“I loved this book,” one book reviewer wrote. “Touching, timely, and introspective, The Book Club for Troublesome Women is incredibly relevant to today’s women who are expected to work like they don’t have a family and run a home like they don’t have a job.”
Author Marie Bostwick will be the Meet the Author presenter on Tuesday, May 6, at the Georgia Writers Museum in downtown Eatonton.
Doors open at 11 a.m. for an 11:30 program start. Tickets are $40 each ($35 each for two or more), available at georgiawritersmuseum.org.
GWM recently conducted a brief interview with Bostwick.
GWM: What is it about the historical fiction genre that most appeals to you?
Bostwick: What I most love is the way it allows us to go beyond dry facts to dig into the questions of why something happened, inviting readers to consider possible motivations or backstories that may have influenced historical events or movements.
Also, I think historical fiction is important on a societal level. As has often been said, those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. A well-told work of historical fiction makes history more accessible and engaging to a wide range of readers.
GWM: What is the most important object where you write (other than your computer)?
Bostwick: Oh, that’s easy — my writing chicken.
Like a lot of authors, I sometimes struggle with procrastination and focus. But I’ve got this kitchen timer that looks like a broody chicken that really helps. Whenever I feel distracted, I set the writing timer for 25 or 30 minutes, and I do not allow myself to lift my fingers from the keyboard until the timer goes off.
By the time I finish two or three of those sessions, my brain is so thoroughly engaged in the story that focus is no longer a problem, at least for that day.
GWM: What is the most difficult part of the writing process for you?
Bostwick: Middles. Middles are just plain hard. Most every writer I know would agree.
When I type “Chapter One,” I understand exactly how the story begins and where I want to leave my characters when it ends. But figuring out the exact events and order of events that move them from Point A to Point Z is where the real work comes in for a novelist.
GWM: What piece of advice have you gleaned from another author that you consider most helpful in your work?
Bostwick: “Take joy in the process, because the process is the only part you have any control over.” Robyn Carr said that in a keynote speech several years back, and it continues to influence me.
Once the book is done, I have little control over so much of what happens next: how the book will be published and marketed, how critics and readers will receive it. But the actual writing process is mine alone, so I do my best to suck every ounce of joy from the experience.
Contact the Georgia Writers Museum at georgiawritersmuseum.org to register and preorder The Book Club for Troublesome Women, with Bostwick available to sign copies following her presentation.