I am so excited for everyone to read my interview with the incredible author Deborah L. King. First, before the interview, here is a bit about her book
Glory Bishop lives her life in pieces. At work and with her friends, she reads novels, speaks her mind, and enjoys slow dances and stolen kisses with her boyfriend, JT. But at home, Glory follows strict rules and second-guesses every step. Though she dreams of going to college and living like a normal teenage girl, her abusive mother has other ideas.
Read an excerpt here. Or purchase your own copy on Amazon.
What inspired your book Glory Bishop?
Years ago, in a writing class, I wrote a piece about a young woman wrapped in a winter coat on a hot summer day. She was carrying a pair of red high heeled shoes and could be heard mumbling to herself. What she was hearing was her mother's voice in her head berating her for looking like a Jezebel and being seen in a bar. The last line of that piece " ...and that's where the sunrise found her...stripped down to her soul and dancing on the bar..." made me want to know more about the young lady, and how she came to her circumstances.
What an incredible scene that sparked this book! How did this book transform from its first draft to the final draft?
Haha! Glory lost a lot of weight! Originally, the book was 135k words, which is way more than almost any women's fiction manuscript. After editing and tweaks, she's now 100k words. Also, I have a character who sings everything, so I had to take out a whole lotta of song lyrics because of copyright rules. Now she just mentions song titles and hums a lot.
Oh that must have been tough to cut it down so much! The cover is GORGEOUS! Did you have any say in the design?
I wish I could take even a little credit for the cover, but really, my publisher works with incredible designers.
I loved reading about all the careers you desired as a young child and how they manifested in your adulthood! How did each of those experiences shape your writing?
I can't say all of my childhood dreams shaped my writing, but my daughter pointing out that I'd actually accomplished almost everything I ever wanted to do made me realize that I could possibly be an author one day. But...I guess I do draw on those experiences for character interests.
I think that's amazing you do that. Did you do any research for the book? What were you surprised to learn?
I did a fair amount of research since my story is set in the mid-80s. I had to find a lot of music (which I couldn't use because lawyers), and my study of Chicago neighbors and bus routes was quite informative. I was surprised to learn a lot of history about Chicago's west side, and the handling of the AIDS epidemic in its early days. I also got a lot of help from my high school classmates on Facebook.
That is awesome you did that in-depth research. I saw in an interview it took you 25 years to write this book. Why did you stop and why did you go back?
I stopped writing because life happened. Work, marriage, children, caregiving, etc. Then one day, a friend told me about the Writer's Institute, a conference in Madison, WI held by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At the time I was working on a memoir, but at the conference, characters from
Glory Bishop started coming to me. With my friend's and my Aunt's encouragement, I picked up the story again and started seriously listening and telling Glory's story.
What advice do you have for writers who desire to return to a book they haven't finished?
I know it's cliche, but just do it. If what you're writing is not flowing, write a different part of the story. If you're not feeling the characters, write character descriptions. You'd be surprised what you can learn about your characters or world when you try to describe them.
I love that advice! How did your approach in writing this book change when you went back to it?
When I went back to it, I had a plan. I had characters that had dreams and goals and I took my time and wrote out timelines and maps and recipes. I approached it like I thought a professional writer would. I took my writing seriously for real for the first time.
What was your process in finding a publisher?
Hoo boy! First, I listened to my instructors and followed their advice. I finished the book and had it professionally edited and proofread. I sent query letters to agents, with the hope of just getting them to read the first couple of pages. I used a site called Query Tracker to keep up with my queries and responses. All told, I got 99 rejections. I'd say 90% of my queries were tossed without reading any of the pages just because of my story's word count, so I didn't take any of the rejection personally. I was running out a patience a little when I started querying publishers directly. Red Adept Publishing was one of them. My word count wasn't a problem for them, and the acquisition editor loved my story. When I got the call that my story was accepted, I was useless for a couple of days.
I'll bet! My heart broke when I read you lost many of your handwritten stories and essays! As a hand-writer myself, I can relate to how hard it is to keep track of all of those. What is your writing method now? Do you still hand write? How do you keep track of everything?
I no longer hand write. I use Google Docs, and store everything on Google Drive, which is synced to folders on my computer. That way, I can truly access my work anywhere without fear of losing my place or file corruption.
I do the same thing! So, I read that you loved to cook! So if you could recommend any recipe that readers should make that goes well with your book, what would you recommend?
In the book, Glory makes a pot roast, and I describe her recipe...it's pretty easy and uses a crock pot.
"She watched her mother savoring the pot roast and brightened a little. Glory had learned to cook it from her dad when she was nine—cut meat up in big hunks, add onion-soup mix and mushroom-soup mix, and chop the vegetables kind of big. The time they’d had a snow day last year and she let JT in after her mother left for work, he’d liked it, too." Glory also likes to make 1-2-3 butter cookies. 1 part butter, 2 parts sugar, and 3 parts flour. Mix together 'til dough forms. Roll into balls and press down with 3 fingers, then bake til the edges are brown."
Now I want to try that myself! Thank you so much for this interview and best of luck to you with your book!
I'm also happy to announce that I get to giveaway a copy of the book to one lucky reader! It will be a e-book copy of Deborah L. King's book Glory Bishop. Enter via Rafflecopter below. Open internationally. Giveaway ends July 31st.
Book trigger warnings for language, sex, scenes of physical and emotional abuse...
Can't wait for the giveaway to be over to read this book? Make sure you purchase a copy on Amazon.com and make sure you add this book to Goodreads. Be sure to visit the author's webpage to also follow along her journey.
About the Author, Deborah L. King
Growing up, Deborah King wanted to be a cook, a teacher, a model, an artist, a photographer, and an author. To date, she has cooked for or catered several receptions; taught Sunday School, led Girl Scout troops, and been a corporate trainer for a retail chain. As a young adult, she modeled in boutique fashion shows. She now works as a freelance graphic artist and photographer; and with the publication of her debut novel Glory Bishop, Deborah King is officially an author.
Deborah lives in Illinois with her husband and two youngest children; and according to her daughter, she has “literally aced her life!”
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