Every
secret has a price…
I’m very pleased to welcome Elaine Wolf today. She
has offered to share her thoughts on her publishing journey and what inspired
her to write her book, CAMP, published by Sky Pony Press (an imprint of SkyhorsePublishing). This YA novel tackles the issues of bullying, mothers and
daughters, and the consequences of family secrets.
In case you were wondering what CAMP is about, here
is the blurb from Amazon:
For most girls, sleepaway camp is great fun. But for Amy Becker,
it's a nightmare. Amy, whose home life is in turmoil, is sent to Camp Takawanda
for Girls for the first time as a teenager. Although Amy swears she hates her
German-immigrant mother, who is unduly harsh with Amy's autistic younger
brother, Amy is less than thrilled about going to camp. At Takawanda she is
subjected to a humiliating "initiation" and relentless bullying by
the ringleader of the senior campers. As she struggles to stop the mean girls
from tormenting her, Amy becomes more confident. Then a cousin reveals dark
secrets about Amy's mother's past, which sets in motion a tragic event that
changes Amy and her family forever.
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1. What got you started into writing?
I always loved to write, even as a child. When I
grew up, I became a “closet writer.” I never shared my work, and I still have a
“bits and pieces” file of story ideas, first sentences, and poems. And when I
worked as the English language arts director for a public school district, I found
lots of excuses to send memos to the staff––just so I could write! My husband
encouraged me to enroll in a writers’ workshop at our library. Then came a Saturday
morning short story class at a local university, followed by a series of summer
workshops and writing conferences in New York City. And that did it! All I
wanted was more time to write. So my husband, again, told me to go for it––this
time by encouraging me to take an early retirement from the school district and
to enroll in a novel writing class at The New School in New York. As I focused
on the novel that became DANNY’S MOM (Arcade Publishing, November 2012), I
joined other writers’ workshop programs, as well as a critique group. I’m so
blessed to have such a supportive husband, whose favorite activity now is telling
everyone about CAMP. And I can’t stop smiling!
2. Tell us a little about your journey in pursuing
publication of CAMP.
I’ll tell you the truth: the road to publication was
long and hard. Six years ago when I signed with my agent, she said she loved
CAMP and was eager to get it out on submission. But shortly after signing me on,
my agent went out on her own, and CAMP submissions were delayed. However, I
hung in there because I knew my agent loved the manuscript, and I believed that
she would find the right home for CAMP.
Once submissions started, several editors said that
they, too, loved the manuscript but didn’t feel that bullying was a big enough
story. So I put CAMP on hold and moved on to other writing projects.
In 2011, five years after I signed with my agent
(see, I told you the road was long!), I asked her to please try once more
because bullying was now front and center in the news. My agent put CAMP out
there again. And this time, CAMP sold quickly. And then DANNY’S MOM (also with
a strong bullying theme) sold to Arcade Publishing, another Skyhorse imprint.
Now I’m known as “the anti-bullying novelist.” And I’m
thrilled that I’ll have two novels published this year! I hope you’ll check out
my website (authorelainewolf.com) for information about both books, as well as
for anti-bullying resources.
3. As a teacher and mom myself, I’ve really seen how
bullying is such an issue with kids, not just here in the States, but
world-wide. I love how you tackled this issue in such a unique way through the
setting and the characters. What inspired this?
Thanks! I’m glad you love how I “tackled this issue
in such a unique way through the setting and characters.” But, truth be told, I
didn’t set out to write a bullying novel; I just wanted to write a compelling
story. So I started with a character, 14-year-old Amy Becker, who’s being
shipped off to sleep-away camp for the first time. And, of course, I gave her
lots of problems––because a happy, sing-around-the-campfire story isn’t very
gripping.
I believed that sleep-away camp would be a good
backdrop for a coming-of-age story, and it’s a setting I know well. I was a
camper and camp counselor for many summers. And, like Amy Becker, my uncle
owned a camp in Maine. But that’s where the similarity ends. My uncle ran a
terrific camp, where the bullying that happens in CAMP would have been stopped
before it got out of control.
The bullying in CAMP grew organically after a
mean-girl character, Rory, stormed through my mind while I was writing the
scene about Amy on the bus heading to the fictional Camp Takawanda for Girls.
Rory’s voice was really loud in my head, so I just tried to get out of my own
way and let the characters dictate the story. Once I had a timid first-time
camper, Amy, and an alpha girl “queen of mean,” Rory, it was impossible not to
write about bullying.
Now CAMP is finding its way into schools for the
fall, where the novel will be a springboard to conversations about bullying. And
I sincerely hope that CAMP and DANNY’S MOM will lead to discussions that will make
our camps and schools safer for all kids.
4. What has
been the most difficult part for you in writing in general and how have you met
that challenge?
The most difficult challenge of this whole process
was the “getting published part.” I was so happy while working on CAMP and DANNY’S
MOM. But, I must admit, the “getting published part” left me frustrated and
anxious. Yet I never gave up because the feedback from editors was
overwhelmingly positive. I learned that getting published is not only about
talent and perseverance; it’s also about timing. As they say, timing is
everything.
And
here are some quickies:
1. Favorite type of chocolate: dark, darker, and
darkest! (Chocolate is absolutely my favorite food.)
2. #1 place you’d like to visit: Greece (And I’d love
to go back to Florence, Italy, where I had the best gelato I’ve ever tasted.
Ice cream is my second favorite food.)
3. Favorite mode of transportation: walking (I often
park my car far from where I’m heading just to walk a bit––which is a good
thing because I eat way too much chocolate and ice cream!)
4. Preferred mode of writing (i.e. pencil, pen,
computer): computer (I start every chapter with pen and paper, though––and go
to the computer only when I have a first paragraph that makes me tingle.)
Check out Elaine on Twitter or her website.
I will be giving away a copy of Elaine’s book, CAMP.
Comment below to win a copy and tweet about this contest for an extra entry!
