TBR [to be read] is a semi-regular, invitation-only interview series with authors of newly released/forthcoming, interesting books who will tell us about their new work as well as offer tips on writing, stories about the publishing biz, and from time to time, a recipe.
Give us your elevator pitch: what’s your book about in 2-3 sentences?
Sex Romp Gone Wrong is a collection of 12 stories
about women and girls trying to navigate relationships, desire, love,
responsibility—and making a mess of things.
Which story did you most enjoy writing? Why? And which
story gave you the most trouble, and why?
I most enjoyed writing “The Woman Who Did Things Wrong.”
It’s kind of a twisted fairy tale, and it was cathartic and fun to write.
“Et tu, Miss Jones?” went through countless drafts, over
many years. It was the first time I was consciously using autobiographical
material in my fiction in a way that might be recognizable to people who knew
me. Now I’ve published a memoir, so when I recall my worry about showing up too
transparently in that story, it seems a bit absurd. But then, I’m highly
proficient at worrying about absurd things.
Tell us a bit about the highs and lows of your book’s
road to publication.
The road was paved with rejection—a pretty common experience
for writers. Many of the dozen stories were rejected multiple times before they
appeared in literary journals. Once I had enough stories to make a collection,
I started sending the book manuscript to contests. It would lose, I’d write a
new story, put that into the collection, take out an old story, and send the
collection to another contest. That went on for a few years. Then I got connected
with my agent, and after my memoir The Sum of Trifles was published, she
agreed to send out Sex Romp Gone Wrong. When Blair wanted to publish it,
I was over the moon.
What’s your favorite piece of writing advice?
Anne Lamott’s “shitty first drafts” and “short assignments”
from Bird
by Bird.
My favorite writing advice is “write until something
surprises you.” What surprised you in the writing of this book?
The shorter, weirder stories like “Tooth” and “Hot Lesbian
Vampire Magic School.” I felt so free writing them—they were such larks—and
then the final surprise was that they actually turned out to be viable stories.
How did you find the title of your book?
The title is also the title of one of the stories in the
book. Google that phrase at your own peril.
Inquiring foodies and hungry book clubs want to know: Any
food/s associated with your book? (Any recipes I might share?)
I LOVE to eat, but I don’t cook much. Left to my own
devices, I’ll graze on leftovers and snack food, like the mother does in my
story “Mrs. DeVry, Hanging out the Wash.” My recipes are pretty much: Put
cheese on cracker. Put butter on toast. Put one found food on top of another
and hope it tastes good.
*****
READ MORE ABOUT THIS AUTHOR: www.juliaridleysmith.com
ORDER THIS BOOK FOR YOUR OWN TBR STACK: https://blairpub.com/shop/p/sex-romp-gone-wrong
READ A SHORT STORY FROM THIS BOOK, “The Woman Who Did Things
Wrong”:
https://copper-nickel.org/the-woman-who-did-things-wrong/