by: Rachel Cline I recently spent a weekend in the country with three other writers. We are each at different points in our careers, but all of us are undeniably serious and competitive. Writing that sentence, I wonder if any two writers in the history of time have ever been at the same point in their careers–do you think? Of course we are told and told and told, and indeed we know (in that ignorant way we know everything, oh…
by: Greer Macallister Historically, women have had to hide their true selves for many reasons. In fiction this can lead to some really intriguing stories, full of tension. As the readers, we know the woman’s true identity, but we relish seeing her forging her way under a different persona, at risk of grave danger if she ever lets the façade slip. In my new novel Woman 99, set in 1888, pampered San Francisco socialite Charlotte goes undercover in an insane…
by: Lauren Jonik The sound of water rushing over the large, grey boulders that dotted the creek just outside punctuated the stillness. A faint light from a room adjacent to the yoga studio was the only source of illumination. As I lay on my back, surrounded by six other people and exhausted by the effort of my practice, my inhalations deepened. My muscles relaxed deeply into the thick, tan beach towel beneath me—I didn’t yet own a proper yoga mat….
In their latest novels, Soniah Kamal and Rebecca Entel incorporate history and cultural heritage and reach back through time to create stories that have modern-day resonance. Kamal’s Unmarriageable is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as viewed through a Pakistani lens. Entel’s Fingerprints on Previous Owners is a slave narrative set in the Caribbean. Rebecca Entel: I recently attended a talk on Jane Austen fandom and couldn’t stop thinking about your new book! What was the impetus for Unmarriageable? Do…
Ele Pawelski, author of The Finest Supermarket in Kabul, and Jennifer Haupt, author of In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills, talk crossing the lines between fiction and nonfiction. Both have travelled extensively through conflict zones and have crafted fictional works that incorporate pieces of their harrowing, moving experiences. Jennifer Haupt: How long did you spend in Kabul, and why did you decide to write a novella instead of a memoir? Ele Pawelski: I was in Kabul for just under 18…