Give us your elevator
pitch: what’s your book about in 2-3 sentences?
“Malawi’s Sisters” was inspired by the 2013 shooting
death of Renisha McBride and tells the story of a black family thrown into the national dialogue on race when
the youngest daughter is killed by a white man.
Which character did
you most enjoy creating? Why?
I loved writing
Ghana, but I was fascinated by Malcolm, Malawi’s father, whose voice became
stronger as I moved forward with the book. (See note below about what surprised
me.)
And, which character
gave you the most trouble, and why?
Bet, Malawi’s
mother, definitely gave me the most trouble. I struggled with her because she
wasn’t who I had originally thought she was. I kept trying to push her into the
spoiled rich wife, which she is in many ways, but as I continued to write her
scenes, I realized there was this hidden past with her father and brother that
slowly revealed itself.
Tell us a bit about
the highs and lows of your book’s road to publication.
The high, of course,
was winning the inaugural Kimbilio National Fiction prize. Until then, I had
been submitting to agents—more than 30—and getting rejections. Many didn’t
respond at all, but quite a few included positive comments about my writing and
the story, but it still was a rejection. A few said they couldn’t connect with
the characters and one said they didn’t like my writing style. I was close to
thinking I should scrap the whole thing—that I’d just wasted two years of
writing. I’m so glad I listened to the little voice inside that told me I did
have something worth pushing.
What’s your favorite
piece of writing advice?
Stephen King in his
book On Writing said, to be a writer
you must read a lot and write a lot. It seems a bit trite, but I think it’s
spot on. Reading is such an integral part of writing.
My favorite writing
advice is “write until something surprises you.” What surprised you in the
writing of this book?
Malcolm. I had
originally thought this was a story about three women affected by Malawi’s
death. When I started, I was more focused on the mother and two sisters, but
Malcolm appeared and his voice became hard to ignore. So I ended up with
several sections from his point of view and I realized he was as important to
the story as the women.
How did you find the
title of your book?
Titles are usually
very hard for me, but this one came quite easily. The story was to be about
Malawi’s sisters, Kenya and Ghana, though the book grew to include her parents’
voices, as well. As you read the story, the title develops a greater meaning,
but I won’t give that away.
Inquiring foodies and
hungry book clubs want to know: Any food/s associated with your book? (Any
recipes I might share?)
There are many
moments that involve food—food is such an important element to human
relationships, but alas, I don’t have any particular recipes.
READ MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR: www.melanieshatter.com
READ AN EXCERPT: http://melanieshatter.com/books/malawis-sisters/