Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As a former English teacher and a mother of three adults, I live in picturesque Bend, Oregon with my husband, Gregg, of 35 years where I enjoy hiking in the Cascades mountains, snowshoeing, tubing down the Deschutes River, playing pickleball and, of course, writing.
I’ve been writing articles, essays, and stories since I was in high school. My two women’s fiction novels have been published within the last three years. These books explore the female journey and the healing power of family. I write stories where women characters face unexpected challenges and, through their struggles, emerge stronger and with a better understanding of themselves. When I begin writing a novel, it’s because I want to draw attention to untruths or I want misconceived beliefs revealed, misunderstandings exposed, lies uncovered, different viewpoints explored. I believe women will never stop reading books when they can relate to characters and gain a clearer insight into their own lives. I hope my novels are those kinds of books.
THE OTHER SIDE OF HEARTACHE, a semi-finalist in The Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Awards in 2013 for Literary Fiction, is a women’s fiction novel that delves into the private lives of three generations of Rose women, unveiling a long ago secret buried under desperate circumstances with staggering effects.
My newest release, ENTANGLED LOYALTIES (2016) is told through the eyes of Annie, Brooke, and Vivian, women from three different generations brought into the same family through marriages. Set against the backdrop of the economic crisis during the summer of 2009, the story addresses challenges that arise when the women become either a stepmother, a stepdaughter, or both, and discover that by getting what they think they want isn’t always what they need. This is a love story about what can blossom, and what must be left to fade, when three women look within their hearts in order to find a different kind of happiness than expected.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I could not have been able to write ENTANGLED LOYALTIES (2016) without the multitudes of true stories I gathered from stepmothers and stepdaughters throughout the nation who share their real-life experiences with others on daily blogs and family websites and, through their voices, make a difference in so many people’s lives. The initial nugget that inspired this novel came from listening to friends and other women talk of how they struggle in their roles of step parenting and/or from being a stepdaughter and I thought, “I need to write this down.” Some stories have happy endings for these families thrust together through second, and sometimes third, marriages, but not all of them do.
In ENTANGLED LOYALTIES, by delving into ancient myths and fairy tales that create stereotypical assumptions handed down through the ages about wicked stepmothers and abused, misunderstood stepdaughters, I attempt to dispel these beliefs and give varying points of view told through three characters’ experiences.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t seem to concentrate or put myself in the story when there are outside distractions of any kind. I require a noiseless environment in which to work. I can’t write with background music playing and opt for silence. The characters’ voices in my head are noise enough.
I have an office in my home and the door is closed when I’m at work. Although there are files with research material, character sketches, plot outlines, and chapter excerpts scattered across my office floor, especially during the first draft, my writing desk is uncluttered. A small LLADRO of an Asian girl handing me a flower sits to the left of my computer screen, and a rock with a smiling face sits beneath it, as well as a star shaped glass paperweight. These are gifts from my children and they serve as touchstones while I write. Depending on the story, I use props to keep me focused. For instance, the protagonist of ENTANGLED LOYALTIES is a children’s book illustrator, so during the writing process for that novel I had a copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter under my table lamp.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My head swims when thinking of all the books that have influenced me. To choose a few only is impossible for me to do. Authors whose work for whom I have a deep and abiding respect are Toni Morrison, John Steinbeck, Willa Cather, Anne Tyler, Wallace Stegner, Ann Patchett, and most of the Victorian writers.
What are you working on now?
ENTANGLED LOYALTIES published in March 2016, so I’ve been working on promoting the novel. Still, I’m constantly on the alert for a topic or character that may become the foundation for my third novel. I have some ideas mulling around, but so far I haven’t had that “ah ha” moment that grabs me and won’t let me stop thinking about a plot or a character until I sit down at my writing table and touch the keyboard.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a niche audience and I concentrate on them: Baby Boomer women, women who love to read good fiction, book club members, and women who read my books and say, “That could be me!” With THE OTHER SIDE OF HEARTACHE, once I put the book out there, it took off through word of mouth and reviews appeared on Goodreads and Amazon. I have a Facebook Author Page and I promote on that as well as LinkedIn.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write your story. Then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. When you’re not writing, read, read, read.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” THE OTHER SIDE OF HEARTACHE and ENTANGLED LOYALTIES are results of that advice.
What are you reading now?
BARKSKINS by Annie Proulx
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll write another novel and it will have all the elements of my first two books – realistic, believable characters that are well thought out with a true-to-life story line that keeps my readers guessing and wanting to know what is going to happen next.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
SIDDHARTHA by Hermann Hesse for the spiritual journey of self-discovery, EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck because truly it is The Great American Novel, and TESS OF THE d’URBERVILLES , Thomas Hardy’s fictional masterpiece because I love, and weep for, Tess. And a dictionary.
Author Websites and Profiles
Sarah Jo Smith Amazon Profile
Sarah Jo Smith’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile