Sunflowers are not wallflowers. I mean, look at her! She faces you and demands attention.
As a writer, it’s difficult to do that. We are, by nature, solitary beings but it’s important to seek recognition. Especially when you’re not on the New York Times Best Sellers list…yet.
The hard part is exposing your work. That can be difficult. Good writing shows a soft, mushy part of your psyche, something you may not want to revisit or have anyone else see.
Writing the Fairies of Carlow series is cathartic for me. I can take all those angsty moments of growing up and put them into the story. Then I get to say what I should have said back then, or done what would have made things better. (Such as, standing up to those bullies, or not taking myself too seriously.)
Sometimes, as I’m writing a scene based on something that really happened to me, I cringe at the memories. Once the story’s finished, I feel better about it, but getting there is a slog through the emotional swamp.
In my new Fairies of Carlow book, based upon Lady Zepherine, I’m taking a look at the bullies who made me miserable during middle school and high school. Oh, it’s hard to look back on those people (both male and female) and remember what I had to endure! But there’s plenty of material! Silver lining? Hopefully!
Pressing on that sensitive nerve ending, Sonja
