8 minute read
INSIDE VOICES
INSIDE VOICES
Robert Gwaltney & Jeffrey Dale Lofton introduce Zachary Steele
Broadleaf Writers Association Founder & Executive Director Zachary Steele is the author of four novels, including The Weight of Ashes, nominated for Georgia Author of the Year in 2021, and Perfectly Normal (2023). He has been featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Publisher’s Weekly, Writer’s Magazine, Shelf Awareness and City Lights with Lois Reitzes on NPR. Currently, he is hard at work on The Fallen Hero, the first in a series of fantasy novels.
Inside Voices (Robert): First, let me congratulate you. Your next novel, Perfectly Normal, makes its way into the world, November 21, 2023. Your protagonist, sixteen-year-old Nate Alexander lives with a condition known as Chromesthesia. He also grapples with the challenges of undiagnosed autism. Talk about what drew you to creating a character experiencing both these things.
Zachary: Thank you so much, Robert. I’m excited to bring Nate to the world in ways I find difficult to express. His journey as an autistic is a deeply personal one for me, and I wanted to portray his daily life, and that of the parents who raise him, in an authentic way that offered some insight, and, I hope, some education and awareness of the many challenges the neurodiverse face. The addition of Chromesthesia not only broadens the world of music that Nate holes up within, but is also a truly beautiful and fascinating sensory swap that defines how he views the people around him.
Inside Voices (Jeffrey): Perfectly Normal explores, through young Nate, what it means to be “normal.” How did your perception of “normal” change from when you began writing the book until the point you finished the editing process?
Zachary: If anything, it broadened my acceptance of individuality. Of the importance of freedom in the journey of self-discovery we all take. I grew up as a kid on the outside of ‘normal’ and spent too much of my childhood and early adult life trying to conform and suppress my personality and quirks rather than explore and expand who I was at my core. What is ‘normal’ anyway, and who can truly define it except the individual?
Inside Voices (Robert): Julian Mack, an openly gay character, enters into a challenging friendship with Nate. I thought that Julian was a beautifully drawn character. Talk a little about Julian and the inspiration for the character.
Zachary: I love Julian. Not simply as a character, but as a representation of everyone I’ve known that believed they needed to conform rather than be who they were at their core. Julian’s love is pure and unfiltered, as is his need for acceptance. He lives life on the opposite end of ‘normalcy’ from Nate, which gives them both a great deal to learn from one another.
Inside Voices (Jeffrey): Music is an important element of your book, and I’m interested to know your own connection to music and why it’s so integral to this story.
Zachary: Music has always been important to me. It’s where I first learned what it meant to have an emotional connection to art. Much like The Weight of Ashes, Perfectly Normal began with one song in one scene. Nate’s connection to music opens a gateway to various forms, which in turn gave me an opportunity to touch upon the styles of music that have inspired me. I even created playlists for them both on Spotify!
Inside Voices (Jeffrey): I would love to hear about your experience working with the publisher to translate your book into audiobook format? Are you narrating it?
Zachary: That was a surreal experience. Hearing my words read and performed (by the incredibly talented Tyler Pirrung) far and away is one of the coolest experiences I’ve had as a writer. I’m fortunate to be with a publisher that insisted I work closely with Tyler to ensure the characters were portrayed accurately and the narrative presented at an appropriate pace. He brought so much emotion to the story and took a few risks along the way. It’s a perfect accompaniment to the book. Buy them both!
Inside Voices (Jeffrey): I recently had the privilege to appear on panels and deliver a workshop during the 8th Annual Broadleaf Writers Conference. Will you tell us about Broadleaf and the role you play?
Zachary: First and foremost, you were incredible, in every panel and workshop. For all I may do, or all our team may have done to organize it, it’s authors like you and Robert who make a writing conference so valuable and important to writers. I could prattle on without a break for hours on Broadleaf. I founded it because I believe in the power of a supportive writing community, one that is inclusive and welcoming to all writers, no matter what they write, where they come from, or how far along they are on their writing journey. Eight years in, I feel like we’re building that community into what it can ultimately be. We still have a way to go, but seeing it in action at our most recent conference—mercifully back in-person after the pandemic years—is thrilling.
Inside Voices (Robert): In reflecting upon your own journey as a published author, how important was your literary community.
Zachary: I wouldn’t be where I am without it. The guidance, the support, the mentoring and long conversations, they are all the reason I am the writer I am today. And also why Broadleaf Writers exists. I wanted to give what I had gained from my experiences in another writing community to others.
Inside Voices (Jeffrey): You somehow manage, in addition to your own writing, to produce and host The Inciting Event, which is a podcast. What led you into the podcast fray, and what are your plans for its future?
Zachary: I’ve wanted to start a podcast for a while now, but finding the time to learn how to do that has been a problem. I launched The Inciting Event this year, and I’m still learning the ropes and finding my footing. I have no idea who will listen, but I wanted to create a conversational platform, where creatives could talk about whatever they wanted, as if we’d just picked up the phone to chat. Not only does this offer a wide range of topics (all within the bounds of artistic matter), but it also gives fans, readers, and viewers more reason to connect with that artist. I hope!
Inside Voices (Robert): What's next for you, Zachary? What’s on your horizon?
Zachary: My life is about to get very busy. From a writing standpoint, I’m at work on my next novel, currently called Home, about a group of siblings returning to their childhood home as their mother is in her final days on Hospice. It’s a story that’s one-part dysfunctional family and one-part defining what ‘home’ means to each of them (I guess I like to explore definitions!). Meanwhile, I’m hoping to have The Fallen Hero, the first book of a fantasy series under contract soon. Between that, Broadleaf, the podcast (or podcasts it seems hint hint), some additional projects in the works, and enjoying life with Jess and Sadie, my family of amazing humans, I stay quite busy.
