Congratulations to our August 2022 IMWA Member of the Month Anastasia Zadeik!
Please read our interview with talented and delightful Anastasia to learn more about her and her journey to publication. So honored to write alongside Anastasia!
How did you first discover IMWA?
AZ: I have been a member of a read and critique group run by Marni Freedman for a decade. In mid-2016, she shared with us that she was considering founding a nonprofit dedicated to supporting memoirists here in San Diego, and she brought us all into the fold.
Have you always been a writer?
AZ: Though I’ve been writing my whole life, I didn’t identify as a writer until I was in my late 40’s. Like many little girls, I had a diary with a puffy pink vinyl cover and a little key. At the time, I was convinced everyone wanted to know the secrets inside, so I not only locked it, but also kept it hidden on a shelf in my bedroom closet for extra security.During high school and college, I moved on to fabric-covered journals, and then graduated to black moleskins while working and raising my kids. Though I wrote often, recording the daily joys and traumas of life, I didn’t begin to focus on writing or consider myself a writer until the day I was completing forms for hysterectomy surgery, when I completed the line “profession” with the word “writer.” I like to think of it as recognizing a new form of creation in the face of losing my ability to have children.
What impacts do you think writing classes have made on your writing?
AZ: I would not be a writer without them. I began taking classes at UCSD Extension in the late aughts, starting with a short story and memoir class. In 2011 or 2012, I took a read and critique class with Marni, and I remember being stumped by one of her very first questions to the class: “What is your story really about?” Since then, I have taken classes on everything from Finding Your Voice to Creating Realistic Dialogue to Designing an Author Platform through UCSD; Writers, Ink; So Say We All; Last Exit; and IMWA. I have also attended writers’ conferences and festivals, learning from panels, interviews, and workshops offered by established and emerging authors. To this day, I recall hearing a keynote speaker explain the importance of creating an incentive for the reader to turn the page at the end of each chapter. This advice loomed large during the second revision of my debut novel, Blurred Fates, and, I believe, is one of the reasons I ended up writing a “page-turning” thriller.
We’d love to hear about what you are presently writing.
AZ: I have been in the throes of marketing my first book and working on the fourth annual San Diego Writers Festival for the last few months, so most of my writing has been focused on the business side: articles, blog posts, correspondence with writers, ad copy, etc. I am excited to get back to the creative side. I will be revising my second novel (scheduled for publication Spring ’24), a story about two young artists struggling with mental health issues who take off from an inpatient psychiatric program to embark on an ill-fated cross-country odyssey in a search for meaning in their lives. I’m also looking forward to a new project, which I haven’t told anyone about yet!
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite memoirs?
AZ: Like most people, I have a list of classic favorites, but based on books read the last few years, I would say Anthony Doerr, Amor Towles, Chris Whitaker, Maggie O’Farrell, John Green, and a very new favorite, Bonnie Garmus (Lessons in Chemistry). As for memoirs, the last one I read was by our very own Laura Engel’s (You’ll Forget This Ever Happened), and it was the sort of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished the last page—authentic, heart-wrenching, illuminating, and, ultimately, full of compassion and grace.
Any advice for new writers?
AZ:
1) Read. Read, read, read. Read for fun. Read to learn. Read to assess what works for you as a reader and what doesn’t. Read to study how dialogue and physical descriptions give you a sense of place, history, and culture. Read to fall in love and survive loss. Read to practice empathy. Read to find yourself.
2) Write. Write as often as you can. Write in different genres or styles. Try writing poetry or lyrics. Make lists of colors and smells and synonyms and words you can’t define that you’ve read (see above). Write when the spirit moves you. And write when the blank page fills you with dread.
3) Revise. Read your written work aloud and note where you stumble, or you’ve gone on too long (this happens to me quite often!) or you’ve left something unsaid that is really, truly the crux of the matter. Cut unnecessary words(while preserving your voice). Check your use of commas (or lack thereof). Relearn the grammar rules you learned back in school (or didn’t learn but should have). Kill your darlings, assured by the knowledge that the reader won’t know to miss them.
4) Stay curious. Research stories that jump off the page or screen, shouting “write about me.” Pretend something monumental is about to happen at the coffee shop and stop to notice the details about the world around you – how tall is the woman behind the counter, what color is her hair? Subtly eavesdrop on conversations and notice patterns of speech or look for the story behind the words. Ask yourself “What if?” and then let your mind go where it will.
5) Remember you are unique. No one else will see the world or express what they see the way you do. As Barbara Kingsolver said, “Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say.”
Anastasia, please tell us about your book and your launch and what you’ve learned about the process.
AZ: Called “A hypnotic page-turner about the frightening haziness between past and present,” by KIRKUS REVIEWS, Blurred Fates, is a psychological thriller about a woman whose seemingly perfect life begins to unravel in the face of infidelity, death, and deceit.
Launching a book is a journey unto itself; it is, as I like to say, “filled with ups and downs, blind turns, and the opportunities to meet people you otherwise would have never known.” I’ve learned how to share posts and messages across platforms, when you can link and when you can’t, that there are rules and conventions in the publishing world that you may only discover when you’ve broken them, that reviews can lift you up and send you crashing—and that all of this is survivable. Early on, an experienced author told me something like, “A review of your book is not a review of you. Most of the people reviewing your book will never meet you, let alone know you. When the going gets tough, surround yourself with people who know you and love you.”
Please let us know how we can reach you. Website? Social channels?
My website is www.anastasiazadeik.com, and you can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and Twitter @anastasiazadeik and on LinkedIn at Anastasia Zadeik-Hipkins.
Anastasia, we are honored to name you IMWA August Member of the Month! Thank you for being the amazing member, writer, and woman that you are.Congratulations on your new book Blurred Fates!
Click Here to Purchase your copy from Warwick’s Today!