Alice J. Wisler Interview . . . . Book Giveaway!

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Time to crow: What new book or project do you have coming out?

Hallelujah, at last! Rain Song, my first novel, was released just this month.

How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific 'what if' moment?

The story took about two years to piece together, create in first person, switch to third, and then go back to first. The whole process reminds me of a patchwork quilt. And I’m not a good seamstress. Rain Song deals with a mysterious past and I guess I often wondered what it would be like to find someone from your past who knew more about you than you. That mystery kept me going as I wrote; I was never bored.
Every novelist has a journey.

How long was your road to publication? How did you find out and what went through your mind?

I was offered a contract by my agent weeks after she read the finished manuscript (which I had just completed in that draft once she asked for it). She pitched my book to various Christian publishers in November 2006, and in January, we had a two-book deal from Bethany House.

Now that my first novel is out, I feel a connection to playwright James M. Barrie: “For several days after my first book was published, I carried it about in my pocket and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure the ink had not faded.”

Did you ever bang your head against the wall from the dreaded writer's block? If so, how did you overcome it?

I have this trick to overcome writers block. I put on my headphones, crank up the Eagles, jazz or Celtic tunes, and am energized. The words come out onto my computer screen as the music plays into my ears. My sentences are usually not without flaw, but at least they are typed into my draft and at the end of the day, I have something to show for it.

What's the most difficult part of writing this story and how did you overcome?

Finding the main character Nicole’s voice took a number of drafts. Potential agents would comment that they liked a lot about the manuscript, but could not relate to the storyteller’s voice. One afternoon while pulling weeds in my yard, that voice came to me. I grabbed some paper and wrote. For once, pulling weeds paid off a lot better than getting poison ivy.

Show us a picture of your writing space.



What does a typical day look like for you?

6:30 AM is when the talk radio folk wake me. I get my two middle-schoolers off to school and then come home to make coffee or tea, depending on my mood, and write. I have to balance novel writing with assigned article writing. I prefer novel writing to any other type, but the assignments do help pay the light bill.

Briefly take us through your process of writing a novel—from conception to revision.

Since Rain Song took a long meandering time to write, I’ll tell you about my next novel, How Sweet It Is, due out May 2009. Writing that manuscript proved that I can start and finish in a linear fashion. The idea for this second novel came from a cozy mountain cabin my kids and I rented one spring break in Bryson City, NC. I took a lot of notes on scraps of paper to get my story line in gear. A young woman is offered to live in her deceased grandpa’s cabin as long as she teaches cooking to foster kids at a church-run program. To get a feel for what the inside of Grandpa Ernest’s cabin held, I cut out magazine pictures, gluing them to a poster board. I focused on odd utensils since Ernest won those when playing board games like Clue.

I got the whole story out there, filling in the major scenes for each of the chapters. Then I focused on each chapter’s details. That’s usually when some minor character begs to have a larger role. In Rain Song, it was three-year-old Monet. In How Sweet It Is, Jonas let me know he would not settle for a casual part as a plumber. Editing takes a long time. I usually have to abandon my work or I’d never find it perfect enough to get out there for publication.

In your opinion, what’s the best novel ever written?

I wish I had an answer to this, but I can’t choose just one. I think Louis Sachar did a great job with Holes because each storyline throughout the book gets neatly tied up at the end. I like different novels for various reasons—each speak to me about various issues— and I can’t say one has it all for me, or that one is the best novel ever written. Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club is a favorite for its cultural experience and rich writing. Rick Bragg’s All Over But The Shoutin’ makes me love the English language for the way he strings words together.

What writing advice helped you the most?

Keep trying. Don’t give up. You can do it.

What advice hindered you the most?

You’ll never get published, your dream won’t ever come true. Those were the negative jabs inside my own head. I had to fight those often.

What do you wish you’d known early in your career that might have saved you some time and/or frustration in writing? In publishing?

I wish I’d sat down to write more instead of just dreaming about being published one day. I think I wasted a lot of time not going about the business of just writing for the sheer love of creating. Had I diligently honed my skills at an earlier age, I could have arrived on the book scene a lot sooner.

How much marketing do you do? What have you found that particularly works well for you?

After the death of my four-year-old son, Daniel, I self-published two cookbooks of memory, Slices of Sunlight, and Down the Cereal Aisle. Those books taught me how to market! I enjoy book discussions, food, and parties centered around the themes in Rain Song. These themes are family reunions and traditions that unite people, such as pineapple chutney. I have a newsletter, Literary Lyrics, that informs subscribers of my book events and that helps to spread the word. I also go to local restaurants and coffee houses and ask if I can place some of my postcards there for the customers. I offer to promote myself and my writing through workshops and speaking engagements. Sometimes I think books are sold one at a time, and it is those specific one-on-one relationships that make people interested in buying a book written by you. Sort of like door-to-door salesmen. Oh, and I pray often that people will buy my novels. Yep, that works for me!

Do you have any parting words of advice?

Keep trying. Don’t give up. You can do it.



Alice J.Wisler is an author, public speaker, advocate, and fundraiser. She has been a guest on several radio and TV programs to promote her self-published cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle. She graduated from Eastern Mennonite University and has traveled the country in jobs that minister to people. Alice was raised in Japan and currently resides in Durham, North Carolina. Visit www.AliceWisler.com for more information.