Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah J. Sover.
Sarah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Every writer tells you they’ve always been one, but for most of us, it’s the truth. My path has been wild, but even while I was working in unrelated fields, I was driven by the need to create. Journals filled with wacky theories, articles, napkins with poems scribbled on them, and scenes scrawled in the margins of papers were stashed all over every house I’ve occupied. When I entered college, nobody was shocked that I declared English as my major. However, when I switched to Biology, a few jaws may have dropped.
After college, I worked as a veterinary technician as a way to fund my volunteer work in wildlife rehabilitation. When I married my husband, I was working in environmental engineering for a local municipality. Our plan was for me to put him through school, then I would stay home with kids once he graduated. When they started school, I would focus on launching my writing career. But writing isn’t a habit you can quit or put on hold. When the story wants to be told, it lingers in the back of your mind, torturing you until you submit. I fought with my first novel, a trope-ridden epic fantasy, from 2011-2013. My second novel, Double-Crossing the Bridge, came two years later. When I finished this ridiculous book about grog-chugging trolls planning the heist of the century, I knew I had to see it published, even if I was in the throes of parenting.
Now, publishing is a beast I could spend pages trying to explain. In my case, I was querying agents when I saw a small press post about signing four weird new fantasy novels. When I read those titles, it felt like fate intervening. After researching the press, I submitted it. The offer of publication came quickly, and I signed on with The Parliament House.
While this was all in the works, I submitted a short story to the first-ever JordanCon Anthology, and it was accepted. Four months before my debut novel released, I held another book in my hands, this one featuring stories by some of the greatest names in my genre, Brandon Sanderson, Faith Hunter, etc. AND ME!
As I was preparing for publication, an editor from Writer’s Digest reached out to my publisher to feature me in their September issue of the Breaking In column. Then, they invited me to write a guest blog post for them, and I poured my heart into an article about embracing your inner weirdo. There are a lot of fellow weirdos out there, and the post resonated. As a result, Writer’s Digest flew me up to New York to speak on their Debut and Science-Fiction and Fantasy panels at their Annual Conference. It was a terrifying and wonderful dream.
A week later, Double-Crossing the Bridge released into the world. My launch party was a fabulous, low-key event held at Avondale Estates’ newest brewery, The Lost Druid. They even named a fabulous ale Double-Crossed! Double-Crossing the Bridge went on to become an Amazon bestseller in humorous fantasy, a feat that means a lot to a small-potatoes debut author like me.
Today, you can find me on panels at local conventions, eagerly awaiting the next JordanCon, where another of my short stories will be featured in the Anthology and I’ll be a guest. I’m also in the midst of querying agents for my most current book, Fairy GodMurder, a noir fantasy about a fairy godmother who goes rogue to hunt down the serial killer who slaughtered her first princess. Of course, that’s when I’m not dragging my exhausted butt through Kroger with a screaming toddler and a rambunctious six-year-old.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Publishing isn’t easy for anyone. Whether you go the traditional route with an agent, sign directly with a small press like I did, or self-publish, you have to be supremely stubborn and even a little masochistic to make it through. I’m the Juggernaut. I get started on a trajectory, and there is no holding me back. Throw up an obstacle, and I’ll go around or blast my way through.
Unfortunately, my two year old is made of the same stuff. The biggest struggle for me is carving out the time to write and market my book while seeing to the demands and needs of a tiny tyrant. Then we add the 6yo’s girl scouts, taekwondo, and obsession with cooking and video games, and there’s not much of me left. Even with a supportive partner, some weeks are a wash when it comes to my writing career.
But like I tell all aspiring authors, progress is progress, and you have to keep pushing on whenever and however you can. My family comes first, but every time I sit down at my computer, I finish a little farther along than I was. If I can write three books with two kids, I can write a fourth, even if it is only a few words at a time.
Please tell us about the business.
I am a weirdo. I’m a nerd. I make connections in ways that don’t occur to other people. Writing speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror), that trait helps me create unique stories and worlds. Since I went the small press route for my debut novel, Double-Crossing the Bridge may not be on everyone’s shelf. But the commonality in my reviews is that the story is something nobody has ever seen before.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My husband Alex is my sounding board. He’s always willing to go down absurd conversational rabbit holes with me, and Double-Crossing the Bridge wouldn’t exist without him. My parents Paul and Colleen Caron and my little brother Max Caron, are the best cheering section I could hope for. My best friend Sara Bond, whose space opera Gravity’s Heir just released, is traveling these same waters with me and has been an incredible supporter. My critique partners and beta readers for both Double-Crossing the Bridge and Fairy GodMurder: KJ Harrowick, Stephanie Sauvinet, Glen Delaney, Matt Harshaw, Nicole Bross, Suanne Schaffer, and Tyler Hayes are amazing, and the Debut 2019 group has kept me sane through the publishing process.
And then there are the teachers. I can’t even list them all. Dr. Hew Joiner at Georgia Southern saw something in me I’m still not sure is there and offered me a life-changing opportunity in the Bell Honor’s Program. At Parkview High School, Mrs. Emily Beals and Dr. Lisa Tilley were both integral to my development as a writer and as a person. Nobody achieves their lifelong dream without support, and I’ve been so lucky to have all these and more lifting me. I hope that I can return the favor for others.
Pricing:
- Double-Crossing the Bridge, available for order at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and at ParliamentHousePress.com Paperback $15.99
- Double-Crossing the Bridge ebook, available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Kobo is $3.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SarahJSover.com
- Email: SarahJSover@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sarahjsover
- Facebook: facebook.com/sarah.sover.5
- Twitter: twitter.com/SarahJSover
- Other: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40693291-double-crossing-the-bridge
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