A Tale of Two Authors

Think you have a novel in there?

(Most of us do)

A Tale of Two Authors

For most people a novel is something they climb into. A familiar place, extra cozy.

You are about to enter the creative world of two local authors, and sample the worlds they create.

EmiIie Richards, age 75, grew up in Gulfport, most recently of Sarasota. John Vanek, also 75, spent most of his life in Cleveland, moving to St. Petersburg 15 years ago.

Both were attracted to writing at the point of developing their professional lives, Emilie in mental health, and John in pre-med.

This is where the similarity ends.

Emilie is a professional writer who has become a senior. She has published 80 novels, 15 million copies in 21 countries and 16 languages. Ten have been made into TV movies in Germany.

John is a senior who became a professional writer, after a life as a physician. His fifth novel was released October 10th.

“I was writing for fun” Emilie says, “when I noticed that the mother of one of my piano students wrote novels and was successful. From the moment I sat down to the computer, I loved it.”

John’s entry was writing poetry and short stories, plus two early “practice” novels that will never see the light of day. Participating in Eckerd College’s Writers In Paradise played a pivotal role in his journey to the printed page.

“Write what you know”, the most frequent advice given to novices did not always work for Emilie. She creates completely imaginary worlds, which emerged out of extensive research. “I never used situations or characters I had seen or experienced in my personal life”, probably not a bad idea for a therapist and minister's wife. “Sometimes you are better to write what you don’t know. If you know something well, you might forget the pieces that your readers will find most interesting.”

John writes from what he knows. His principle character, Father Jake Austin,is a dedicated man of the cloth who has strong feelings for the woman he once loved and lost. They are modeled on “two Catholic priests I knew well” and a female friend who is blind. His novels may “start with a dream, waking at 3 AM and writing a chap- ter” (which eventually may become chapter 10 or 11) “I write from the seat of my pants. This will get re-edited four or five times. The first drafts are for my readers, the last for myself. I may not be a great author, but I am a great revisionist.”

Having done extensive research Emilie writes with more certainty, but still a lot of editing. She writes an “outline”. (Some publishers require a 50-60 page synopsis.)

It takes a lot of work to appear effortless.

“I put myself in the character's persona” Emilie says “looking through their eyes. It’s like watching a movie. I may say ‘by golly that’s not right’. The characters decide for you.”

“I know them like my best friends. For me it’s almost as if the character would say don’t do this.” John writes his mysteries in the first person, “so it’s easier for the reader to identify with the protagonist. The problem for me as a writer is that as the plot unfolds, the reader can only know what the protagonist knows.”

Writing comes a lot from reading. Emilie read “everything I could on writing” when she started. “Characterization is my strength.” John reads widely and this makes it into his writing. “I started as a poet”, which is his writing strength.

The market for romance fiction exploded in the mid 80’s which opened up the market for female authors. Emilie rode the wave, but that is the distant past as she moved on to “books with issues, genre fiction where everybody knows the mystery will be solved in the end, but the characters go through hell to get there.”

An early 2000 series in the women’s fiction genre takes you into the world of quilting, from the Shenandoah valley to Guatemala, five novels and a collection of novellas. More recently a series of four has been set in Asheville, and there are several domestic suspense novels.

John’s series finale, “Epiphany” is about “stolen church funds, a pedophile priest, a hospital ghost, an exorcist, and a crazed car bomber. What could possibly go wrong? Just another day at the office for Father Jake Austin”

“A novel wants to befriend you, a short story almost never.” Joy Williams

“Blessed is the Busybody”

Teddy was getting ready to bury the cat again, and old Moonpie, whose nine lives had been used up before he was fully weaned, was not protesting. Like me, Moonpie had given up hope that Teddy would quickly outgrow this phase of her development. Too old for protest but too feline for compliance, our silver tabby hung in my daughter’s thin arms like a burlap sack loaded with buckshot. Drag me off the picket line if you have to, Mr. Sheriff, but I’m not going to make it easy for you.

“Bedeviled”

Sheriff Tremont Tree” Macon eased his cruiser onto Route 58 and began a slow and silent journey north toward town. No need for sirens and flashers. The time for action was past. Neither of us spoke. There were no questions to answer, nothing to say. What could you say? Life - as a great thinker once said - is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Only today it was also shrouded in a body bag.

John Curtis/Mary Khosh

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