Tell us about Godshot: 

Godshot is a novel of redemption, coming of age, and a teenage girl’s search for her mother no matter the cost. It’s about the connection of women and the ways we must ultimately learn to mother ourselves. 

How are you nesting during this time? 

With two small children at home and none of our usual outlets at our disposal, life feels very intense almost all day. There is not a lot of time for nesting or writing or contemplating. There’s almost no silence to speak of. But we’ve slipped into somewhat of a new normal. Personally I’ve found that right now what feels more important than even writing is moving. If I don’t walk or do yoga or something every day, I feel the walls closing in. I have to move from my mind to my body. I have to breathe.

Do you have a bird story or favorite feathered friend?

My mom had a bird named Kai for many years that I never met, but I would hear it talking while we spoke on the phone. When Kai died, her neighbor brought her a battery operated bird to replace it. Imagining my mom and this fake replacement bird always broke my heart. But then again, almost anything can break my heart if I think too long about it.

What is your most memorable reading experience?

My grandmother reading the Left Behind books to me as a child. The image of dental fillings sitting on empty car seats after the rapture will never ever leave me.

What makes you most excited about Godshot?

The interaction with readers. It hasn’t been out very long, but already the idea that someone would take the time to read my book and then let me know that it meant something to them—I could never have imagined a better gift than that. I love that it is on its own journey apart from me now. Seeing people take pictures of it, or hearing stories about people in my hometown pulling up at red lights and having it in their cars, just blows me away. Nothing but gratitude.

To tweet or not to tweet?

Twitter remains a little confusing for me still, and it’s not my favorite mode of expression. I want the chance to explain myself, and it cuts me off too soon! Ha. Instagram is my drug of choice. But I’m on twitter. I’m on it, mainly to connect with other writers, but it gives me a little panic feeling whenever I go on.

What books do you have in your bag right now?

Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham, Writers and Lovers by Lily King, and Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker.

Can you tell us your favorite rejection story?

Lots of years ago, I sent in a mailed submission to a dream journal I had loved (and still do), and months and months later, they asked for a digital copy! They were going to discuss it in an editorial meeting! I was hyperventilating. They wanted me to do some edits! Edits I could do! I did them. I did them a few times. I worked with a lovely editor I am still so happy to have met. And perhaps I wrongly felt that they were going to publish it once it was “right,” but then it was never right, and then finally they felt their readership just wouldn’t connect and so on. It was like a long gradual rejection that sort of never ended. I had never published before, and so I let myself feel sad over that one. But then I got over it. I still think their readership would have liked it, to be honest.

What literary journals do you love?

I love love love No Tokens, The Paris Review, Catapult, Bomb, McSweeney’s, Granta...so many! I could go on. Those are just a few.

What shakes your tail feathers?

My daughter is obsessed with reading Owl Diaries (bird theme!) and it is so so so wonderful to watch her form her own relationship with reading. It’s like magic occuring, this sudden shift from not reading to fully reading everything she sees. It’s a beautiful thing.

What advice do you have for fledgling writers?

Work on your emotional blocks and your shit so that it’s not ruling you and blocking you from writing what you need to write. That will look different for everyone, but writing is a holistic experience. Trust your own intuition about your work. Listen to that little voice inside and realize that voice is your friend and compass. That voice means more than whatever Mark said in workshop. And no, not the voice telling you your work is crap. That’s a censor. Listen to the other voice that’s telling you your work is the real deal, that what you are doing is something meaningful. Turn that volume up. The real truth is: You don’t have time to listen to the censor. You have this one life. Do you want to write or not? Do you have something to say? If the answer is yes, then don’t romanticize self-deprecation, don’t imagine your self-doubt is productive. You don’t have time!

What other eggs do you have in your basket right now?

I have a new novel idea simmering. Too soon to really describe, but feels exciting to write. It’s all about voice for me, and I’m enjoying spending time in this voice. I’m trying not to define yet what it is I’m doing, but it feels like it wants to be a novel possibly. I want to write a memoir at some point, but I don’t know when that will be. I admire anyone, especially women, who write memoirs. I hope I can be among them one day, but I want to do it when I’m ready. When that little voice inside says, okay, it’s time. The level of exposure is so intense. Speaking of memoirs, I cannot wait for Being Lolita by Alisson Wood! If anyone wants to send a galley my way it would be met with open arms! Xo!