Today we’d like to introduce you to S.j. Carson

Hi S.j., thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

I’ve been a writer since I was about five years old. Words, particularly color words, have always fascinated me–lavender, periwinkle, cerulean. In kindergarten and first grade, I began writing little stories and illustrating them, giving them as presents to my mom.

As I got older, I began keeping journals and writing short stories. When I was about fifteen, my best friend showed me her notebook where she wrote poetry. Around the same time, we were studying the Romantic poets (Keats, Wordsworth, etc.) in English class. I thought, “I can do that!” and began writing poetry in a notebook of my own. This notebook was very early 2000s–covered in magazine cutouts, clip art, and stickers.

During my senior year of high school, my English teacher introduced me to Sylvia Plath. The Bell Jar and Plath’s Collected Poems were not required reading, but Ms. Bohbot thought I’d enjoy them as a budding poet. I devoured those books. Plath’s images of water, trees, and the moon found their way into my own poetry during that time. I grew up in a small town on the South Shore of Long Island, where I could simply look outside my window and see those images, too. Nature and childhood played starring roles in my creative work.

In college in California, I decided to major in English with a creative writing focus. Most of my writing from that time was poetry, although I did continue to write some fiction. When I was twenty, I got an idea for a novella–“What if I met myself in Paris?” The novella was about meeting my doppelganger and the adventures we had together. I’d never written something that long before (I think it was around 20,000 words), and I wasn’t particularly proud of the finished product, but it was good practice for the novels I’d later write.

After college, I completed a one-year MFA program in poetry. My thesis was a collection of poems that I later published with a small press. Its central theme was my childhood on Long Island in the aftermath of my father’s death.

Over the next few years, I worked various retail jobs, taught English at a community college, became a manager at a non-profit, and continued to write. My dream was to write and publish a full-length novel, but it took a long time to get there. I started (and stopped) dozens of manuscripts. I’d get to 40 or 50,000 words and become bored and put the manuscript aside to start something I thought was more exciting.

After going to law school and working for a couple of years in law firms, I finally finished a manuscript–a young-adult dystopian novel, Aveline. I was delighted that it was accepted for publication by The Wild Rose Press, with a release date of October 9, 2024. The novel centers on a thirteen-year-old girl named Aveline Fleur, a child of her country’s ruling house. When she discovers that her family is involved in a sinister plot to brainwash people who speak out against the regime—and that her best friend and his mother are in danger—Aveline must summon the courage to save herself and her friends before it’s too late.

Currently, I’m working on two different manuscripts. The first is a sci-fi romance set on a distant planet, which I like to describe as “Brave New World meets Bridgerton.” The second is a romantasy that takes place at a magical academy and involves an adventure across time and space.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

My road to becoming a novelist was not exactly a smooth one. I don’t have any formal training in fiction writing and am entirely self-taught. So, I spent many years (decades, actually) reading books like the kind I wanted to write and teaching myself the craft.

As I mentioned, I started and stopped writing numerous manuscripts. My old hard drives are littered with early novel-writing efforts. My problem was that I’d get obsessed with an idea or a character, then get to the midpoint of the story and run out of steam. But I learned that if I wanted to be a serious writer and actually complete a novel, I’d have to be more disciplined.

When I started writing Aveline, I did run out of steam about three-quarters of the way through. But I forced myself to finish a first draft, bring it to my local writers’ group for critique, and write a second draft. So much of writing is perseverance. When you don’t feel inspired, it’s daunting to sit before a blank screen or to edit something you’ve previously written. Yet that is what’s required. It’s comforting to know, however, that writing a novel is a process, not something that needs to be (or can be) completed in a week or even in a month. If you just make a little progress every day, you are on your way to becoming a novelist. As a friend of mine likes to say, “How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time.”

Finding time to write has also been a challenge, as I have a full-time job. Coming home from work and staring at yet another computer screen is not always fun. So I try to utilize my weekends to spend quality time with my manuscript. On a Saturday or Sunday, if I can, I like to block off four or five hours to work on my story and get into a flow state.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

I am a fiction writer and poet, although now I focus mainly on fiction (novels in particular). I am most proud of my first published novel, Aveline, and am very grateful to The Wild Rose Press for selecting it for publication. It’s incredible to be able to hold a book in my hands and say, “I wrote this!”

I think my characters and dialogue set me apart. I like to believe that my characters come alive on the page–these are complex people that you could imagine meeting in real life–and that the way they speak to one another sounds natural. Because I was shy as a child, I spent a lot of time observing other people and how they spoke. In fact, I wrote down snippets of their conversations in my notebook (like Harriet in Harriet the Spy, I carried a notebook everywhere) and tried to put their words into the mouths of my characters. It was this early training that allowed me to develop a skill for dialogue.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?

Try to attend as many events as possible in your field (meet-and-greets, book signings, workshops, conferences, you name it). Don’t be afraid to go up to someone you don’t know and introduce yourself; they were once in the same position as you. Many professionals are happy to mentor young people or those just getting started in their field.

Here’s a tip for networking events: Don’t meet people with the mindset of “What can you do for me?” Instead, go with the mindset of “What can I learn from you?” Most people love talking about themselves and their experiences. They also love giving advice to beginners.

My other tip is to follow up any in-person interaction with a thank-you note or email. Recap your conversation with the person or mention something they said that resonated with you, and thank them for their time. Offer to take them out for coffee if you want to get to know them better. Don’t immediately ask for a job or a favor. As you get to know the person and what’s important to them, they will likely want to help you, and opportunities will arise organically.

Finding the right mentor can be difficult. Everyone is busy, so you really need to take the initiative. If you click with someone, it’s your responsibility to reach out and follow up with them. Mentorship opportunities just don’t fall in people’s laps; they require effort.

Also, when you find a mentor, don’t worry about asking too many questions or if they are “stupid” questions. We all had to start somewhere. When I mentor people at work, I want them to ask me questions, and I will always make the time to answer.

Pricing:

• Aveline: $5.99 (Kindle edition); $21.99 (paperback)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sjcarson.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/SJCarsonAuthor
• Other: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBM66T3X/; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216994105-aveline; TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sjcarsonauthor

Image Credits

S.J. Carson
Valeria Andraka
Kristian Norris