Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adrienne LaCava. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adrienne, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Writing fiction with historical events as the backdrop has fed my fascination with history and inspired my wish to invent plots with vivid characters caught up in real life struggles. I am a lifelong fan of crime fiction and unsolved mysteries, and because I live in Dallas, a trip to the Sixth Floor Museum inspired me to dig into the American myth of Camelot. I remember watching its violent, mysterious end play out on TV as a kid. Granted, I had to learn about the glamorous world of Camelot, but I knew rural Texas, and I invented a family trapped in the crosshairs of a coverup operation after the president was slain. My debut storyline was born. The arduous research involved in that project led me to examine the why behind several political assassinations in our country during the 1960s. It is evident our government had a hand in covering up the truth in all cases, but why? And how? Those questions laid the groundwork for my second novel (in progress) about an aspiring reporter on the beat in Memphis in April 1968 when MLK is taken out, and two months later to the day, RFK is slain in Los Angeles. Both assassins, like JFK’s killer, were labeled “lone gunmen” by officials and the press.

Adrienne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a retired career woman and aspiring novelist. Growing up, I wanted to write stories like Harper Lee because of the honest and reflective voice of Scout Finch, which resonated with my own style of expression. Later on, I was advised that making a living as an author was a long-haul commitment, and unless I had friends like Truman Capote, fiction probably wouldn’t pay a return on my investments of education, time, and money. Publishers today don’t pay advances to emerging fiction writers, and I can confirm that getting discovered as an author, and marketing your work, are costly endeavors, besides being the bane of every fiction author I know. We really just want to be isolated, make stuff up, and get paid for it.
As life progressed, I shelved the creative writing career until my kids were launched and the mortgage paid. Having gone through a divorce as a young mother, I moved to the Dallas area and returned to school to study journalism at UNT. I really didn’t want to be a reporter, but creative writing curriculum wasn’t available back then, and I was determined to seriously explore writing for income. Those were the toughest years of my life and I didn’t finish the course. Instead, I accepted a job with a salary adequate to raise my kids and get them through college if I was careful. My writing skills were sharpened on technical publications like PR pieces, client guides, or specs for complicated Wall Street products. Intriguing, I know.
Fast forward to a time I could finally ease off of my corporate career, and I enrolled in creative writing night classes at SMU. I began to participate in writer’s associations and writer conferences every chance I got. For a decade, I tested various storylines and went looking for “my voice.” It wasn’t long before I landed on a plot idea that took place in 1964. Not quite the 50-year benchmark for historical fiction at that moment, but by the time I published the novel, it qualified. I became smitten with the sixties. Historical fiction seemed perfect, but then I added a political element, and then a thriller element, upping the stakes, as they say. Well, the amount of research required to tell the story right blew me away. It is essential that any historical facts I use are credible since my intent is to inform and perhaps enlighten readers to powerful, real mysteries in my fictional setting. So, I’ve spent hundreds of hours deep in the details of Kennedy’s assassination, Camelot, the sixties, Texas, ranching, and Dallas in 1963-64. All the while writing, revising, and eventually workshopping my first manuscript. Meaning another education quest was launched: how to leap from aspiring author to published one. I hired some “names” to professionally edit the MSS, felt fleeced, and eventually hired a woman in NY who was recommended by a contact at St. Martin’s Press. She is golden, and once my manuscript had placed in a few national contests, I began the query process. Pitching to agents and publishers is painful, and I reeled from the rejections because I had a well-reviewed manuscript. Maybe not a brilliant, meteoric best seller, but a saleable story.
I still had so much to learn.
To this day, my author education and sense of belonging in the world of fiction continues to grow. I would say the most significant boost in my growth as a writer has been finding a critique group of other fiction authors. Because of our first initials we are JJJAM. We are focused on helping each other produce their best work; we hold each other accountable; we leave our egos at the door; and we tenderly but honestly suggest changes and improvements to pages submitted. Sensitivity is key, because we are addressing flaws in our “offspring” (of words).

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My timing for launching a debut kind of stank.
In 2010, the publishing world was in a massive state of flux. Traditional publishing houses across the globe merged into five worldwide, and the divisions focused on new talent narrowed their scope to authors with an established audience. Debut fiction authors were deemed too risky and shuttled aside to make room for celebrity memoirs, tell-all political wonks, or fitness/lifestyle gurus. Writers can no longer submit manuscripts directly to publishers; a literary agent is required. Parallel to all that re-tooling of a centuries old industry, a revolution in book formatting was underway: eBooks and audiobooks were introduced; online bookselling competed with brick-and-mortar storefronts, and another industry blossomed: self-publishing became a viable source for those left out in the big squeeze.
Interesting challenges. Rich learning opportunities. Still no income.
Eventually, I created my own publishing imprint, called it Summer Tree Press, and paid for a logo design. I paid for a website that in hindsight I could have done myself. And I learned all about book publishing through the KDP and Author Central programs at Amazon. I was ready to bypass the five publishing houses with my debut and begin the process of getting discovered as a credible, if non-traditional, storyteller (and bookseller). I am pleased with the attention and praise garnered by my first novel, NO ONE CAN KNOW (privately known as NOCK). She has 162 5-star ratings today (out of 438 total reviews) on Amazon/Goodreads, with a solid 4 out of 5-star rating. At launch, I bought a BookBub ad and put NOCK out there as a thriller priced at $0.00—and woke up the next morning to 30,000 downloads; she rose to #1 on Amazon for a day. Sadly, I can’t afford the BookBub ad if I price the book at $0.99!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For two decades I sold capital and mortgage servicing to bankers and mortgage brokers. Before that, I was a public relations rep in a hospital. Everything I ever learned about advertising within that background did not apply to bookselling. And I had no idea how much capital it takes to get your book discovered when a publisher isn’t putting it in bookstores for you or booking you on talk shows and podcasts. It shouldn’t be this hard; novelists spend years producing entertainment product that never gets discovered. Prevailing wisdom is cream rises to the top, and it might be true if we were all in the same vat of milk. I do not regret setting out on this late-in-life career quest at all. It would be nice to recoup hard costs at least, but I have adjusted expectations so that I can simply enjoy the process of crafting a good story. Others may not have that luxury, and I hope this retelling serves as an honest snapshot of what they might experience—or avoid.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://AdrienneLaCava.com
• Instagram: adrienne.lacava
• Facebook: Adrienne LaCava, Author
• Linkedin: adrienne-lacava-8524b1a
• Twitter: @AdrienneLaCava
• Youtube: @AdrienneLaCava