Teri M Brown always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn't until the year 2000 that she started writing non-fiction for small businesses, and it took until 2017 for Teri to leave an unhappy marriage, turn 50 and fulfill her dream of writing a novel.
The most important aspect of writing that first novel was finding the confidence to believe she was capable of it. Non-fiction, she says, is something practical and unemotional. But fiction comes from somewhere inside, and that takes a lot more courage.
If someone doesn't like your book, it's like they're saying they don't like you and we talk about how to handle that rejection and not take it personally.
A big turning point for Teri was when she attended a writing retreat because not only did she have the time and space to write, but the community was so supportive and, as she says, ”you feed off each other.”
The inspiration behind her debut novel.Sunflowers Beneath The Snow was a young Ukrainian student who joined Camp America back in 2014.
When it was time for her to return to the Ukraine, war had broken out and she couldn’t get back to her home country.
Nor could she remain in America because she didn’t have a greencard. She was told she’d be taken to a refugee camp in Poland but she didn’t want to do that because it wasn’t her home, she didn’t speak Polish and she didn’t know anybody there. Instead, she disappeared!
She later obtained the legal right to remain and two years later she got back in touch with Teri.
She told Teri a story about what had happened to her in New York, and it was that story that planted the seed for Sunflowers Beneath The Snow.
I was desperate to know what the story was, but the whole novel leads up to that one moment, and Teri, understandably, didn’t want to spoil the ending!
We go on to talk about the research involved in writing about a country and culture you know nothing about.
Sunflowers Beneath The Snow is a historical novel so Teri started with a broad overview of Ukraine’s history before narrowing down her research to the year about which she was writing.
By researching only what she needed, it meant she could weave fact into fiction in an organic way, and it didn't feel forced.
Even though she first had the idea for the story in 2016, the book wasn’t published until 2021 and Teri M Brown takes me through her writing process and how she subsequently found her publisher, Atmosphere Press.
We finish our conversation with Teri telling me about her new novel, which is set in World War Two. It's loosely based on her grandfather's experiences fighting in Germany and is particularly poignant because her Grandfather is of German heritage and the book raises the question of what if my enemy is also my family?
A tear jerker in the making!
What will you get from this episode? You'll learn a little bit about Ukrainian history. You’ll see it takes time to write a book you actually want to publish, and you’ll also learn that you have publishing options. The important thing is to enter a contract knowing what your rights are.
LInks:
Sunflowers Beneath The Snow, Teri M Brown
Teri M Brown, Author
Teri M Br
Line Editing Made Simple
Kick-start your editing for free!
Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Support the show
