Debut novel to be released Spring 2010 by Abingdon Press
Leah Thornton, already sloshed from one-too-many at a faculty party, is cruising the supermarket aisles in search of something tasty to enhance her Star-bucks—Kahlua, for example. Two confrontations later—one at the grocery and the other with her friend Molly—Leah is sitting in the office of the local rehab center facing an admissions counselor who fails to understand the most basic things, like the fact that apple juice is not a suitable cocktail mixer. Rehab is no picnic, and being forced to experience and deal with the reality of her life isn’t Leah’s idea of fun. But through the battle she finds a reservoir of courage she never knew she had, and the loving arms of a God she never quite believed existed.
Christa Allan, a true Southern woman who knows any cook worth her gumbo, always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, weaves stories of unscripted grace with threads of hope, humor, and heart. The mother of five and grandmother of three, Christa teaches high school English. She and her husband, Ken, live in Abita Springs, Louisiana where they play golf, dodge hurricanes, and anticipate retirement. Visit Christa on the web at http://www.christaallan.com.
Christa, your bio states that you’re a true Southern woman. How does that description color your stories?
She may be seen as a cliché, selfish, and manipulative, but Scarlett O’Hara embodies qualities I’ve come to admire in Southern women. I mean, really, how can you not love a woman who rips her mother’s green velvet drapes to make a dress so she can save her family home from the tax collectors?Even with a 17” waist, a woman can be a gutsy survivor. Southern women glisten, never sweat, generally equate food with love (and vice versa), and grow up with their mothers admonishing them to “hold that stomach in.”These women, who cherish tradition and family and their grandmother’s pearls, struggle with longing to be free from social constraints without losing part of themselves in the process. Plus, things just seem to move slower in the South. Maybe it’s trying to fight our way through the humidity.What made you choose this particular genre? Did you target your publisher, or did they happen to be the first to accept your work? How long did it take you to get your work published?I think the genre chose me! At first, I tried writing romance, but my characters fell in love too quickly or not at all. And while I loved reading books by Robert Ludlum, I knew my brain would twist itself into a soggy pretzel attempting to figure out a plot.Teaching teens for over twenty years, I was naturally drawn to Young Adult. I even have half of a YA novel, and perhaps may return to it in the future. But, for now, writing stories of challenges women face in their lives.My agent, Rachelle Gardner of WordServe Literary, pitched my novel to several publishers.Ultimately, Barbara Scott, the new fiction editor at Abingdon Press, thought it was a perfect fit for them. Abingdon offered the contract in November of 2008; my release date is today (February 1)!Tell us something about Walking On Broken Glass that’s not in the official descriptions.
The characters Leah meets in rehab are probably a book waiting to happen!Also, I wrote the book intending it to have a sequel and a prequel.Hope that happens…What are some of the best things you’ve done to help yourself as a writer? Mistakes you want to share?Invest in my writing by going to conferences, reading books about writing, reading novels written by authors whose techniques and styles I admire, and having my writing critiqued by writers whose opinions I value. Early on, I entered contests. Doing this, I learned later, provided a preview of the hutpah required to query and pitch to agents and editors. It’s a scary thing, putting your writing out there for strangers to read. But I received some great feedback and, sometimes, not so great! Inevitably, if there were three judges I’d have two really high scores and one close to the bottom. When this first happened, I huffed and puffed. But later it became almost predictable and, again, another lesson. Not every reader likes every book.Mistakes to share? How much time do you have?! My greatest mistake was not believing in myself sooner. It took me a long time and a long walk in my faith to believe that my writing could not only be a gift from God, but a way to bring others closer to Him.It’s so much easier to listen to the voice inside of us (or, unfortunately, the voices outside of us) telling us we’re being unrealistic or foolish.I believe that message comes from the one who would like to prevent us from the work that God intended us to do.
You’re a high school English teacher. Do you use your own examples in your work? Have any of your students gone on to write outside of class?Throughout this journey, my students have been some of my most enthusiastic encouragers.I’ve shared almost every step along the way the last year or so with them—from signing with my agent to selling my novel.When we’re talking about revision, I show them my macro edits, and I assure them that I’m not asking them to do anything I’ve not done/doing. And when they’re whining about the length of an essay, I write “88,620” on the board; I tell them they’ve earned the right to complain after they’ve written that many words (and that doesn’t count the words on pages still unpublished!).A few students who graduated years ago are now pursuing writing for publication. Mostly they thank me for helping them get through their writing in their college years. Some of my students are now teachers themselves. It’s amusing when they begin to empathize with me when they’re grading essays!What are the easiest and hardest parts of writing for you?Starting and finishing, and sometimes the order is reversed! The absolute hardest part is turning off my internal editor in those early writing stages. It’s definitely a time when the teacher needs to become the student because that’s exactly what I’m yammering to my students about when they begin the process. It’s that adage about being able to revise poopy writing. But a blank page? Not so much! What do you want readers to know about you and themselves by reading your work?I want them to know that even if their lives are not following the script they intended, that God can reach them wherever they are. I want them to know that there’s always hope.I want them appreciate that every day they wake up breathing is a great day!What are you reading now?I actually have a few books going. I’m finishing Primal by Mark Batterson, and I’m starting Thin Places by Mary DeMuth.Can you tell us about what you’re working on next?I have two proposals out right now, so as soon as I hear something I’ll pass it on!!Anything else you’d like to share?Thanks to all your readers who got this far! And thanks to you for being so kind to hostess,
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