with an academic press and I am glad with my publishing choices.

From a young age you have been exposed to history in numerous ways; have you always known what you wanted to do in life? Did you have any interest in writing when you were younger?

I haven’t been back to Gettysburg since the late 1990s, but I did the math once and between 1976 and the mid ‘90s I figured out that I had spent approximately sixty days there, and my father had spent about 700 days there, but now it is probably closer to 1000. Archaeology had emerged on my radar in high school, but I always wanted to be a “scientist” of sorts. Writing seems to inherently be a part of that. I don’t know if I wanted to write for a larger audience, which wasn’t on my agenda for most of college. When I began to study the Celtic Milieu [the range of Celtic archaeologies and influence] as a topic of anthropological science, I probably began to want to spread my ideas to a larger audience. Writing a book like Spooky probably started around 2006 when I started blogging, which I did up until I got this job in 2011 [and] it began to enter my mind that if I already am writing this stuff in a blog, I might as well be putting it into an article or a book.

That said, the history of Spooky is pretty important here. It emerges from two blog posts in October 2011; one was about what I am now calling the Paranormal Unified Field Theory—Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist, made it clear to me that many of my thoughts and ideas [about fringe conspiracy and weird archaeology] cohered together; that post is a major part of what I’ve been up to. The other post was why is archaeology seen as spooky and haunted. There are several reasons which you can find in the book, like museums being seen as haunted and whatnot.

I went to the 2012 American Anthropological Society meetings, and I decided since it was 2012 and the Maya calendar [doomsday prediction] and all that . . . what would be a better time to put in a paper like this in a professional setting? So I put in "Spooky Archaeology: Understanding the Past," which is a version of the blog post. An acquisitions editor told me he saw a book in this paper, but I didn’t jump on it right away. By the end of 2013, I had emailed him and he informed me that he was still interested.

The book eventually becomes something else but starts off with some of the ideas in that paper that I end up building on.

Scholarship requires looking at hundreds of objects and resources, not just a few blog posts. There is this hunger for content, but there has to be something backing it up, and many projects in the public face lack these. There is a temptation to work off the minimum you know and just wing the rest, and that way lies problems.

I had a professor, Dan Heelin, who when [he] would do oral examinations he would say, “Jeb, are you sure about that?” when you would give answers, to politely say you are wrong. His whole point, however, was that you are going to be presenting your information in front of an audience and you damn well better know what you are talking about, because if you don’t people are going to catch you out. Know what you are talking about; don’t make things up.

Over time, what being a writer meant became clearer to me. It is a lot of work, a lot of editing, and a lot of getting this right. If you realize that, you say “Yes please, yes I want to go to the library for six months and know all the things” and have 175,000 words that you then have to carve up to 110,000 and you judicially throw things out and rework it, and rework it, and rework it until my audience actually gets it and it’s not just in my head. I’m not just saying what I want on the page; I am actually communicating with the audience. Once you realize that is writing and you still want to do it, then you are writing. But that takes time to get to, and if you are constantly doing it on a deadline, it is hard. When I was finally starting to get things together in the last chapters of my dissertation, I knew I wanted to do it again. When people actually [said] things like “That’s good” and “I get what you’re going for,” that’s when I realized I wanted to write again.

About the Author

Tom Becker is a senior Zoology major at Miami University. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies as well as the NBA, playing video games, and hiking and resting in his hammock with his two dogs Buddy and Zeus. Currently, he is reading the series A Song of Ice and Fire and hopes to read Dune next.

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An Interview with Prof. Wole Soyinka

The acclaimed playwright and Nobel laureate on the creative process, the role of the political in art, and what young writers should be ready for.  ♦ 

Wole Soyinka is not only one of the most prominent writers of the African continent but one of the world’s greatest living playwrights. He is a writer whose work takes on civil and human rights violations and abuses across the world, especially in the African continent, and whose plays have been produced as movies or stage dramas globally and translated into numerous languages. His credits across the genres of drama, poetry, and prose include such notable works as the plays A Dance of the Forests and The Lion and the Jewel; collections of essays including Myth, Literature and the African World; and poetry collections such as Idanre and Other Poems and Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known.

In this interview, Wole Soyinka explains how diverse cultures, diverse literatures, and political tyranny and dictatorships in his environment influence his work. He also gives up-and-coming writers advice on how to use literature as a weapon for freedom and human rights.

Was writing ever a struggle for you, or does it come to you easily? Do you consider yourself a natural-born writer?

I am the kind of writer I would categorize as being very lazy, meaning, I do not struggle greatly on writing. If at any time I’m having difficulty writing, I choose other tasks and hobbies to do. I am not always compelled to write, but when I begin writing, it becomes very irresistible for me, and because I started it, I eventually need to finish it. The ideas and characters in all the plays I have written crowd my head and demand to be let out, so therefore, I am compelled right there. Another thing is that ideas can be stuck for months and years in my head, waiting to be let out. One example I remember is Death and the King’s Horsemen. I had the idea in my head and I thought about writing it immediately, but because other things were there, I had to leave it for something else. Then one day after teaching a class in Cambridge, I saw a sculpture of a colonialist named Winston Churchill close to the dining facility of the school. I used to look at this monument, and I always felt like pushing and kicking it, and on this particular day I recalled the story that had been stored in my head for so long, though you would be surprised how many years that story was in my head after the encounter with Churchill’s monument. It was in my head for ten years. After a decade, I got my typewriter out and started work on Death and the King’s Horseman, and within weeks I had finished working on it. Writing to me is an inspiration which you can never force. I am very aware there are other writers who sit down religiously every morning, drink their coffee, put a piece of paper in and sit looking at the paper for a long time until they have finished at least some numbers of pages. For me, I’m not like that writer, I have to be ready and the ideas have to develop for some time, and then I write when it is ready to burst.

Do you believe a play is complete when it is performed on stage?

For most playwrights, including myself, when they finish writing a play, they believe that is just the beginning of the job. When readers read a play, they all long to see it fleshed out on stage or produced visually as movie. I’m a fan of that kind of idea myself, which means I am not satisfied until I see my play on stage, and that’s what I call a finished product.

Can you explain how some of your work is influenced by diverse cultures?

My idea of the creative process is very simple. All cultures are related to one another in some way. I am an African playwright, and I can use a play written by Brecht and adapt it with African classics. I have consciously adapted from Greek classics, Euripides and Oedipus. That has been a creative experience for me. Whether that influences me or not, I can’t decide. It is for critics and reviewers to decide. Culture generally is comparative, which is where the joy lies. There is joy when you can relate and connect another culture with yours and feel [a certain] air to them all. For example, there are parallels I can use from my Yoruba culture and compare them with Greek mythology. Just like Loki from the Greek myth, the Yoruba god Eshu is also a trickster and rascal. I would say a lot of my influence comes from my Yoruba culture, [and] that’s enough for my creativity.

You are known to infuse politics into literature using it as a weapon. How do you do that?

Writers around the world have one weapon, which is literature. One of my plays, King Baabu, which I premiered at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, is a loose adaptation of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi. That play was used to take aim against the former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, and other African dictators who have sacrificed their people for their stupid ambitions.

What are some advice you have aspiring playwrights?

There are things young writers should be ready for. They should be ready for rejection. I always tell aspiring writers to acquire a basket to collect all their rejection letters and mail, and to continue writing until the basket is full or when your work gets accepted. Keep on writing even after all those rejections. I am not really good at teaching people creative writing, as what I teach is literary criticism and comparative literature. When I read a young writer’s manuscript, what I look for is the content of the work and not the structure of the writing. Various publishing companies would look for both content and structure before publishing. For me, I have to read the work first, and when something strikes me, then I feel compelled to critique the writer about it. Another main point is not to get carried away by any ideology, or to please any school of ideology. Many writers waste their talents because they want to be ideologically correct, and this leads them to produce work made up of propaganda, thereby becoming ideological orphans.

About the Author

Oluwaseun Oladimeji is currently a junior at Miami University majoring in Public Health and Environmental Science. He loves reading and attending stage plays, listening to poetry renditions, playing and watching the game of soccer, and all forms of literature he can get his hands on, irrespective of where it comes from.

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An Interview with Pierce Brown

As his new graphic novel, Sons of Ares, hits bookshelves, the acclaimed author of the Red Rising trilogy discusses his expanding dystopian universe.  ♦ 

I recently had the chance to review the Red Rising trilogy of novels—Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star—by New York Times-bestselling author Pierce Brown, and like many other readers, I was floored by the incredible writing and the exciting twists and turns of the story. Published between 2014 and 2016, the trilogy has met with wild critical and fan acclaim for its originality and fresh voice, and in the next year, Brown will be publishing two new works set in the same universe: the graphic novel Sons of Ares, a prequel to Red Rising which hits shelves on May 10th, and Iron Gold, a sequel to the series with an expected release of January 2018.
   Being a fan of Brown's work and excited to see the world of the trilogy expanded upon in the forthcoming books, I got in touch with Mr. Brown, hoping to pick his brain about the future of Red Rising, and I was ecstatic to receive a reply.
   In the following interview, Brown discusses his ambitions for the series going forward as well as topics including representation and writing minority characters, the influence of the social sciences (and his mother) on his work, and choosing the best dog names.

Throughout Red Rising there are a lot of strong characters from traditionally underrepresented groups, like women and LGBTQ members, who are shown in new and refreshing ways. Was this something you did intentionally, or was this just a natural development in your writing?

There’s that old saying: you write what you know. This generation has been the boldest and most progressive in recognizing the inalienable rights that belong to all of us. Combine that with the fact that I’ve lived in nine states, went to around twelve schools, and I’ve had friends all over the spectrum, and it’s only natural that my writing is influenced by the people I’ve met along the way.
   As for women—my mother was one of the first, if not the first, General Manager of a TV station in the country. She had those badass 80s powersuits with the padded shoulders. She’s a powerhouse. And if my female characters are lacking, I’ll damn sure hear about it.

Your books have received a huge response from readers in the annual Goodreads awards and impressive showings in Unbound Worlds Cage Matches (Go Ragnar!). Why do you think your books have gotten such a strong response?

There’s a sense of community around these books. A feeling of being in on the secret. It gives people who may not otherwise be friends a way to speak the same common language. Also, I think the books offer a damn good adventure—and those are always the sorts of books I'm drawn to.

What can readers expect out of the upcoming Iron Gold series and Sons of Ares graphic novel?

Size and scope. Iron Gold expands the Red Rising world to huge proportions. Instead of just Darrow, we will have four POV characters whose stories will weave in and out of one another’s as the Rising struggles to hold onto to the reins of power. Sons of Ares explores the origins of the Sons of Ares, as well as how their founder came to be the man he was.

In college you studied political science and economics. How did that translate into becoming a writer? With such political content, do you think your studies influenced your writing at all?

Both of those disciplines are considered social sciences—that is, the study of people and how they interact. Both heavily influence how I portray interactions in Red Rising. I draw specifically on Locke, Hobbes, Aristotle, Plato, Napoleon, and Nietsche.

What was the hardest part of the trilogy for you to write? Conversely, what was your favorite part or scene to write?

The beginning of book three. Without giving anything away, it was difficult because of the change that Darrow had undergone. Favorite scene was probably the duel with Cassius at the gala. My honor has been pissed upon and I demand satisfaction!!

Any news on the Red Rising movie in development?

No news as of yet. It is a very thorough, slow process.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Don’t be too self-critical. Understand that your writing is going to be shit at first. Then you’ll get better. And better. And you’ll relapse. But you’ll keep writing, and then one day you’ll have a finished book and realize it's perhaps not so shit after all.

As a self-proclaimed nerd, do you have a current nerd obsession?

I’m neck-deep in re-reading Harry Potter.

And finally, out of all the badass characters in your books, why did you name your dog Eo?

Because she was lost on the streets, dirty, red, without a home, and had the sweetest little manners. Easy choice.

Pierce Brown's Sons of Ares, the prequel to Red Rising, is available today at fine comic book stores everywhere.

About the Author

Megan Mooney is currently a junior at Miami University majoring in Creative Writing. She loves reading books and drinking coffee. She also loves hanging out with friends who are steaming hot and wrapped in a portable to-go cup. No, wait, that’s just more coffee. She doesn’t have a problem.

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An Interview with Ari Bach

The author of the acclaimed Valhalla series on the creative process, navigating LGBTQ tropes, and writing from the deepest places. ♦ 

When my recent review of Ari Bach’s Valhalla trilogy came out on Turning Page, the first thing I did was submit a link to it on the official blog for the trilogy, The Walrus Squad. I remembered that I’d seen a post where the author had said that he liked seeing reviews of the books, so I thought, “Why not?”

I certainly wasn’t expecting to get an author interview out of it.

Nevertheless, not long after the review went up, I got a message in my inbox from Ari Bach saying that he really liked it and that, if I was interested, he’d be willing to speak with me about the trilogy to discuss some of the issues I’d raised in my reading, which he hadn’t had the opportunity to speak about before.

Naturally, I said yes.

The result is the following wide-ranging interview—designed as a sort of companion piece to my review, which you can read here—with Ari Bach, author of the Valhalla trilogy and the mastermind behind the blog Facts I Just Made Up.

As I talk about in my review, your series has a very interesting relationship with the “bury your gays” trope. How do you consider the deaths of Violet, Nel, and Vibeke in relationship to the trope?

My hope is that the books are something different enough from the usual trope that they're immune to it. My fear is that they still have all four lesbian characters dying. The differences that come into play include the fact that in the case of Vibeke and Nel, death together is the best possible happy ending for them, and in that just about everyone else dies too, over 19.9 billion of the 20 billion people existent at the start of the first book.

In the typical trope, the motive seems to be to deny happiness or positive closure to the characters, or to kill off the gay person to give the straight people more attention. In the case of the Valhalla trilogy, this is well beyond that issue. The lesbian trio you mentioned are always the center of the books, Violet is clearly the main character of the first two, and Vibeke and Nel occupy pretty much all of the third. The deaths are never punishment for homosexuality or a sacrifice for the good of the hetero cast.

But still, part of me worries that all this doesn't matter. The books still kill off the gay characters and end with two hetero men on the moon, and one neutrois character underwater. Had I known of the trope when I began writing the series in the 1990s, I might have given the books a lighter resolution to avoid anything like it. As it is, though, I felt it would be worse to butcher a poetic story to avoid a semblance of the trope.

In a similar vein, with the multitude of LGBTQ tropes, how did you navigate writing a lesbian protagonist?

I think the only trick you need to write a good character is to treat them with the respect you would give to a real person. There are negative stereotypes of every type of person out there so the instant you write a person, you risk partaking in the problem. But if you keep the character realistic, then they can exhibit a trait that's been used as a stereotype without succumbing to the negativity, even if that trait is outwardly negative. I don't think you need to cut off your options in developing a character out of fear of running into a trope. What you need to be wary of is attributing a stereotype to a character because you think all Xs are X or all Ys are Y. As it is, I don't think I ran into any typical LGBTQ tropes really. They're all unique and realistic characters to me without any signs of cliché, or at least that's what I went for.

One other trope I wonder if I ran into is the Women in Refrigerators trope. Violet's death was intended from the very first draft of the screenplay, meant as a big shock that the main character dies in the middle of the movie (as it was then intended to be) and doesn't come back. Since then the trope has been recognized that you kill off a woman to justify the pain of another character. Usually male, but Violet's death is very much a motivation for Vibeke. Not male, but she still dies in part to give another character a motive. My only defense there is that Violet wasn't wasted, a strong woman wasn't killed off just to enhance some guy [ . . . ] rather she dies because that's pretty much the core of the story, poetically.

Vibeke and Nel would run the same risk as they're survived by two men, but I think this is cancelled because the books end there and won't continue. If the books did continue and used their lesbian characters as nothing but an origin story for the Geki on the Moon, then I would be guilty of that trope in the worst possible way. So I guess a lot of the tropes I risk running into are avoided because the books stop an inch short of them.

But because I never used the tropes for their intended use, to denigrate gays or throw away women, I feel that if they somewhat resemble the tropes this resemblance can be just that and nothing more.

Also it is my hope that the series is so overwhelmingly progressive in its philosophy and nature that it's earned the benefit of the doubt.

It’s made clear that rape is the worst of the worst when it comes to crimes. What was your reasoning and thought process behind writing the sexual assault scene with Violet and Vibeke?

It functions on half a dozen important levels. First and foremost, it's the fulfillment of her darker side. She gets herself booted from everything she's a part of, and Valhalla really was no different in the end. That sets her apart as a fully separate entity, one that simply can't exist in this life. That's why she gets another one as Nel. Nel would not need to exist if Violet hadn't done it.

Second, it's a commentary on heroism. Heroes are so often perfect, they're kind and loving to their families as they blow up the villains. The reality is closer to this. The lives of real spies and heroes often involve abuse of loved ones. I wanted to subvert the Harry Potter / Katniss Everdeen syndrome of kind flawless heroes who can act with violence when necessary but always regret it. I wanted a 'hero' who acted on her emotions for good, and acted on them just as strongly for bad. I think that's a realistic character and I think it's an insult to readers that there aren't more heroes with real flaws. Not flaws pasted on to make readers think, “oh, a flawed hero, how novel,” but a real problem. The worst problem. Maybe it's because all my own heroes are movie directors and artists, and many of them are rapists and pedophiles and racists. That's a tough conundrum to deal with, respecting someone's art while admitting they're actually horrible people. Violet kicks ass, she's awesome, but she's also the worst kind of person. I think that's closer to reality than any John McClane or James Bond or even Rambo.

Third, plot. It serves about ten functions in the plot that all had to happen for the books to work. Not the least of which is a traumatic shift to Vibeke as the main character, or Violet being sentenced to death, of the results of the ending of Ragnarök. Had it not happened, I think Vibeke would have saved Violet instead of the world.

Fourth, it's a commentary on the nature of sexual assault in that it's not always a big tough stranger that hurts a victim, sometimes it's someone they love. Sometimes it's their hero who takes advantage of them. I've never seen a book or film tackle that. I've never seen a couple go on after the assault. And in the real world, it doesn't always end after an assault. Even if there's no forgiveness, sometimes people end up with the people who hurt them most. And they don't need to be hacked for it to happen. We are strange beings, Vibeke is too. I wrote what would really happen between them.

Fifth, it’s cathartic for me. It's a story I had to tell. What's happened to me in life is not what happened in the book but damned if writing it didn't clear up my mind on some things that have bothered me since childhood. The whole trilogy is a snapshot of me working out my own problems. Some are obvious, like Violet's lack of a place in life early on. I shared that at face value. This one is more obscured, but the greatest art comes from the deepest places in the artist. This is a story I had to write, and although this plot point alienates some readers and confuses others it's at the core of what I think writing should be.

Finally, I think it's a damn good scene and sequence of events for a novel trilogy. Ignoring its rarity and novelty, I think it's powerful and disturbing, horrific. And eerily understandable. I think the reason a lot of people react so strongly to it is because you see it through Violet's eyes. The book makes you understand why she does it, the frustration and feeling behind it. That's what great cinema and literature does—it puts you someplace you can't go. Ragnarök is like one of those dreams where you hurt someone you love. You'd never do it in reality but in dreams you have no control. Ragnarök is a nightmare and that moment is the core of it.

The main religious conflict within these books is with Catholicism, particularly in terms of a pretty clear Catholic/Muslim conflict. This being a very touchy subject in the current state of the world, how did you go about approaching that?

I'd not call it Catholicism really, or even Christianity and Islam. The religion in these books is not modern religion, it's what I think will become of religion once humankind outgrows it. I hope that's fairly clear. A lot of readers will take it as “All religion is a baby-smashing hate-mongering brain-deflating monstrosity.” They're not necessarily wrong, but that's not what's going on in the books.

My approach to religion is to show how people function, how they become fascist or how they become irrational and vicious. Throughout history, religion has given people an excuse to be their worst selves. It's not the cause of it alone, religion creates a Mr. Rogers for every Fred Phelps. But the Valhalla trilogy is obviously about hate and murder and death and pain so that's what you see.

So basically my approach to religion is the same as my approach to everything else in the books: You see the worst of it, and the worst of it is pretty bad.

You’ve mentioned a few times on your blog, Facts I Just Made Up, that you are Jewish. How have your religious experiences affected how you approached the religious climate of the Valhalla trilogy?

Not on a personal level. The religious climate of the novels comes from decades of study and impersonal consideration. If I wrote anything from a personal perspective about religion, it would be about how boring it is to sit in a service for hours as a kid who would rather be playing Nintendo. That's all religion ever was to me.

What was your favorite part of the series to write? Or if that’s too broad, what was a scene that you didn’t really plan, but you ended up really liking?

My favorite is the scene between Vibeke and Nel where her hair gets caught in Nel's chest, and she looks at the heart. That was the first thing I wrote, the moment I decided to make it story about lesbian characters, and I think it's the most moving part of the whole thing, save for the end which was designed more carefully later. The bed scene underwater wasn't planned, it was the purest form of writing where it just flowed from my fingertips as I wrote without any rational intervention. As an author, that's the scene the trilogy exists for.

That said, I think the ending of the trilogy exceeds it in most tangible ways. The above is just the author's sentimentality for his first scene. The ending of the books is what dictated everything else in the entire series.

This series takes a lot of risks . . . what would be your advice to young authors about taking risks in writing?

Write anything and everything you want, no matter how risky. You are never obligated to show it to anyone or do anything with it, so there's nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Is there anything that I haven’t asked about that you would like to talk about?

No, this has been an exceptional series of questions that I rarely if ever get to answer. Thank you!!!

Ari Bach's Valhalla trilogy is published by Dreamspinner Press, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and everywhere else.

About the Author

Thomas Gurinskas is a Creative and Professional Writing double major at Miami University. He’s not sure when he’s going to graduate, but it’s not going to be on time. He likes to live-snap the books he’s reading for his friends on Snapchat to see. Sometimes, if he deems the comments witty enough, he posts the snaps to his blog. Follow his reviews online here.

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An Interview with Jamila Tiaira

The debut author of a new collection of poems discusses the inspiration behind her work and the decision to self-publish. ♦ 

In today’s market, the question for a lot of young writers seems to be how to get a book published. Traditionally, there was one and only one way to go about it—the usual method of trying to find an agent, trying to find a publisher, seeing that path through to publication—though that model, in addition to being a long and arduous process, has always favored the novel over other traditionally underrepresented (and noncommercial) literary forms such as short story collections, novellas, and poetry collections. But with the rise of self-publishing over the last few years, the rules have been rewritten . . . and books which might’ve been a hard sell through the old model are now finding not just publication but receptive audiences.
    I recently had the privilege to sit down with the poet Jamila Tiaira to discuss the publication of her first book, Love is a Beautiful, Painful Story. Released in February 2016, the book is a collection of intensely personal poems written about Tiaira’s own relationship experiences . . . and a book that Tiaira chose to self-publish through the online platform Lulu. In this interview, the author talks with me about her life and writing from personal experience, putting the new collection together, and the process she experienced as both a first-time and a self-published author.

When did you start writing? 

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I actually used to want to be an author, then I got interested in journalism in high school and stuck with that for much of my adulthood. But I would still do creative writing here and there.

Tell me a little about your writing process. 

With two kids, I do not set aside “time” to do much of anything . . .  Though I’ve tried to get back into writing creatively more (I write all day at work), so I try to make myself write an hour a day, but that doesn’t always happen. A lot of times, an idea, phrase or whatever will come to my mind, and I will find the nearest notepad and jot it down. (I also have several ideas/verses in my phone).

When did you decide you wanted to write a book? How long did it take to finish? 

I’ve had this collection of poems for quite some time, so in the summer of 2014, I decided why not compile them into a book? Some were written years ago, others were written recently. I can’t really say how long it took to finish, since a lot of the poems were already complete. I was just sitting on pieces of notebook paper.

Did you have a purpose in writing this collection? What was it? 

I just wanted to get my work out there. I know I’m not going to make millions, but at least I got my words and my feelings out there.

Did you have your theme in mind as you were writing the poems, or did you discover it after looking through your collection? 

For the most part I knew my book would focus on love and relationships. That’s what all my poems centered on.

These poems about love are relatable and universal. Was that the intent, or are they personal stories? 

Some of the poems are personal, but like you said love is universal. Love is something that I pray everyone has the opportunity to feel and have. The title touches on that. Love can be a beautiful thing if it’s with the right person. If not, it can be a painful experience. I’m sure every woman has been there . . . or will be there at some point.

What made you decide to put such personal experiences out there? 

There was no real reason why I chose to publish my personal experiences. I feel as though no matter what, women can relate. And as far as the poems being personal, the only person who knows which ones are truly about me and my own personal experiences is me.

Why did you decide to self-publish?

It was in the summer when I decided I wanted to get a book published. I sent out letter after letter to publishing companies. For one, getting an agent is fairly difficult, and I soon found out so is getting a company willing to publish you without an agent. So, after getting several rejection letters, I sent a letter to [Kareem Simpson from Bookmark Publishing] in Cincinnati who helped me through the entire process.

What has your role been in the publishing process? You obviously wrote the book, but did you design the cover? Have you done your own marketing? 

Lulu.com has templates for the cover, so I picked something basic. My goal was just to get my book out there and share my stories. [Simpson] from Bookmark Publishing edited it and sent it to me for final edits. I held my book release in February, and I have been in charge of my marketing . . . mainly through Facebook and word of mouth.

Your book is available on Lulu.com. Can you tell me more about what this website is? 

I had never heard of Lulu.com until I was told about it from Bookmark Publishing. He had already uploaded my work, and I took it over from there. For the most part, the website is fairly user friendly and fast when it comes to printing on demand. Lulu.com [also] networks with other e-book providers such as Amazon and Apple iBooks, so they distribute the e-books on those sites.
    I knew I wanted an e-book version; it was just a matter of when. I knew the hard copy version was obviously more important, so much of my focus was on that first.

Some poets don’t publish e-books because the format doesn’t always support the layout of poems. Did you have that problem? 

I have not seen that as a problem . . . yet. I am in the process of working on the e-book format, so we will see!

What advice would you give to a young writer aspiring to publish? 

Get used to hearing “no.” That doesn’t mean your work has no value. Keep pushing. And keep writing. Also, read! You can’t expect people to read your stuff if you don’t even read other works. It’s always good to see other writers’ styles, ideas etc.

About the Author

Maci Alf is a senior at Miami University graduating in May. She has previously been published in Happy Captive Magazine and is the web designer for Diversity University, an online artistic magazine. Besides writing, Maci enjoys media work. She is currently the producer for the short film Limbo and is employed as a writer for WLWT Channel 5 News.

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Lisa Tapp: Self-Publishing and Self-Promotion

The Ro Davis Mystery series author on her work and the (many) responsibilities of doing it yourself. ♦

In an age where hundreds of thousands of novels are self-published every year, it’s an amazing feat when an author can actually stand out from the crowd without a big publisher backing them up. Recently, this feat was accomplished by none other than Louisville native Lisa Tapp, whose debut YA novel Finding Beth—a unique coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the original Jamestown settlement—has earned the author acclaim as well as an enthusiastic readership.
    Originally Tapp shopped the book around through the usual channels—i.e., literary agents and bigger houses—but when she found that traditional publishers didn’t look so fondly on her distinctive take on YA, she decided to set out on her own and publish the book herself. In this interview, Tapp discusses the inspiration behind both the book and the decision to self-publish, as well as what she’s learned throughout (and from) the process.

So let’s start here: where did you get the inspiration for your first novel, Finding Beth? 

There’s this group that I was in called Romance Writers of America, which is great because not only does it have something like 10,000 members, but it’s also one of the only groups that allows unpublished authors to join. But, I went to one of their national conferences in Washington, D.C., and while I was there I visited the Jamestown exhibit at the Smithsonian [Written in Bone] and I started thinking, and then the story kind of followed from there.

Why did you decide to self-publish your work, and how did you get started with that process? 

Well, when I first finished my first novel I tried to submit it to various agents, and I kind of got a crash course in publishing. I got my rejections back with lots of red ink and tried to rewrite a couple things that I submitted before setting on which novel I wanted to go out first. At that point self-publishing was just really becoming popular, and I realized that I didn’t want to go on with traditional publishing. I didn’t want to be confined by their edits or in what I could write. I feel like there’s a pretty narrow line for traditional publishing—it’s more about selling and not as an organic process in writing about what you want to write about—so I chose to go into self-publishing. Once I decided, before publishing, I had an editor who used to work for a major publishing house edit my book and I was thrilled with the final copy. It’s also great that with self-publishing my book has no shelf life because I can promote it as long as I would like.

Why did you decide to print your book rather than just put out an e-book version? 

Finding Beth is a young adult novel, and that age group still prefers to have a book in their hands, which I definitely understand. There is an e-book version, but I’ve sold more print copies through Amazon than e-books.

What do you love the most about self-publishing over traditional publishing? 

I think one of my favorite things is getting to avoid the gatekeepers. Publishers feel like they know exactly what people want, and what they want to read, but time and time again different books have proved that this is not always true. Self-publishing allows a more open relationship with the public [ . . . ] you feel more connected with your book and your readers.

What was the biggest challenge you faced while self-publishing? Maybe an issue you wouldn’t have had if you had gone with a traditional publisher? 

Definitely marketing; I’m shy and it can be really uncomfortable because, when you sell your book, you feel like you’re selling yourself. With a traditional publisher you have a marketing team, but in the end your book is only going to sell if you believe in it and push it yourself. It’s something that I’ve been working on recently, and I’ve also taken some classes in marketing to try and improve

Any advice for new or aspiring authors in regards to marketing their book? 

First I would say to make an author site on Facebook and also try and get e-mails so that you can send out a newsletter. The latter is especially great because it lets potential readers that already like your work know when you publish new material. Overall, it’s a business, just like anything else, and the best advice I have is that you have to decide you’re going to put yourself out there and market your book and do it.

What’s your writing schedule like, considering you’re juggling family, work, writing, and even the publishing aspects? 

Especially right now, since at the moment I’m editing a new novel I’m going to send to the editor in two weeks and I’m writing another book I want to send to her in April, I’m extremely busy. I work as a nurse, so usually I’ll write at 3 in the morning or so before I go to work. It sounds crazy, but I love it because writing energizes me, so if I get up and write in the morning I’m jazzed to go to work. The publishing and marketing stuff I usually work on at night after work, because that stuff is more draining.

Any final advice for aspiring authors? 

I would just say that the only one who can truly tell you no is yourself. There’s always a way to get your story out if you really work for it. Other than that, I think people forget that writing is work, and you have to treat it like that. If you want to be a writer then the most important thing is to actually write.

About the Author

Ellen Hancock is a Professional Writing major at Miami University where she writes for Miami Quarterly and plans events with Miami Activities and Programming (MAP). She is currently a junior and is planning to attend law school in the near future.

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From the Spark to the Shelves: An Interview with Jody Casella

The acclaimed YA author discusses how her haunting novel Thin Space came to be and shares her advice for up-and-coming writers.  ♦ 

Jody Casella is the renowned YA author best known for her 2013 novel Thin Space, a fascinating book which blends fictional realism with the search for something a little bit magical. It revolves around the story of a boy named Marshall Windsor who’s trying to find a mythical place known as a “thin space”—a place where the line between the living and the dead can be breached—which would allow him to get into contact with his deceased twin brother. The result is a harrowing tale that Kirkus Reviews has praised as “[b]rutal and brilliant.”
     Casella has been writing ever since she was little and has been writing and pursuing publication for over fifteen years; as such, she's gained a lot of insights along the way in terms of both writing and getting published. In this interview she shares those insights with us, discussing her creative process, the role of rewriting and editing in finding your story, and what beginning authors can do to help their own cause.

What was the process like writing your book Thin Space? How long did it take you to complete?

I wrote a first draft of Thin Space during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—a writing site where you pledge to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.) The story I thought I was writing was about girl who moves into a house that turns out to contain a "thin space," but somewhere during the drafting of the story, a barefoot boy named Marsh showed up and basically took over the book. I reread my mess of a draft and realized that it was Marsh's story and not the girl's, so I wrote the entire book again from his point of view. That took an additional four months.

What inspired you to write Thin Space? How long had you been planning your novel before you started writing it?

The writer Sid Fleischman says it takes two sticks to start a fire and two ideas to make a story. That was true for me with Thin Space. I'd heard about the Celtic belief in thin places, spaces on earth where the veil between our world and the world of the dead is thinner, and that idea was one spark. My other spark was watching a barefoot teenaged boy step off a school bus during the winter. I thought: Now, why in the world is this kid walking around barefoot? Somehow the two ideas merged together when I was writing the book.

What was the editing process like, both before and after you found a publisher?

As I mentioned earlier, I did a complete overhaul of the book—from one point of view to another. The second draft needed to be revised a bit, but looking back, I'd say it was probably 85% there when I sold it to Beyond Words/Simon & Schuster. The editor had me do two fairly thorough revisions, where I took the book apart and pieced it back together. Because the main character is an unreliable narrator, he has two completely different stories going on at one time—the one he tells the reader and the one that is the truth. I had to make sure that the book could be read on both levels simultaneously, and that involved lots of rearranging and tracking and tweaking.

How did you go about finding a publisher? Did you use an agent? What was the most difficult challenge in getting Thin Space published?

For publishing in the Young Adult market these days, for the most part, you need an agent. I found an agent after two months of querying, but it took her almost two years to sell Thin Space to a publisher. I think the main challenge is that the book is hard to characterize. It's called Paranormal Romance, because that was a trendy genre when it sold, but honestly, there's very little romance in the book. Also, it's not a true paranormal either.

It’s popular today to do a lot of self-promotion for one’s book, such as using social media and planning book tours. What is your experience with marketing your book? What do you think is an author’s responsibility regarding marketing?

My publisher expected me to have a social media presence, which includes maintaining a website and being on Facebook and/or Twitter. They encouraged me to do blog tours and interviews—both print and online—and to attend area book festivals. I planned several of my own bookstore signings, in cities where I had many friends and family members. My publishing company sent me on a multi-author book tour in California.
     My view on self-promotion is that you should do what feels comfortable to you, take opportunities that come your way, and seek out events, such as school and library visits, but in the end, one author can only do so much. A large publishing company's reach and distribution will be the deciding factor in the overall success of a book.

Was the experience of publishing your book what you expected?

I did tons of research before I was published, interviewing other writers about their publishing journeys and following author websites and social media promotions, so I had some idea of what to expect. I think my one big disappointment with the entire experience was viewing publication as The Goal—the highest pinnacle of success— and what I realized as soon as I made it over that mountain was that publication was one more step along the way.

What is your educational background? How did that help you with writing your novel?

I majored in English with a concentration in Creative Writing in college. I have an MA in English. My education taught me how to write stories and how to read carefully, but it did not teach me how to write a novel. I had to write novels to learn how to write novels. And I was a very slow learner! Thin Space was the sixth novel I wrote and the first to be published.

Are you currently writing another book? If so, how is the process going and if you would like, what is it about?

My work-in-progress is in the revamped revision stage. I've already plowed through one draft and have taken the entire thing apart to see what I had. Answer: a giant mess. But, a good, strong, clear, funny voice. A complicated and interesting main character. And a fairly clear story arc. Now I'm picking my way through the story again and shaping it up, one step closer to where I hope it will eventually be.

What advice do you have for busy college students who don’t have a lot of time to work on their manuscripts?

Everyone's busy. If you want to write, you need to make time to write. Twenty minutes/a page a day will equal a finished draft of a book at the end of a year. Scrawl out words in a journal. Jot down ideas in a notebook. Read. A lot.

What other advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Become comfortable with your own process. There is no one right way to Do This. So, figure out what works for you, but also, be open to trying other methods. Dash out a first draft and let the story go wherever it wants, knowing you'll have major revamping to do later. Or, bang out a logical, organized outline and follow it to the letter. Or, some combination of the two. Wake up early and write in the mornings. Write in the evenings before you go to bed. Talk to other writers and pick their brains about how they work.
     Don't be afraid to write crappy first drafts. Don't sit around dreaming of being a writer. Writing takes work. Write the best story you can and when you've taken it as far as it can go, submit it for publication, (expect/don't fear rejections), celebrate your success, and then begin writing your next book.

About the Author

Sarah Shroyer is a freshman honors student at Miami University. She is majoring in English Literature and has a wide variety of interests including, (not surprisingly) reading and writing. She also enjoys field hockey, watching movies, and meeting new people.

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Spooky Success: An Interview with Laurie Stolarz

The prolific author of YA chills discusses her work and the many benefits (still) of traditional publishing.  ♦

When it comes to reading Laurie Faria Stolarz’s books, it’s a truly scary world we're about to enter—one where a teenage girl uses witchcraft to solve crimes, or has the ability to sense feelings through touch, or where a group of young people find themselves living through their worst nightmares. Over the course of three series and more than fifteen books—including Deadly Little Secrets, Welcome to the Dark House, and her newest, Return to the Dark House—Stolarz has written about subjects not commonly found in any YA literature, finding inspiration everywhere from stories she overhears to current news articles, in the process building a devoted following of readers book-by-book.
    It’s also a much scarier publishing world than it was twelve years ago, when Stolarz’s first novel, Blue Is for Nightmare, was released to great acclaim; back then, e-books were nonexistent and bookstores for avid readers such as Borders and Barnes & Noble were thriving. Now, in an age in which the physical book is threatened by its electronic counterpart and online marketplace sellers such as Amazon forebode the end of all brick-and-mortar bookstores, publishers and authors are finding it more difficult to reach an audience and have had to adapt to the demands of the fast-paced, quickly-changing industry.
    While Stolarz admits that getting a book published through traditional—and especially Big Five—publishers “has always been difficult” regardless of the times, she continues to find enormous success publishing through big houses (both Welcome to the Dark House and Return to the Dark House are published by Hyperion) and says that there’s still a lot of value to emerging writers in considering traditional publishing.
    In this interview, Stolarz reflects on her own path to success, discusses the changes she’s seen in publishing during her twelve-year career, and offers advice and reassurances to those writers just starting out that hope is not lost.
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How has the publishing world changed since you published Blue is For Nightmares?
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[Back then] the sales team paid for all sorts of promos in bookstores, because people were shopping. My books were on face-outs, promo tables, on posters, and billboards at stores. There’s not nearly as much of that going on now, since there are fewer bookstores. Borders closed during this ten-year period. Indie bookstores are fewer and farther between. Barnes & Noble has a whole Nook section and gaming section taking up space where there used to be books. Publishers are less sure how to reach readers and much more cautious about where to throw marketing dollars.
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What about in terms of YA specifically? 
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I think the YA department has quadrupled since I first published. What was barely one or two shelves in Barnes & Noble is now aisles and aisles of young adult books. We saw this change about eight years ago. But now, with there being Nook sections and gaming sections, traditional book aisles and displays are scaling back a bit as bookstores have to accommodate with Nook and other games. I also think that young adults have so much more to choose from than they used to, and that the young adult genre has spread not to just teens but [now] adults reading them.
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How does this shift in audience make you feel as a writer? 
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I think that this is an exciting time for everyone. Readers are all trying out different books, and while things have changed since I first got published, I think this is an interesting time to see the change.
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Do you believe that self-publishing is good for aspiring writers? 
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I’m not against self-publishing, but I think people need to be really careful about what they’re “buying” into. Self-publishing carries a stigma in the mainstream publishing arena. Also, some self-publishing outsourcers take advantage of those who want to self-publish, promising more than they can deliver. It can get very costly, and then, in the end, is your book going to be in Barnes & Noble? Will it get beyond Amazon? There’s no way of knowing.
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Would you recommend traditional publishing or self-publishing for any aspiring writers? 
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I would try mainstream publishing first, unless I already had an audience. If I were a teacher, my audience could be my students. If I were a doctor writing a medical book, my audience could be my patients and colleagues. Or if I were a famous blogger and had thousands and thousands of followers, I might go self-publishing. But other than that, new writers will struggle financially trying to distribute their books. And, not only that, they will have a harder time getting their books read.
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How do you think would be the best way for aspiring authors to publish their novels through the traditional publishing houses? 
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Do your homework. Know to whom you’re sending your query letter, who that person’s clients are, what that person’s track record is, and what that person is looking for. Every letter should be personalized and reflect that you’ve done your research. But nonetheless, perseverance is the key. 
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Writers often say that an important element of their work is being able to work well with others, to find other writers who share the same passion. Do you have a group of people that you talk to, and if so, how did you go about finding them? 

I found one while in grad school. We were all in the same sequence of classes together: writing the young adult novel. So we were all working on our novels over several semesters. When we finished classes, we knew we loved each other’s work and so we didn’t want to stop seeing one another. We would meet at one another’s houses or apartments to workshop our pages—there were four of us, and we all ended up selling our novels.
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What advice would you give to aspiring writers in terms of actual writing and publishing?

My biggest piece of advice is to persevere. There are many talented writers who give up after five, ten, or even fifty rejection letters. Be open to learning and to getting better in your craft. Consider joining up with other writers. There’s nothing better than being in a group of like-minded writers who can help inspire and cheer you on, and who can provide constructive feedback that can help to strengthen your work.

   Often, writers comment that writing can get lonely, and given the big changes the literary world is going through, it seems like this might be the case now more than ever. But, as Stolarz reminds us, a writer is never alone—there are many others in the same boat, weathering those big waves of change together. And doesn't this encourage us, as aspiring authors, even more?
     I think it does.
     So let's get writing.

About the Author

Mayu Nakano is currently a junior majoring in Creative Writing and Japanese at Miami University. She is both an avid reader and writer of young adult fiction. Her interests also include culture and books in English translation.

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