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Featured Author: Rebecca Lawton
Where did the idea of your (latest) book come from? My debut novel, Junction, Utah, is set in the resource-rich Green River valley. It's available as an original e-book. My essay collection on the whitewater guiding life, Reading Water: Lessons from the River (Capital Books), was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and ForeWordNature Book of the Year finalist. My essays, poems, and stories have been published in Orion, Sierra, The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Shenandoah, THEMA, More, and other magazines.
Who and what inspires you to write your books? I spent time in a town resembling Junction, Utah, and wanted to capture the time and place. I wanted to explore the meeting of land and water, settler and itinerant worker, dry and wet, male and female, lost and found, home and away. The Green River divides Junction's valley in two, and the story explores how there are different ways to live on either side. I wanted to dive into the concept of separateness by giving it to my characters, creating them in the image of diversity. In the writing I found that we don’t have to look very different to be kept apart. My desire for us to find a way to overcome separateness was a key reason I wrote Junction, at a time when our nation was so divided. It still is.
Who and what inspires you to write your books? Rivers, land, people.
Each author has their own fascinating journey. How did you begin writing? I wrote in high school for youth publications and English classes and then kept journals all throughout my many years whitewater guiding. Someday, I knew, those journals would form the basis for books about the river guiding culture. My collection of essays, Reading Water: Lessons from the River, comes from the notes I took, as does Junction, Utah. I didn't start staying indoors and putting thoughts into story form until the birth of my daughter, Rose, demanded I stop my wandering and make a home for us. My first river essay, The Tongue, was written in a small trailer in Death Valley while Rose slept.
What has been the most pleasant surprise about being a writer? How about the most unexpected downside? Connection to and travel within a creative community.
Do you have any particular writing routines or rituals? I’m best when I’m writing daily before breakfast, to get in two or three hours of uninterrrupted time before eating. Usually I rise around 5:30 or 6:00, meditate with the curtains open so the first things I see when I open my eyes are the hummingbirds drinking at the feeder, then heat up chai for my husband (and daughter, if she's visiting), and head for my office before anyone else is awake in the house.
Do you write in order? I start by writing in order, and I revise out of order.
What is on your playlist when you write? Silence. Sometimes with noise-canceling headphones.
Favorite writing snack? Green tea.
Where do you like to write? In my office looking out on the bay-oak forest behind our home. As I type this, I'm watching a Steller's jay hop through the undergrowth. He looks curious! I also love to write on retreat overlooking water and mountains when I get the opportunity, so when I gaze up my thoughts continue to be inspired by land and water scapes.
Do you have any advice for authors wanting to publish? Write a ton first. As Natalie Goldberg wrote in Thunder and Lightning, don't even think about publishing for the first two or three years. Find your voice before subjecting it to the judgment of others. Then when you do submit to publishers--and I recommend those who publish work you love to read--you'll feel solid in what you're sharing.
Are you currently working on anything else? Yes. Collection of short stories.
Who is your favorite character and why? My favorite character is Chris Sorensen. He's a solid family man who has found himself alone, isn't into glamour, has deep ties to the earth, and knows who he is. He's rock solid in his affection for those he loves. He cares about the changes going on around him and is willing to do something about them--meanwhile he cares for his land first.
Favorite book of all time? To Kill a Mockingbird
I think breakfast says a lot about a person. What is your perfect breakfast? Bacon, eggs, high fiber muffin, freshly squeezed juice, conversation with my loved ones about their days (after I've had meditation and writing time).
Please tell us in one sentence why we should read your book. It's a kick-ass romance and adventure story--a page turner. I'd love my readers to just enjoy the ride. Thinking about what it all means can come later!
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