#meetthebookstagrammer interview with @bookswitherica

Erica (@bookswitherica) has been an amazing supporter of The StoryGraph from its earliest days. She’s such a kind, thoughtful person, and I was delighted that she could join me in talking about Bookstagram, books, and being a writer. See below for a summary of our discussion, and find out how Erica pushed through to complete a third manuscript that she’s really excited about, despite having written two prior ones that she wasn’t happy with:

Nadia: I always talk about how supportive and welcoming everyone has been on Bookstagram, but Erica has been on another level! You’ve given me so much love, you’re so warm and generous, and so I’m delighted I can finally interview you today.

Erica: I’m so happy! I’m so glad we’ve made such a good connection too.

Nadia: Erica’s profile is very interesting, so you all should check it out. She’s got a great mix of popular books and books you may not have heard of. She talks about her wonderful family, and she also writes. I love seeing updates on all of that too. So, would you like to say, hi?

Erica: Hi everybody, hi mum!

Nadia: Hi Erica’s mum! So, you’re in Boise, right?

Erica: Yes, Boise, Idaho.

Nadia: What’s your favourite thing about Boise?

Erica: You can get the big city feel in the heart of downtown — skyscrapers, shops, restaurants—but then you can drive 5 minutes and you’re in nature and it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere. You have the best of both worlds.

Nadia: Awesome! So, what brought you to Bookstagram?

Erica: My friend, Ryan, @rynicolereads, introduced me. I had no idea that this corner of the Internet existed. She created her account last year and inspired and encouraged me to create my own one too. So this year, in January, I just decided to finally make one. It’s been such a cool experience.

Nadia: The other cool thing about you is that you are a writer. When did you first realise you were interested in that?

Erica: I’ve always been a writer my whole life. Ever since I could physically write words I wrote short stories, song lyrics, poems. I was always writing in my diary growing up. It wasn’t until I was twenty-two that I thought I could take this seriously, that I could try and do this for real.

Nadia: Not long after I started following you, you announced that you’d completed what I thought was your first manuscript. But actually, you’ve completed two prior manuscripts. So, tell me about the first two novels that you wrote.

Erica: Umm…they’re a big steaming pile of garbage! The first one I wrote is something that I hope to revisit. But the second one, it’s just in the trash. But it was a big milestone in my career as a writer. I’m so thankful to have written both of those books because practise makes perfect and they’re stepping stones to be where I’m at today.

Nadia: To even complete one novel is a huge feat. What do you think it is that has enabled you to complete three, but also keep going even when you’ve not been happy with your work?

Erica: Writing is part of who I am. If I don’t have the creative outlet to write, I don’t feel like myself. I get depressed, I get moody. It’s as much about being in tune with myself and who I am as a person as it is for wanting to get a book published.

Nadia: What is it about your third novel that makes you proud of it and excited to share? How does it differ from the first two?

Erica: I feel like I’ve really honed my craft and grown a lot as a writer. I just feel like I have found my niche, my groove. With this novel I stepped out of my comfort zone with the way I wrote it, and my writing process, and it paid off big time. And I’m excited about the story, the themes, and it’s just something that I’m happy to have my name attached to and to put out into the world.

Nadia: That’s so amazing. Congratulations. Are you able to share a little synopsis with us? What would the blurb on the book jacket say?

Erica: Sure! In 1975, two twin sisters go missing and one of their bodies is discovered, dead. The other remains missing and is presumed murdered. Ten years later, a man moves into the house that they used to live in with their family, and he finds the sister that’s alive hiding in his back yard. Their two timelines converge and he ends up being accused of the crimes that have been committed against these two twins. There’s only one person who is able to clear his name, but after hiding for so long in the dark, will he bring justice to the light?

Nadia: Wow — I wanna read that right now! How did that idea come to you?

Erica: I have dreams — insane, crazy dreams—all of the time. It first came to me in a dream, but it looked very different. I always thought it could make a cool story, but I tucked it in the back of my head, and didn’t think about it further since I was working on a different project. Then, about a couple weeks later, I remembered this dream and I started fleshing it out on paper and it just morphed into what it is now.

Nadia: How would you finish this sentence: You’ll enjoy my book if…?

Erica: You’ll enjoy my book if heavy moral dilemmas, romance, and mystery are your thing.

Nadia: Ooh! I’m up for that. What’s your day-to-day writing process like?

Erica: Every day is different, especially with two young kids. But my husband is so supportive. He gives me the time to work on my books. Every day I do try to do something writing related. Sometimes that’s writing one sentence, sometimes it’s writing a paragraph. Sometimes it’s doing research or drafting a query letter, or editing. But I do try and do something writing-related, whether it’s five minutes or two hours.

Nadia: I do think that, whatever you want to do, doing a little bit every day, is such a powerful way to complete things. Are there any non-obvious ways that being an avid reader has helped you to develop as a writer?

Erica: Of course. I would say just constantly being immersed in that world of creativity keeps me inspired with why I write in the first place and my love for the art of writing and books. I discover new concepts, ideas, and ways of writing every day.

Nadia: Are there any authors that have influenced your writing?

Erica: Sylvia Plath, the author of ‘The Bell Jar’. When I read that I was in high school and it blew me away. I was so awe-struck by how she wrote. She’s a huge influence. Then some more current authors would be Delia Owens, Emily Ruskovich, and Lief Enger. (Erica mentioned to me afterwards that another giant influence for her is F. Scott Fitzgerald.)

Nadia: Okay, cool. So what’s the next step with your manuscript? What’s your hope?

Erica: I’m seeking publication. I want to go the traditional route. I’ve sent out a few query letters and a week from today I’m going to a writers’ conference in Santa Barbara, and I’ll be able to meet 1:1 with agents. My hope and goal is to land a publishing contract and get this out into the world.

Nadia: It will happen! Why have you decided to stick with the traditional route compared to doing self-publishing?

Erica: I’m not that interested in self-publishing. I don’t want to have to market myself and do all of that dirty work. My goal my whole life, my dream career, has been to be a published author via the traditional route.

Nadia: That’s great that you’re pursuing your dream. Now I’ve got a question submitted by someone earlier: What was the last book you read that was so fascinating that you wanted to read it all over again straight away?

Erica: There’s two: ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ and ‘Peace Like A River’. With ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’, her style, the way she depicts nature and ties it all together is so beautiful. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. And the story — my heart! And then, ‘Peace Like A River’, that book just sang to my soul. There’s a lot of faith-based themes in that book so it really resonated with me. And every sentence is just so perfectly crafted and beautiful, that you just eat it up. So good!

Nadia: And now it’s time for the quickfire round. Are you ready?

Erica: Yes!

Nadia: One book at a time or multiple?

Erica: Multiple!

Nadia: Mood reader or strict TBR follower?

Erica: One-hundred per cent mood reader.

Nadia: Fiction or non-fiction?

Erica: Fiction.

Nadia: Print, digital or audio?

Erica: Print.

Nadia: Favourite light-hearted book?

Erica: I don’t read a lot of light-hearted books but I’ll probably say ‘A Man Called Ove’.

Nadia: Favourite heavy/emotional book?

Erica: ‘The Bell Jar’.

Nadia: Favourite unexpected favourite?

Erica: Either ‘Girl At War’ — that one was very heavy and emotional too, or ‘The Simple Wild’.

Nadia: All-time favourite book?

Erica: ‘The Bell Jar’, ‘Peace Like A River’, and ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’.

Nadia: If you could have any career in books or publishing, apart from writing, what would you do?

Erica: I would own a bookshop.

Nadia: Favourite thing to do outside of books or reading?

Erica: Just being with my family and I like being outside and hiking and walking.

Nadia: And now three shoutouts. A book?

Erica: I’m gonna shout out ‘The Simple Wild’ because the romance in it was so fun.

Nadia: A Bookstagram account?

Erica: Ooh, I wanna should out @lyndseydrawsitagain. She is responsible for all the fun, bookish GIFs we’ve been using, and I just got my bookmarks from her and they’re so cute.

Nadia: Something non-book related?

Erica: I wanna shout out veganism. Me and my husband eat vegan and I just think it’s better for our health, the environment, the animals. So, I wanna challenge everybody who eats meat to not eat meat one day a week.

Nadia: 90–95% of my meals are vegan. I started doing it for health reasons but then started learning more about the ethics and environment arguments. I don’t really have meat, but I still have fish.

Erica: That’s awesome.

Nadia: Well, thank you so much, Erica. This has been wonderful and I’m so glad we finally did this.

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