Interview With Angela Sanders, Our Guest Instructor in Céret This Year!
by Shari Lane
We at Let’s Go Write are counting our lucky stars that Angela Sanders has agreed to join us this year in Céret, France, as a guest instructor, so we asked Shari Lane (whose book Two Over Easy All Day Long comes out May 1,, and who will be with us in Céret in September) to interview Angela, to give our writers a taste of what’s in store. Here’s what Angela and Shari shared with us.
Shari: Thank you for making time to chat! I'm hoping you will share a little of your writing history with the readers of the Let's Go Write newsletter? Have you always written stories?
Angela: I’ve always been a storyteller and have always seen the story in the life around me. This is something we as writers share. As for actual writing, I’ve written off and on for most of my life, starting with winning second prize in a AAUW-sponsored short story contest in high school.
Shari: Can you describe one or two of the key concepts you will be exploring with the writers in Céret?
I definitely want to talk about voice—every writer’s superpower. Voice is what makes you special and what can make writing joyful and fulfilling.
Shari: We often hear the mantra: "If you want to be a writer, write." In other words, we are often told to spend less time preparing to write (i.e. agonizing over whether what you plan to write conforms to the prevailing wisdom, obsessing about how to write a best seller, etc.) and more time writing. Do you have an opinion on that?
Angela: I think it follows that if you write and long to improve, you’ll chase your writing with reading and craft. That said, I often see fear keeping writers from finishing projects and/or putting them out into the world. Writing has a certain mystique about it that leads some people to embrace the idea of being a writer rather than the writing practice.
Shari: And as a follow up, what works for you? Are you a throw-something-on-the-page-and-see-if-it-sticks writer? Or do you start with an outline and carefully flesh it out? (That is -- are you a Plotter or a Pantser?)
Angela: I have contracted deadlines, so I don’t have the luxury of making it up as I go. I start each book with a cast of characters, a locale, and the spine of a plot, then I let the magic of the writer’s brain fill in the blanks as I go. Maybe I’m a plotter with pantser tendencies?
Shari: And one more follow-up: have you challenged yourself to write differently? And if you have, how did it go?
Angela: I like to switch styles—go from first person to multiple POV, for instance—to learn and stave off boredom. One of the beauties of writing is that you can constantly learn and improve.
Shari: I imagine you have many thoughts about publication as a goal, self-publishing versus traditional publishing, and marketing one's work. Would you be willing to share one or two bits of advice in this interview?
Angela: Spend time at least a few times a year thinking about what you want from writing. Is it to be famous? Build your skills? Enjoy the process? Learn? What you want will drive how (or even if) you choose to publish.
Shari: Classic question, but I expect your readers will want to know: what are one or two of your favorite novels? (I know, I know, who could name just one? Or even just two?)
Angela: The answer to this changes all the time. Right now I’ll go with the “lady’s name as title” and say Laura by Vera Caspary and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
Shari: What has been (so far) your favorite book to write? And where can readers purchase your books?
Angela: I’ve loved writing the capers The Booster Club and Cat in a Bag for the hilarity and challenge of concocting a three-POV, three-subplot caper with a bang-up climax. Find my books “wherever fine books are sold,” as they say.
Angela’s website introduces her thus: INTRIGUE AND WIT, SERVED DRY WITH A TWIST. A deeper look reveals more marvelous detail about Angela.
After 11 years as a congressional investigator, Angela realized she was more fascinated by the stories at the edges of her investigations—the decrepit exercise equipment in the ladies room of a Czech oil company; the curious number of framed photographs of women on a nuclear weapons official’s desk; the stupendous speed by which a particular Agriculture undersecretary inhaled chili dogs—than by the policies she evaluated. She returned to the west coast to explore the world and her imagination through magazine stories and fiction.
Angela is the author of multiple fiction series, including The Vintage Clothing mysteries, the Booster Club Capers, Witch Librarian mysteries, Kite Shop mysteries, and articles about food, perfume and other topics. She is also a writing coach and editor.
As you might suspect, she is a colorful character too, with wild curly red hair and an all-vintage wardrobe. Join us – and her – in Céret and meet her in person!
Shari Lane’s novel, Two Over Easy All Day Long, releases May 1. Read more about her (and her enviable island life) on her website. We’re big fans of Shari, and we can’t wait to spend time with her in Céret.