Interview With Author Sarah P. Blanchard
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
DRAWN FROM LIFE is my first full-length novel. I’ve written many short stories, poems, and nonfiction pieces for magazines and literary journals. My story collection, PLAYING CHESS WITH BULLS, was published in 2023. The title story was a finalist for the Doris Betts Fiction Prize in 2021. Years, ago, I also published three nonficiton books on horse training.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
DRAWN FROM LIFE was initially inspired by Alice Gregory’s article in THE NEW YORKER, “The Shame and Sorrow of the Accidental Killer.” I wanted to write a story about a young woman’s struggle to resolve her feelings of guilt after suffering a devastating tragedy. This idea eventually grew to become a novel in which the close-cousins relationship between a bully and her target also provides a path for the main character to find redemption.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Nothing especially strange. I write at my desk each day, with a small dog keeping me company. When the well runs dry, I walk or garden or ride my horse. Or take a nap.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Barbara Kingsolver is at the top of my list. Next would be a couple of British mystery writers, Ann Cleeves and Elizabeth George. I love the scope and range, the marvelous settings and characterizations of Stephen King. Go a bit further back and you’ll find my shelves filled with books by Dick Francis. Look WAY back and you’ll find Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Beryl Markham. For poetry, look at Billy Collins, Mary Oliver and Robert Frost, to name just a few.
What are you working on now?
As soon as the audiobook for DRAWN FROM LIFE is completed (Summer 2024), I’ll be sketching out the next novel. Which might include characters from DRAWN FROM LIFE, and might be set in Canada.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Still working on this as I’m a newbie at promotions. Mostly, I just want to write.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read lots of well-written books across different genres. Study those writers and figure out what makes their writing good. Learn the craft as early and as well as possible. Don’t fear criticism, lean into it and learn from it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writers are always cautioned to be ready to “murder your babies,” meaning you have to be ruthless about paring away the unnecessary (but often quite pretty) words and phrases we’ve followed down the rabbit holes — those times when we’ve wandered away from the storyline, muddled the plot, or slowed down the action by musing on something completely extraneous. An excellent editor told me, “Don’t kill the babies, just rehome them.” In other words, pull them out of the story they don’t belong in, and give them their own story. I now have many chapters of rehomed backstories, witty dialogue and interesting anecdotes that will find their own new homes.
What are you reading now?
A lovely book of historical fiction by Angel Khoury, BETWEEN TIDES. Set during World War II, it’s based on the true story of a man who lived duplicate lives with two wives on similar shores—one on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the other in Manteo, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The daughter of his southern wife, knowing nothing of her deceased father’s first marriage, travels north to seek answers about her family. It’s a marvelously lyrical piece of writing about grief, loss, resilience, and how an unexpected love can span generations and distances.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Traveling, talking with book groups, and more writing. Which is the whole point, right?
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?
Demon Copperhead, The Poisonwood Bible, Grapes of Wrath, and Careless in Red by Elizabeth George.
Author Websites and Profiles
Sarah P. Blanchard Amazon Profile
Sarah P. Blanchard’s Social Media Links
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