Rendezvous With Writing
Jane Lebak received an Honorable Mention for her work, A Guide For Carrying to Term, in the Books Category of the CWC 40th
Annual Summer Writing Contest. She graciously agreed to answer a few questions.
Tell me about you, Jane. How long have you been writing?
I wrote my first story at three year old. It was called The Creechur, illustrated in magenta crayon on that green-bar computer
paper they used in the 1970s. I never stopped, but I think I’ve improved.
What inspired your book? Any advice for writers working to broach a difficult subject?
In 2000, my unborn daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal birth defect where the brain doesn’t fully form. Most books assumed
the parents opted for immediate abortion, so my support for the remaining five months of pregnancy came from other mothers. After Emily’s
birth and death, I didn’t want to write just an online memorial, so I created a website compiling tips for parents in the same situation. Now it’s
time to expand those tips and publish them in book form.
I strongly suggest anyone who writes about a difficult subject should get some time-distance and closure before trying to publish it. Truly raw feelings,
like the ones you’d journal, are going to scare your readers; moreover, when feelings are raw, writers tend to crusade, and that’s off-putting. To best help others,
we need to have reached a state of acceptance.
A dark sense of humor was indispensable for my writing, and I’ve heard from a number of people that reading my website helped them to laugh even during their darkest hours.
Where can readers find your other works?
I’ve written a fantasy series about angels, spanning from the Old Testament, through the New Testament, and into modern day. On the more realistic side,
I’ve got a half-dozen books about people being people under unusual circumstances, such as learning they may have had a twin or having their home filled
with cold homeless children. All these stories are available at Amazon.
Jane Lebak talks to angels, cats, and her kids. Only the angels listen to her, but the kids talk back. She lives in the Swamp, writing books and knitting socks,
with the occasional foray into violin-playing. You'll also find her blogging at QueryTracker.net, a resource for writers seeking agents and small publishers.