Rae Meadows is the author of Calling Out, which received the 2006 Utah Book Award for fiction, No One Tells Everything, a Poets & Writers Notable Novel, and the widely praised novel, Mercy Train (released in hardback as Mothers and Daughters).Meadows's new novel is I Will Send Rain.
From her Q&A with J. Aaron Sanders:
What is your best failure story?Learn more about the book and author at Rae Meadows's website.
I began a novel my second MFA year, moved to NYC, finished the book, and sent it out to a few agents with odd confidence that someone would want it. I had arrived! One politely passed, another never responded, and the third sent me a scathing letter: “I wanted to take a shower after reading this book. I hated all the characters.” It was quite stunning. I put the manuscript in a drawer, embarrassed, defeated. It took me a long while to face writing again.
I have the letter somewhere—I can’t even remember who the person was. Why the book made her so angry, I’ll never know. But with the long view I’m glad she knocked me down. Writing makes one a better writer—we all know that—even if...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Mothers and Daughters.
The Page 69 Test: I Will Send Rain.
--Marshal Zeringue