I have been a fan of Martha Conway’s writing for years. We first met at the San Francisco Writer’s Conference in 2014, when I read the opening pages of what would become her novel, The Underground River. She had met with me for a consultation and I ended up editing her book before her agent submitted it to publishing houses—it was acquired by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, the imprint I used to work for before starting my developmental editing business.

But before all that, Martha had published other novels, and she would go on to publish more after, and what we talked about in this conversation are the many ways a writer can publish. Martha has been traditionally published by Big Five publishers [12 Bliss Street, nominated for an Edgar for Best First Novel (St. Martin’s) and The Underground River, a New York Times Editor’s Choice (Touchstone)], has self-published (Sugarland and Thieving Forest, which won the North American Book Award for Historical Fiction, and the Independent Publishers Award), has been published in the UK and distributed into the US market [The Physician’s Daughter (Zaffre)], and she has been published by a small press [We Meet Apart (Regal House Publishing)]. What I love about her story is that it exemplifies that there are so many ways to get your stories into the world and there is no “right way” to do it.

If you’re looking for a new Substack that is alway succinct, check out Martha’s ​500 Words​—it’s just that: a quick read that ends with a writing prompt!

​Martha Conway​ is the author of several novels including The Underground River, which was a New York Times Book Editor’s Choice and published in seven languages. Her short fiction has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, Folio, and other journals. Martha was awarded a California Arts Council Fellowship for Creative Writing, and she teaches creative writing for Stanford University's Continuing Studies. Born and raised in Ohio, she now lives in San Francisco with her family and a lumpy, lovable dog.

About We Meet Apart: When World War II shuts down ocean travel in 1940, two American sisters are trapped in Ireland—but in different realities. In 18-year-old Gaby’s world, and true to history, Ireland has claimed neutrality and is not fighting in the war. But in 17-year-old Sabine’s world Germany has invaded Ireland, and as an enemy alien she must survive on the run.

Both sisters believe the other one has died. But when they each arrive at a grand Irish manor owned by distant relatives, they find one another again. For one hour at dusk—“the time of pookies and ghosts” in Celtic tradition—their two worlds overlap. However when Sabine falls in love with a German officer in her reality, a man who is charming but devious in Gaby’s reality, even this short time together is threatened.

In the tradition of Haruki Murakami, where other worlds reveal themselves in tantalizing glimpses, WE MEET APART explores the notion of an existence after death. It asks the question: Can you ever let go of the family you’ve lost? And should you?

Buy Martha’s novel on ​Bookshop.org​!

I hope you enjoy our conversation!

Happy listening, reading, and writing,

Heather Lazare, founder + director, Northern California Writers’ Retreat

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit norcalwritersretreat.substack.com