In October I plan to submit my novel, All Your Pieces, to a program called Author Mentor Match. This is my introductory bio!
About
Me:
I grew up on a 4th
generation family farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Farm life is hard,
but so, so worth it. I learned to value hard work, cultivated a respect for the
earth and the elements, and a love of nature and animals that has stuck with
me. My first job off the farm was at a family owned ice cream shop, where my first
ever novel was born on a slow rainy day with zero customers (fun fact: that
same ice cream shop made it onto the pages of my current manuscript.) I worked
as a pet groomer for ten years before moving to Virginia last year. Moving for
the first time in my life has been a weird and exciting transition. Virginia
doesn’t quite feel like home yet, but snuggling with my dog does, and he’s
always game for a cuddling session.
My childhood nickname was ‘booka’ because I
loved books so much. As a kid, I’d always be narrating some kind of story in my
head. They almost always involved animals, usually horses, and, of course, I starred
as the heroine. My mom homeschooled all four of her kids until we entered high
school. A writer herself, she encouraged my internal story-telling to grow into
a passion for writing. I cannot thank her enough for allowing me to develop
that talent, even if it meant my math skills suffered.
I’m obsessed with my
dog, Ireland, books, and music. I went to Ireland with my mom and sister for
two weeks in 2011, a literal dream come true. Naturally, Ireland pops up in my
novel. Other then writing and reading, I love photography and dancing
(ungracefully) around my house.
About
My Novel:
My current novel/work in
progress started out as a short story I wrote for my blog in 2015. It was meant to be a
cathartic exploration of losing the family farm, my home for 31 years. However,
the story and the characters quickly took on a life of their own, and it
morphed into something completely different. I published the story here on my
blog, but the characters had a firm grip on my heart, and I couldn’t let them
go. Their story became my second full-length novel, and my first contemporary
romance.
I didn’t start out with the idea that my
characters would be gay. But as I was writing that first draft, my main
character, Ephraim whispered, 'by the way, I'm going to fall in love with my
roommate,’ in my ear. Of course, I was like, ‘that’s brilliant. Yes!’ And then
he said, ‘By the way, my room mate is a guy.’ Since it was only supposed to be
a short story, I thought, ‘I can totally roll with that.’
When I decided expand the
short story to a novel, I struggled, wondering what ‘qualified’ me to this
particular story as a cis straight woman. I have no desire to appropriate
someone else's voice, story or culture. I understand there are things I will never
experience or fully understand being outside the LGBT+ community. But I
believe, no matter our skin color, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc. we all
share similar journeys. We fall in love, we experience heartbreak, and joy. We
find ourselves in each other’s stories, and this particular story is about
humans, who just happen to be gay. All I want to do is tell stories everyone
can relate to in some way. However, I do like to shake up the status quo,
especially when it comes to gender expectations. Our culture has such a strict,
stifling rulebook for men and boys, and I like to write characters that aren’t
necessarily bound by those rules. For me, the juxtaposition of toxic
masculinity and gay culture is a fascinating lens with which to explore and explode
those expectations.
Aesthetic for the relationship between my main characters
Okay, at last, here's
a blurb about my novel, All Your Pieces:
Words are in
eighteen-year-old Ephraim Rush’s blood, his bones. A passion inherited from his
writer parents. Then his dad dies, and Ephraim’s words and ambition dry up. In
the last year, he’s done a mountain
of stupid things, like using sex to patch his wounds. Rooming with tempting
fellow student, Lore, however, may be the stupidest. As Ephraim struggles to
stay on track, everyone important in his life urges him to loosen up, let go
and unleash the tight grip he keeps on himself. Ephraim can’t—not without
tripping over the promise he made to his dying father to always keep writing.
He can’t grieve until he writes, and he can’t write until he stops running from
everything that terrifies him about life after loss.
Lore Byrne has
had enough rejection to last a lifetime and he’s only nineteen. So, yeah, he’s
guarded. Still, expressing himself has never been a problem—as long as he
controls how much people see. His
music and his guitar are the perfect shield. But they can’t protect his heart.
Lore has to do that, and he’s done a damn good job. Until Ephraim shows up,
chipping at Lore’s carefully constructed walls with quiet persistence. As Lore
begins to crumble the past he longs to forget bubbles to the surface, tangling
with a present and future he didn’t know he wanted. Suddenly, Lore’s cautious
life is complicated and messy. And his heart…well. His heart is a wreck.
Ephraim and Lore
aren’t lonely or hurting. They don’t need each other. Except they totally do.
As they navigate the perils of a shared living space, taking comfort in and
wounding each other, pushing away, and boomeranging back, their toxic knots
begin to unravel. It’s not a relationship; it’s not even friendship. But it
could be love—if they can find the nerve to let go and accept their broken
pieces.
Aesthetic for Lore
Aesthetic for Ephraim
Why I
want to be a mentee:
Writing can be
lonely, especially when you’ve just moved to a new state and haven’t found your
tribe yet. I’ve struggled over the years to find critique partners as serious
as I am about writing, so I’d love to have a wizened buddy by my side in the query
trenches. I can only imagine how a mentor will help me take my writing to the
next level and I’m excited at the prospect.
Now
Some Fun Questions!
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| Aesthetic for the relationship between my main characters |
Okay, at last, here's a blurb about my novel, All Your Pieces:
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| Aesthetic for Lore |
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| Aesthetic for Ephraim |
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| My dog, Ronan |
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| My goat, Shea |
http://iwritestephsstoop.blogspot.com/2015/08/e.html
