Sarahlyn Bruck

Sarahlyn Bruck writes contemporary, book club fiction and is the award-winning author of three novels: Light of the Fire (2024), Daytime Drama (2021), and Designer You (2018). When she’s not writing, Bruck moonlights as a full-time writing and literature professor at a local community college. She’s also a co-host of the pop culture podcast, Pretty Much Pop. From Northern California, Bruck now lives in Philadelphia with her family.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I love this question because I do sweat the title. It takes awhile for me to find the right fit. First off, I like a title that hints at a meaning or theme of my book, and I think Light of the Fire does that.

But this was not my original title. The original title was Offside, which is a soccer reference. It does very little to indicate what the book is really about—two estranged high school besties and former soccer teammates, who are forced to face a twenty-year-old accident that was blamed on someone else. It is something they’ve kept secret for all these years and that subsequently destroyed their friendship. Now, when circumstances bring the two together again, they must decide to what extent they’ll go to keep their secret hidden or face the consequences of finally coming clean. It’s a story about the power of friendship, forgiveness, and healing from past mistakes.

My editor at Lake Union suggested we change the title and came up with Light of the Fire, which hints at the women’s rekindled friendship, the fear they each have as they muster the courage to live outside of their comfort zones, as well as the secret they’ve kept hidden all this time. Are they willing to finally face the consequences of their twenty-year mistake?

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenage reader self might not be too surprised—though the focus is truly on the friendship between Beth and Ally who are the two main characters, to a certain extent the book takes place in the soccer world. I played soccer all through high school and think it’s not exactly a shocker that I chose to incorporate this piece of my life into one of my books. It’s definitely a personal slice of my past that made it into this story.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Definitely beginnings. Early in the writing process, I like knowing how the book will end because endings are what I write toward. Sometimes those endings change or shift around a bit. But even if I need to make a pivot at the end, it’s as an organic result of the story leading up to it.

Beginnings are different. A beginning that felt right for me when I started might not work once I get to the editing stage. Or once I send the draft to my beta readers or my editor. So for me, my beginnings can take many, many tries to get right. It’s important that a story start in the right place. I want my readers to be drawn in.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Sure, I think there’s a little bit of me in each of my characters. But, one of the best parts of creative writing for me is immersing myself in characters who are very different from me. I love finding connections with my characters–they end up feeling like real people to me–and I think those connections come from relatability. And that’s kind of the beauty of it, right? We can relate, we can empathize with people who experience the world differently.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I’m inspired by movies and television for sure–I love all forms of storytelling. But I’m also inspired by conversations I overhear at a restaurant or by people I see on the subway. I live in Philadelphia, so just being out and about can influence whatever it is I might be working on at the moment.

Visit Sarahlyn Bruck's website.

My Book, The Movie: Light of the Fire.

--Marshal Zeringue