First, thank you very much to Frost Magazine for inviting me to be here, specifically during this week which is quite a big deal for me!
My name is Ada Bright and I am a writer born, raised, and still living in Southern California. I make a point of it because I’ve learned that alot about me can be traced to this little factoid. I am laid back about life and stressed about that three pounds I gained in 2017, I don’t own a coat that can withstand temperatures below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, foodie menus float my boat, and I am very leary of how you store your dishes considering the fact that I’m ready for the earth to roll and shake beneath my feet at any moment. Also, I’m married to a very cute, blue-eyed guy who gave me no blue-eyed children (0/3), I have a photography following, and my mother lives with me and still does my laundry (but none of this stuff can be blamed on California living).
Today, September 12, Canelo Digital Publishing is releasing a book I wrote with British-born-and-raised Cass Grafton called The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen. It is the first book we’ve written together, but it’s sequel will follow shortly behind – being released in November of this year. The tagline for our first book is “a comedic tale of time-travel and friendship” and honestly, that about sums it up. Cass and I have been friends for nearly two decades and the many varied and often hilarious differences we’ve discovered in how our two cultures have shaped us is as much at the heart of this book as our love for Jane Austen’s novels.
Even as we work on the marketing for these novels (and start outlining a third in the series), I am also working on a romantic mystery set right in the US. This is quite a shift to try to work alone. I realize that what Cass does effortlessly (keep in mind the structure and order of the story throughout) I struggle with. My natural rhythm of writing is to compose a scene in my mind almost entirely, then write it all on the page in one quick lump of words (after that initial rush, I’ll slowly revise everytime I read through it). Therefore, I jump around from scene to scene as the inspiration strikes. Since I don’t have Cass to give me order, I’ve been meticulously writing scenes on sticky notes and moving them around on the floor to figure out the order they need to go in. It’s been fun and overwhelming and a bit of a housekeeping mess, but I think, in my own meandering way, I’ve found a way to thread it all together.
Writing is like that for me. I write because the words give structure to my mind. I wrote as a child to understand my feelings and my choices. I wrote as a teenager to entertain my peers with “friend fiction” (Yes, that boy at the mall who took your lunch order did fall in love with you immediately! Or, even if he didn’t, I’ll write a story that will make you feel like he did). I write today because I hope that what makes me feel excitement, joy, and love will entertain others as well.
Thank you again for having me, Frost Magazine!