Bat-Sh** Crazy...Among Other Things
For those of you who have been living under a rock and/or not paying attention to my social media feed, I published my first novel this summer. And my second. And my third. Let's call it The Match Trilogy (available on my website - www.staceeannharris.com - and Amazon.com). It has been one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life. I'm lucky. Readers want to chat, ask questions, know things about me and the books and the characters. Don't get me wrong. I never tire of answering questions. If people are asking, they are interested, perhaps even engaged, and that's an incredibly good thing. I am flattered, humbled even, by the whole experience. I've said it before, but it warrants saying again. If having people - some friends, some not - buy and read something you've written doesn't humble you, you're doing life completely wrong. So yes, I will answer questions all day long and talk about it even longer to anyone who takes the time to strike up the conversation.
I thought I'd share a few of the questions that invariably come up with readers. In no particular order...
Most common question: WHEN IS PART X COMING OUT??? (caps intended to express the frantic urgency with which the question is usually asked). This is by far the most common question I've gotten thus far. This means one thing and one thing only - They liked the book, they really liked it! So much that they can't wait for the next installment. I have to tell you from where I sit, there is no better question. "Will you marry me?" can't touch it. Neither can "Want a free pizza/coffee/beer/fill in the blank?" I will NEVER tire of answering it. Sadly, very soon it will no longer be a question. As early as later this month, all three books will be out and readily available. My advice? Buy all three at once. You can save on shipping and not have to wait for the next book to arrive (Yes, e-reader readers, I know, I know...).
Most flattering question: Are Maggie and Stella real people? I do write a lot of creative non-fiction (and I'm currently negotiating my involvement in the writing of a true life love story) but Maggie, Stella, and all their friends are pure fiction. Think about that question for a moment.............. To some readers, Maggie and Stella seem so real that they cease to be fictional. It honestly makes me tear up (I've done a lot of that around the books this summer). I did such a good of a job writing them, telling their story, that they seem truer than fiction? It defies imagination. Seriously.
Most thought provoking question: How did you come up with the story? Truthfully? I didn't, but it's not that I plagiarized. Each and every word is mine (with a little help on occasion from my editor...). This is the part that's going to make me seem bat-shit crazy to anyone who hasn't written fiction. Maggie and Stella told me their story. I just wrote it down. Wait. Didn't I say barely a paragraph ago that they aren't real? Yep. Look, I can't tell you how it happens. Characters arrive and their story unfolds. Maggie's part of the story appeared while I was out running one day. I needed one more story for my thesis and I was stumped. Maggie (and poker night - if you've read the books you know what I'm talking about) first appeared in a short story called, "The Exorcism", starring Father Nick and Grimes Jackson (again if you've read the books, you'll understand). I liked her and thought she deserved her own story. Back track a couple months before that to another short story, "Smarmy Steve". Stella Campos arrived on the scene fairly quietly as the heroine who finally puts an end to a creepy dude's lecherous behavior, but I knew that was only the beginning for her. I just didn't know where she'd pop up again. Until she did. Maggie needed a girlfriend and the rest, as they say, is history.
Question with the (longest) and most shocking answer: How long did it take you to write the books? Six months. That's it. I started writing in August 2015 and finished in February 2016. I spent 20-30 hours/week writing and researching. I wrote for a few hours either before or after work almost every day and for 6-8 hours on my days off. Maggie and Stella's story poured out of me. You're going to think I'm bat-shit crazy yet again when I say this, but it's more like their story poured through me. It was as if they finally found someone they trusted to tell their story and the flood gates just opened. I couldn't have stopped writing if I'd wanted to. They kept me up at night, interrupted my work days; they could be INSISTENT and PERSISTENT. It's not always like that in fiction writing. Other writers will tell you different - their novels took longer, years, or decades even. I believe (Bat-shit crazy alert) that a couple things have to come together -
I thought I'd share a few of the questions that invariably come up with readers. In no particular order...
Most common question: WHEN IS PART X COMING OUT??? (caps intended to express the frantic urgency with which the question is usually asked). This is by far the most common question I've gotten thus far. This means one thing and one thing only - They liked the book, they really liked it! So much that they can't wait for the next installment. I have to tell you from where I sit, there is no better question. "Will you marry me?" can't touch it. Neither can "Want a free pizza/coffee/beer/fill in the blank?" I will NEVER tire of answering it. Sadly, very soon it will no longer be a question. As early as later this month, all three books will be out and readily available. My advice? Buy all three at once. You can save on shipping and not have to wait for the next book to arrive (Yes, e-reader readers, I know, I know...).
Most flattering question: Are Maggie and Stella real people? I do write a lot of creative non-fiction (and I'm currently negotiating my involvement in the writing of a true life love story) but Maggie, Stella, and all their friends are pure fiction. Think about that question for a moment.............. To some readers, Maggie and Stella seem so real that they cease to be fictional. It honestly makes me tear up (I've done a lot of that around the books this summer). I did such a good of a job writing them, telling their story, that they seem truer than fiction? It defies imagination. Seriously.
Most thought provoking question: How did you come up with the story? Truthfully? I didn't, but it's not that I plagiarized. Each and every word is mine (with a little help on occasion from my editor...). This is the part that's going to make me seem bat-shit crazy to anyone who hasn't written fiction. Maggie and Stella told me their story. I just wrote it down. Wait. Didn't I say barely a paragraph ago that they aren't real? Yep. Look, I can't tell you how it happens. Characters arrive and their story unfolds. Maggie's part of the story appeared while I was out running one day. I needed one more story for my thesis and I was stumped. Maggie (and poker night - if you've read the books you know what I'm talking about) first appeared in a short story called, "The Exorcism", starring Father Nick and Grimes Jackson (again if you've read the books, you'll understand). I liked her and thought she deserved her own story. Back track a couple months before that to another short story, "Smarmy Steve". Stella Campos arrived on the scene fairly quietly as the heroine who finally puts an end to a creepy dude's lecherous behavior, but I knew that was only the beginning for her. I just didn't know where she'd pop up again. Until she did. Maggie needed a girlfriend and the rest, as they say, is history.
Question with the (longest) and most shocking answer: How long did it take you to write the books? Six months. That's it. I started writing in August 2015 and finished in February 2016. I spent 20-30 hours/week writing and researching. I wrote for a few hours either before or after work almost every day and for 6-8 hours on my days off. Maggie and Stella's story poured out of me. You're going to think I'm bat-shit crazy yet again when I say this, but it's more like their story poured through me. It was as if they finally found someone they trusted to tell their story and the flood gates just opened. I couldn't have stopped writing if I'd wanted to. They kept me up at night, interrupted my work days; they could be INSISTENT and PERSISTENT. It's not always like that in fiction writing. Other writers will tell you different - their novels took longer, years, or decades even. I believe (Bat-shit crazy alert) that a couple things have to come together -
- There must be trust between the writer and the characters. How this is created, I don't really know. I think Maggie and Stella trusted me from the jump, but Stella was always more forthcoming with certain details than Maggie was (FYI, s-e-x);
- The characters must be ready to tell their story. Maggie and Stella were bursting to tell theirs. In contrast, I started a short story a year ago and after re-reading it last week, one of the characters decided it was time. Sort of. She'll only tell me certain things, almost like she's replaying and savoring the memories before letting me in. I get it. It's big for her - she's about to tell me that, once upon a time, she fell in love with a woman.....in 1915 during The Great War. She won't let me write her in first person......yet. This draft is - oddly for me - written in third person. One day she may let me change that.
- The writer must feel confident in her ability to tell the story. She must feel worthy. On occasion, I worried if I'd do justice to Maggie and Stella. They are special to me and their story is special. I truly didn't want to fuck it up. In the end, their confidence in me gave me the confidence I needed to keep writing. Conversely, I've had a novel brewing for a little more than two years - characters who want me to tell their story. Only......... It's big, huge really, and I worry constantly that I'm not good enough, that their story is bigger than my ability to write it. They're still around - Anna, Helen, and Eleanor are - so we shall see.
I'm a believer in bat-shit crazy things. I don't believe in God, but I do believe in energy, magnetism, and connection. Who knows? Maybe Maggie and Stella are real and living in some plane of existence that we can't smell, touch, taste, or feel from where we sit. Maybe they reached out to me to tell their story in this world. As bat-shit crazy as that probably sounds to all of you who are not bat-shit crazy like me...
In any case, from my bat-shit crazy heart and soul, I thank you - For enduring my blogs, this one included, for enjoying my little stories, and for loving Maggie and Stella as much as I do. They're pretty damn cool and I am honored they chose me to tell their story.
*** Haven't read the books yet? Why in THE HELL NOT???? Just kidding. But in all seriousness, you really, really should. People tell me they're kinda good. ***
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