There is so much interesting stuff (technical term) and honest, inspiring advice in Erika Marks’s interview below that I’m not going to waste to much of your time or my space telling you how we met online and how Erika has always been interested and supportive of this blog — and me. Reading Erika’s answers was like chatting with a friend, so I decided to carry-on the tradition from the Valentine’s Day post and use first names instead of initials. It’s a little less formal and just seems right — especially today!
Please welcome Erika Marks to Women’s Fiction Writers!
Women’s Fiction Author Erika Marks Shares Her Journey to Publication, Her Indiana Inspiration, And Advice On Persistence, Politeness and Patience
Amy: When I read a book I often find myself wondering how on earth an author got the idea for their story. Your book, Little Gale Gumbo, is set in Maine, but is about a family that has deep roots in the South and superstition (to oversimplify). Can you tell us a little bit about the story and how these characters came to life for you?
Erika: First things first: Thank you so much for having me here, Amy! Having been a reader of your blog from the beginning, it’s truly special to be a guest.
The story…Would you believe the idea for LITTLE GALE GUMBO came to me in the back yard of our old house in Indiana? I envisioned a man reminiscing about the two women (sisters) who he hadn’t seen in forever but whose impact on his life haunted him. At that point, it had been three years since my husband and I had had to evacuate New Orleans (where he’s from and where we were living) after Hurricane Katrina, but I still missed the city terribly, and I was very much still processing our abrupt departure from a place that I loved deeply. Out of that continued longing and that sense of wanting to preserve the pieces of my husband’s and my life there, I began to reshape that initial imagery of the three characters (who ended up being Matthew and the sisters, Dahlia and Josie) to include the rest of the cast of LITTLE GALE GUMBO. Curiously enough, even though food was always a huge part of the story, the setting of the island café didn’t take shape for several drafts, but once it did, so many other things fell into place. It really did become an anchor for the story and the characters.
There’s no question that Camille exemplified the sentiments I imagined so many people who were forced to leave New Orleans after Katrina had felt, being thrust into a strange new place with little but their history and, in Camille’s case, her Creole recipes, her jazz music, her strong belief in voodoo and her devotion to her daughters. Those pieces of New Orleans travelled with her, and served not only to give her purpose in a foreign land, but also provided a way for her to ingratiate herself and spice up a cold climate.
Amy: And, what came first, the idea or the drive? Meaning, did you always want to be a novelist — or did the story and characters make you want to become published and see your book on bookshelves and e-readers?
Erika: Amy, that’s such a great question. Honestly, I remember from a very young age seeing writing and being published as intertwined. I recall seeing Ally Sheedy’s children’s book (she wrote and published it at something like 13 and under the name Alexandra, I think?) in my local library and I was about that age and thinking, Hmm…I want to do this too! I knew I loved to write but I always wanted to write with an eye towards my stories being put out into the world. Having written over 13 manuscripts before selling LITTLE GALE GUMBO, I can say my thought process has long been the drive first, and then the characters followed.
Amy: Will you share a little about your journey to publication and what the post-publication experience has been like?
Erika: It has been a long journey—a wonderful one!—but a long one. Twenty years, in fact, from the time I submitted my first manuscript (a genre romance called Seasons of the Heart; the title was by far the best part of the thing—cringe!) to the time I got a two-book deal from NAL. Along the way, I tried lots of other genres (horror, sci-fi among them) before settling into my true comfort zone in women’s fiction and I think that made all the difference. Once I found a voice that I could settle in to then I was able to give the mechanics of the craft the attention it needed.
What amazes me most looking back is how the process of submissions has changed. I remember when lots of houses took unsolicited, unagented manuscripts. I remember the days of typing out materials and waiting weeks and weeks for those SASEs to come back. I also remember many lovely, hand-written responses (that I still have, of course!) from agents with morsels of advice and encouragement. I was, and am to this day, so grateful for them.
And then there’s the whole aspect of social media and this idea of building a platform as a fiction writer—something I think all of us who wrote fiction in the pre-internet world never had to think about. But like so many things in the contemporary writing business, I have come to see this development as a wonderful opportunity to engage readers and other writers. In other words, to build a community in what very often feels like a one-man show on a desert island. I am so grateful for that aspect of social media.
Amy: Can you (will you) share with us what you’re working on now? And, will there be gumbo? 🙂
Erika: I’d love to share! I actually just sent off the manuscript for my second novel, THE MERMAID COLLECTOR, which is due for release in October and I’m really excited about it. It’s the story of a coastal town with a mermaid legend. But on the eve of its annual mermaid festival, two brothers mysteriously arrive to claim the town’s historic lightkeeper’s house, and their appearance sets into motion both romance and revelations for the town’s residents, in particular a free-spirited woodcarver named Tess whose belief in life’s magic is a way to cope with a past heartbreak.
Amy: What’s your definition of women’s fiction?
Erika: Stories that speak to the needs and the dreams and the challenges of women and the people they love. Having just finished writing a novel where the male lead is almost as prominent in the story as the female, I never once felt as if I wasn’t writing women’s fiction when I was immersed in his scenes or in his head. Quite the opposite, I think women’s fiction is lucky in that it can encompass a lot of views and plots and voices, so long as the core of the story is relatable to women’s lives.
Amy: What is your best advice for aspiring authors of women’s fiction?
Erika: To always keep writing, keep reading, keep submitting. And remember, no matter the zillion numbers of people who are using social media, publishing is still a small community. Courtesy and professionalism are often as well-remembered as your writing by agents and editors. Keep track of which agents offer to see your new project and follow up accordingly. I met my agent through a generous agent at another agency who I queried five years ago and subsequently showed her my projects as I finished them. While they were never a good match for her needs, she and I built up a lovely rapport so that when a project came along that she did feel strongly about (though her list was already full) she referred me to another agent. These relationships take time. Nurture them and be patient. Learn when to put away a project and start on a new one; agents want to know you have more than one story in you.
(Oh, goodness—was I supposed to just give one piece of advice? Sorry!)
Erika Marks is a native New Englander who was raised in Maine and has worked as an illustrator, cake decorator, and carpenter. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, a native New Orleanian, and their two daughters.
Website: http://www.erikamarksauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/erikamarksauthr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Erika-Marks-Author/128773427179948
Loved reading Erika’s debut, it’s one of the best written books I’ve read this year, and a wonderful story. I can’t wait to read her next novel.
Hearing that it took her twenty years? Good things come to those who persevere!
Suzanne, you’ve made my morning. Thank you for such kind words.
I always look back on those 20 years and think, Hmmm, if someone had said it would take that long, would I have stuck with it? And I quickly decide, Absolutely. There really is no cap on it, is there? Like love, it takes what it takes. (Although I think–no, I KNOW–I was much more impatient looking for love than publication! 😉 )
Thanks, Amy, for another wonderful interview! Erika Marks is one of my favorite people on earth and a marvel when it comes to perseverance and talent. Her level head and practical approach to a journey that can be filled with the drama of creative minds and frustrations of business snags is an example every author – beginners and seasoned, alike – would do well to follow. She’s a class act, just as this interview readily reflects. Three cheers for Little Gale, Erika, mermaids, magic, and good manners! And pass the Gumbo, pretty please.
You sweetheart! And only a dear friend like yourself would know that “level head” spins accordingly 90% of the time 😉
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the community of all of us means so much to me. The only beef I have with it is that it still won’t let me teleport (a la Star Trek) bowls of gumbo through the keyboard. Is anyone working on that? I know there are a few other global kinks we need to work out first, but maybe that could be somewhere on the list? 😉
“… I can say my thought process has long been the drive first, and then the characters followed.”
Thanks Erika for presenting your method which actually describes my own and was difficult for me to express. When I first began submitting, I kept a list of agents that grew seemingly daily. You would smile to see where I entered “Epiphany” in capital letters across the list when I realized my genre was indeed, Women’s Fiction! It all fell into place from that point on and my debut novel, Nardi Point, releases April 17! I’m going to order Little Gale Gumbo right now!
… and Amy, I can’t wait to read The Glass Wives!
Hi Nancy! First of all, a huge congratulations on your upcoming release! I will be on the look out for it.
I hear you on the issue of the process–and that’s why I thought Amy’s question was so smart. I think as writers we rarely stop and assess that aspect of the process–and it DOES make a difference. And “epiphany” is the perfect word. I felt the same way. It was like I was weaving elements of women’s fiction into all these other genres for years–why? Sure, it was a great exercise in developing voice and structure, but I look back and wonder why I couldn’t see for so long where my true comfort zone was?
Thanks, Erika and Amy for the lovely interview. Congrats, Erika on the successful release of the wonderful and charming Little Gale Gumbo. (So glad to hear we won’t have to wait long for your next one.) How funny–I also remember reading Alley Sheedy’s book–I believe it was called She Was Nice to Mice–and thinking exactly the same thing!
Meredith, hello! And yay! Someone else who remembers that book–that was exactly the one! Oh, how I pored over that book in our library. I can still see the whimsical little illustrations in my mind. I’m not ashamed to say I was VERY envious of Ms. Sheedy. I thought she was one cool young lady.
And congratulations to YOU on your novel Aftertaste. I’m looking forward to what you’re cooking up next…
I loved reading LITTLE GALE GUMBO–I was absolutely charmed by it–and can’t wait to read THE MERMAID COLLECTOR! Spending time in Erika’s imagination is a treat.
Linda, you sure know you how to sweet talk a girl. I feel the same about you, my dear, which is why I’m chomping at the bit to get my hands on IN A FIX! (After this cold season, I’m looking forward to a hot-blooded urban fantasy to warm me up…)
Hi Amy and Erika. I’m so excited you’re here, Erika! Your road to publication is such an inspirational story and one that really drives home the point that perseverance (and belief in ourselves) is so important — and so is community. I feel the same way as you — that the social media community is so, so critical to today’s writers. You have been such a wonderfully generous supporter as I travel the same path to publication, and such a truly genuine friend. The world is blessed, dear, having your words in it and ON paper! I, like the others, so enjoyed getting to know Josie, Dahlia, Matthew and Camille. First voodoo and now magic… I can’t wait for novel no. 2!
I particularly loved your definition of women’s fiction: “it can encompass a lot of views and plots and voices, so long as the core of the story is relatable to women’s lives.”
Hello my dear! As always, you are such a doll…
You said it all when you said community is as important as perseverance. I think back to those pre-internet days–or the early days of the internet (chat rooms, anyone?) when the concept seemed so strange–but now I couldn’t function without it, I swear.
I can’t WAIT to read THE MERMAID COLLECTOR!!!!! That’s the first description I’ve heard. Sounds wonderful.
Great interview!
Thank you, Erika! You are an inspiration in the way you make navigating the waters of social media look so easy.Truly!
I love reading another interview with you, Erika, one that lets me learn more about such a wonderful writer friend! Your new novel sounds so amazing, and I cannot wait to read it!! I loved hearing about your inspiration for LITTLE GALE GUMBO, too–thinking about that tiny seed of an idea germinating and snowballing. Also, learning that you and I have in common remembering the slushpiles of major publishing houses and waiting and waiting for a mail response and receiving those handwritten notes…. agreed, such different and exciting times!
Oh Julia, am I crazy that I still kindasorta miss those days of walking to the mailbox, hands wringing, hearts pounding? (Answer–er, probably yes!)
I still can’t get used to how accessible information is to us as writers with today’s technology. I’m still in awe of the speed and volume compared to what was available 20 years ago. To say nothing of the reading possibilities! Just think how many more books we expose one another to through social media that we might not have heard about otherwise. (Except for those of us like myself who practically LIVED at the library growing up and made a point of taking every book off every shelf (sometimes just to sniff, I can confess that to a fellow booksniffer, of course 😉 )
you guys ( girls ) have a great turn-out today. … keep up the good work.
i love reading the comments … other people reactions and questions.
.
tom … asheville, nc ( and magnolia, mississippi )
Hi Tom! So glad you came by! Amy’s blog is so rich with great thoughts on writing–it’s very special to me to be a part of it today.
Good things do come to those who keep on going! 😀
Love the interview and good luck with your successes!
Thanks, Kat!
Teresa Frohock just told me you’re a fellow North Carolinian. Nice to meet you! I hope you’re having this great weather in your part of the state!
Yes! I live in Maggie Valley – tucked in a cove at Killian Knob. And the weather has been wonderful – springlike. *smiling*
Erika, You inspire me!! xoxo
Amy, it’s been such a treat being here–thank you so much!
I have one question: Who’s going to get to interview YOU for WFW when THE GLASS WIVES comes out???
OMG, I have not thought of that!! Now I’m all verklempt! Must remember to BREATHE!!!
Are you volunteering??? 😉
Of course I’d volunteer!
Or is it only fitting to have you interview yourself–now THAT would be very cool indeed. Or what if you took one question from some of WFW’s interviewees and answered them as a collection? (Boy, I’m FULL of ideas tonight, aren’t I? 😉 )
Yes you are full of ideas! No surprise there! I think we have time to figure it out — and I am totally coming to you for help!!!
Lovely interview Erika and Amy. I haven’t read ‘Little Gale Gumbo’ but it is on my reading list for this summer. I loved hearing the way the novel came into shape. There are so many layers, so much shedding and restitching. A wonderful process.
I also liked your comments about changes in the submission process and promoting oneself as a writer. I too used to wait for months and months, ticking off my calendar, for my manuscripts sent across continents, and up to a year for short stories sent away in the post. How long and isolating! I too prefer these days – contact with other writers and immediate information about agencies and publishing houses. The ease of the internet in creating a blog or marketing a book. It seems that our patience has paid off!
I’ve also been tinkering for twenty years with writing and – amazingly – my women’s commercial novel is out in April and it is true, it feels like quiet an epiphany. It was probably the easiest and most satisfying thing I have written in years!