Welcome to our Indie Spotlight series, in which TNBBC gives small press authors the floor to shed some light on their writing process, publishing experiences, or whatever else they'd like to share with you, the readers!
Today, we are joined by Katherine Pickett talks a bit about her just released debut novel Debra Lee Won’t Break.
The
Surprising Truth About “Write What You Know”
The ride
at the heart of the story is based on the Bike MS Chesapeake Challenge. As I was
crafting the scenes leading up to the ride, I realized it would help if I had
ever done the Chesapeake Challenge myself. Was I really going to ride 150 miles
just to get to know my character better? Of course I was!
Before
then the longest ride I had ever completed was the 100-mile Beer and Brat
century ride in 2005 in a small town outside of St. Louis. Some 18 years later
and living in Silver Spring, Maryland, I was back on my bike training for Bike
MS.
Having
participated in that earlier ride I probably could have done a reasonable job
describing Deb’s experience on the route for the Chesapeake Challenge. But
during my training and the event itself, I had several realizations and
interactions, and I used many of them in the novel.
While it’s
possible to get out into the world and experience many things firsthand, when
writing fiction you may choose to include elements that you can’t or don’t want
to experience. Getting shot at and leaving the Earth’s atmosphere are but two
examples that come to mind.
When it
came to Debra Lee, I used a combination of research, interviews, and
beta readers to address those areas I couldn’t speak to firsthand. It’s been
fifteen years since I worked in an office, and I’ve never worked for a
nonprofit, so one of my beta readers was someone with expertise in that arena. (Deb
works at a nonprofit connecting support dogs with the people who need them.) My
direct experience with support animals is limited to the times I’ve seen them
out in public, so more research went into that aspect of the book as well.
When I
decided my main character would have multiple sclerosis (MS), I knew it carried
some risk. Although I live with chronic illness (epilepsy), and cared for my
father through his Parkinson’s disease, I don’t have MS and, at the time, I didn’t
know anyone personally who did. Certainly MS falls into the realm of
experiences you can’t train for. Could any amount of research fill that size of
an experience gap?
I was
somewhat familiar with the disease from popular culture and from having edited
a memoir about it years ago, but not to the point of being able to capture the
life of a person who lived with it every day. In fact, I was sure someone with
MS would have a very different life from mine. I dug in to the MS manuals,
self-help books, memoirs, and websites. I even had the privilege of joining an
MS support group, with permission from the coordinator to sit in and join the
conversation for a few months.
The big
surprise was that I actually have a lot in common with Debra Lee. I learned
that the tests someone with MS must undergo to get a diagnosis overlap with the
tests someone with epilepsy undergoes. Even some of the medications are the
same. And the pain and stiffness that accompany MS are not entirely unique from
the muscle spasms that attend Parkinson’s disease. While my life experience
wasn’t identical to someone with MS, it did give me a head start in
understanding it.
To make
absolutely sure I was portraying the disease correctly, I enlisted the help of five
beta readers who live with MS, including four people from the support group and
one medical doctor. They pointed out problems ranging from word choice (e.g., a
walking stick and a cane are two different things) to medical accuracy (when
someone with MS has a flareup, they usually have to change medicines) and
helped me to fine-tune my portrayal. By the end of the process, one reader said
if they didn’t know differently, they would’ve thought I had MS. Achieving that
level of realism was a point of pride for me.
In another
surprise, which really shouldn’t have been so surprising, once I started
talking about MS and showing my interest in the subject, I found more and more
people who live with it or know someone who does. What’s more, they were
pleased to know I was writing about it.
I had been
nervous about representing someone else’s lived experience, but what I found
was that by and large, people were glad to have another book available that
depicts life with chronic illness and to meet an author interested in learning
about their worldview. It’s been a privilege.
People
often tell writers to “write what you know.” It’s good advice, but it’s only
half the story. The better advice is: Write what you know—and don’t be afraid
to learn new things.
In the
end, my research broadened my understanding of myself and bridged the gap
between me and the MS community. And that is the real beauty of fiction.
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About Debra
Lee Won’t Break
Debra
Lee's life is overflowing—widowed at 38, raising a son, supporting a daughter
in college, and caring for a mother with dementia, all while managing her
multiple sclerosis. Determined to seize the moment, she sets out to conquer the
150-mile Chesapeake Challenge bike ride before her MS slows her down.
But just
as she gathers the courage to push forward, ghosts from her past resurface.
Caroline Cook—the friend who once betrayed her—wants back in her life. And the
man who shattered her world as a teenager is suddenly appearing in unexpected
places.
As old
wounds reopen, will she find the strength to cross the finish line, or will the
past derail her journey?
“An electrifying
tale of grit, heart, and unshakable resolve. . . . [Pickett’s] words don't just
tell a story—they pull you in, wrap around your heart, and linger long after
the last page.”
—Suzie
Housley, Midwest Book Review
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