I began writing Sweet Fury at the start of the pandemic. Before Covid, I’d had a career as a theater director, working on Broadway and Off for eleven years. Acting and directing had always been my home; but for the first time, that home had become inaccessible. And so I found another way to reenter that world: through the writing of Sweet Fury.
I started with two ideas: I wanted to document the relationship between an actress and her therapist through their sessions together, and I knew the story’s final twist. I had a beginning and an ending; but I didn’t yet know how to get from A to Z. It was only as I wrote (and rewrote) that I came to understand what this book was really about, as I began to feel on a visceral level the questions boiling up inside me, as a woman in America today.
I started acting professionally at the age of six, and began directing alongside acting in high school. After college, directing overtook acting, and became my full-time career… all the way until the pandemic, when I began writing Sweet Fury.
I have six pets – in a tiny one-bedroom apartment! I’ve always said that, if I didn’t have a career as a writer or director, I would want a career working with animals. In some ways, I’m more passionate about animals than anything else in my life. I have a bleeding heart when it comes to them, and truly want to rescue every animal in need; I hope, one day, to found and run a sanctuary. But for now, my husband has told me that six is the limit for our 650 square foot space… and I grumpily must concede he has a point.
My six pets – two dogs and four cats – are all rescues. They are, from oldest to youngest, Bojangles (goldendoodle), Barley (goldendoodle), Twix and Peanut (tabby brothers), and Goose and Caboose (sister and brother). When I write, I usually have four or five gathered around me in a sleepy sort of seance. Twix is on my lap, Goose is on my desk purring and stepping on the keyboard, Peanut drapes himself across the back of my shoulders while I type (very bad for my posture, but too adorable to resist), and Barley is sprawled belly-up at my feet. Sometimes Bojangles is there right beside him, but often he’s with my husband, to whom he’s eternally devoted. Caboose is my one semi-feral cat, so he, er, tends to do his own thing… which is usually cavorting with the other cats, and avoiding the human enemy at all cost!
Here are a bunch of cliched truisms, all of which I believe in deeply:
Like anything, the more you practice, the better you’ll get. If you can, write every day. If you can’t, write as often as possible.
Read constantly. Choose your books well. And read books on writing. As someone who used to write without knowing where the story was going, I am now a staunch convert to bullet-proof, detailed outlining. Some say it hampers your creativity; I couldn’t disagree more. For me, it’s the scaffolding that acts like a jungle gym on which I can play freely. The creative possibilities are endless.
Be ruthless with yourself, tireless in pushing yourself to be better. Your writing can always be better. Keep taking yourself to task, and don’t get precious with what you’ve written. Find at least one smart reader you really, really trust; and when they give feedback, listen to them.
Like many writers, I received countless rejections, countless times I was told in so many words that I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t have what it takes to be a published author. But deep inside me, I thought — I hoped — that maybe I did. Don’t allow anyone to convince you to give up, if this is what you truly want in your heart of hearts.
And lastly, get rid of as many adverbs as possible. It’s a dumb rule… but it really is true.
Oh boy, this is hard to answer without revealing any twists! But I think I’d want to hang out with Maggie… cook a meal together, see some paintings, drink some wine. For me, Maggie is Sweet Fury’s moral compass; she’s exactly the sort of friend I’d want to have in real life. I aspire to be as good a human as Maggie. On my best days, I think maybe there’s hope.
I’ll be on tour with Sweet Fury around the US as soon as it publishes in January. From there, the book will gradually be released all over the world – so far, in fifteen territories: Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain & Latin America, the UK (including Australia and New Zealand), and Ukraine. Check my website for event updates!
