At what point does a writer become a writer? Each writer I have interviewed has given a different answer, and all are true. Just as every author’s journey is different, so is the earning of their title. Author Marie A. Wishert is one author who takes the title of “writer” seriously. As a result, she has put her first novel, Ignite, out into the world and can now call herself a writer.
About the author and book
Author name/pen name: Marie A. Wishert
Author links
Book Title: Ignite
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Links to buy:
Ignite book summary
What good is a finish line if you never stop to experience the route along the way?
That’s the question plaguing Ruby Carlson, an impulsive young woman chronicling the story surrounding a premature existential crisis.
When an unexpected pregnancy results in her transitioning to the role of mother and provider before ever finding out who she truly was, Ruby stifles her desires to seek out other ways of life to play her role as a Midwestern family woman.
However, after years of projecting a facade, Ruby is confronted by a dire longing for the passion and dreams she shed to fortify her family’s way of life. When her seething discontent refuses containment, how will she cope living a conflicted life?
Book excerpt
The next morning was our anniversary proper. We slept in, savoring time in a warm bed with a warm body, minus the added pressures of life—a lusciously lazy start. Around 8:30 a.m. we took to the trails, following the Potomac path toward the National Mall. Lincoln Memorial was our first stop, and there we paused to take in the site. Together we climbed the steps and pondered the presence of Lincoln in his dome before Logan guided me around to the back.
The early morning rays played in the flowing waters and magnificent beams arched across space, illuminating the Arlington Memorial Bridge and crafting a breathtaking scene overlooking the Potomac.
I was distractedly taking photos when he tugged gently on my arm to turn my attention his way. On the third tier of the marble striations, tucked amid two ornate pillars, rested my husband on bended knee. His face was lit up by the dancing beams, and his crystal blue eyes were as vast as the unfaltering sea. In an outstretched hand, he extended a delicate pavé diamond ring and, in an unfaltering voice, he delivered an emotional proposal.
“These eleven years have been the best years of my life. I love you with everything I am. You are my partner, my best friend, my lover, and my wife. I am so blessed to have had this time with you. I am so excited for the next eleven years, and the other ones after that. We have built a brilliant life together, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds. So Ruby, will you promise to stay married to me for the next eleven years? And all of the years that follow after that?
Talking Shop
What do you want readers to take away from your books?
To fail is human and to forgive is divine. There are adults with the emotional intelligence of children wandering around everywhere. So few have done the hard work to evolve into their best self, but that does not mean a person is any less of a person; or any less worthy of love. Life is not a straight line, and success is within our ability to take the lessons life feeds us and improve.
What’s the best review/compliment that you’ve received about your book?
My first reader connected with the material at a time when he was struggling with severe depression related to an eerily similar situation. He said finding my book right then saved his life. There is no greater thrill than knowing a reader transcended an emotional crisis while processing my work.
What is a fun or strange source of inspiration that ended up in your book?
I’m from Fargo, ND, and for the longest time, I avoided playing the midwestern card assuming it was beyond cliche. But then, at the last second, I realized it was a mistake.
In a frenzied rush, I added a couple of references to my proof before setting it in stone. Admittedly, I did this still having not seen the movie Fargo. (Major mistake! Now I know I also should have said that NONE of it takes place in Fargo, but that will have to get inserted in later versions.)
Anyway, I recently sat down to watch the movie Fargo and was floored. I loved it. Francis McDermott crushes her role as a midwestern wife. And that final scene, where she says to her husband: “Ya know, we aren’t doing so bad,” –it killed me!
My love for Midwestern culture exploded after that knockout line. In one sentence, she distilled everything. Mind-blown. In hindsight, I should have done more with my Fargo-card.
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
In 2015, I started writing what is now book two in the Terrible Love Memoirs. In seven months, I wrote that story along with a backstory, which became book one in my first round of editing. Book one (which is now Ignite), and the second book were self-published under a pseudonym in 2016, with the intent to publish a third to wrap up the experience in a tidy little riveting package. But then, after my first book showed signs of promise, I took everything down and began working with an agent who wanted the story all as one book. She and I spent 8 months editing and compiling a densely packed novel with the working title Terrible Love, under a new pseudonym.
Back then I was very naive. I knew nothing of the writing world, so I placed all my trust in her, even though something was jabbing at my gut, insisting things weren’t right. She and I had very different visions for the work, and ultimately, I had to end our relationship because the more I worked to give her the product she envisioned the more I despised the book. When that happened, I sensed a dire need to get it out into the world, so I re-wrote it quickly and self-published Terrible Love in May of 2017. The overarching goal was to put the whole thing behind me. In truth, the story as one book was a heft of a project; entirely too grand. It flattened me. Yet, as much as I wanted to walk away and forget it, it was not willing to leave me.
Publishing
As part of publishing, I submitted for contests as well, and six months later, I got a round of feedback that basically said the book had tremendous potential but was too dense and needed another round of editing. It was a truth-packed blow to the head. I knew I had to unpublished it and try again, but at that time, I was not mentally prepared. I unpublished everything and set it aside, hopeful someday I’d pick it back up reinvigorated with fresh eyes.
Then finally, in 2020 (two and a half years later), as part of my new year’s resolution goals, I set out to fix what I broke. Thanks to quarantine and the enlisting of a brilliant writing coach, in three months I finished Ignite and submitted it everywhere. In four months, it was picked up by Atmosphere Press, and it is now due out on March 1st, 2021. So, like, 6 years. Which, in reality, ain’t half bad.
How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
I couldn’t own my “writer’s” title for a very long time. Within the last year, after everything I’ve been through with Ignite, I finally started throwing it around more seriously. I’m sure some of that unwillingness to own it comes from the fact I am not a formally trained writer. This is something I always wanted to do, and have honed through writers groups, writing coaches, and trial and error.
If you don’t make a living exclusively writing, what is your day job? How, in any way, does it relate to your life as a writer?
I’m a dentist by training and have worked in the field for 13 years now. Writing and dentistry could not be more polar opposites in my opinion, which likely contributed to my inability to own my “author” title all those years.
“What If” Scenarios
If your book ever becomes a movie and you get final say over the cast, which actors would you hire to play your characters?
Ohhh, wouldn’t that be fun!! So,
Ruby: Anna Kendrick
Logan: Seth Rogan
Olivia: Lauren Lapkus
Nick: Anthony Star
If you could be in a writer’s group with up to four famous writers, who would they be?
Cheryl Strayed – her insight and wisdom would be priceless. Plus, just, her –omg– love love! Hunter S. Thompson – ’cause that dude would throw out some crazy ass shit, and it would take everything to a level none of us dreamed possible.
Douglas Adams – writing that drips with sarcasm speaks volumes to me, and his ability to slip it in seamlessly is unparalleled.
Virginia Woolf – because she wouldn’t let any of us make a grammatical faux pas, and because she was a pioneer and on old soul and she would both ground and unleash the crazy in us all.
A wealthy reader buys 100 copies of your book and tells you to hand them out to anyone you wish. Who do you give them to?
Any woman I see who’s been married for a while and has that “look” we all get when we’ve settled in too deeply to our role.
Your favorite character that you’ve written comes to life for one day. What do you do together for 24 hours?
Olivia – if she were to come to life, I’d go to Georgetown with her, run for four hours, eat brunch at Sea Crunch overlooking the canal, rent the rideshare bikes, smoke cigars, shop for dresses, sing karaoke, and dance the night away.
Your story gets picked up by a streaming service to make into a series. What service would you want it to be, and would you want them to follow your story closely, or would you rather see what directions they take it in?
Question one is easy – Netflix is crushing it right now, so I’d be all for them taking this story and running with it. Your second question is hard!!! Instinctually, I’d say I’d want a role in the writing so I could be a part of the process. In that scenario, I’d follow the story for sure. However, if it were taken entirely out of my creative control, I’d have to watch sparingly. That would be hard to see I should think; my characters on journey’s I didn’t envision. Maybe years later, when the material wasn’t fresh in my soul.
Just for Fun
Your trademark feature?
I’m a DIY‘er – when it comes to everything. I make my own art, designs, fashion, website . . . you name it, if I can have creative control, I’m taking it. As much as I can, I stay true to myself. As such, my stuff has its own trademark.
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
Love and acceptance. I want people to see my body of work and see a woman who did everything she could to inspire people to love harder, forgive daily, and work always to be the best version of themselves.
One bucket list item you’ve completed and one that’s still on your list.
Write a book! That’s something I used to say like my son saying he wanted to grow up to be an elephant. It seemed entirely fanciful. Now, I do believe we can do anything we set out to do. Still on my list: complete an ironman swim without having a panic attack and resorting to backstroke.
A movie or a piece of music that changed your life.
“Terrible Love” by the National. I mean – this series was inspired by that song after all! I chased Matt Berninger down over frozen cobblestones in Aspen (in heels!) just to thank him for writing it.
Favorite place you’ve visited/place you want to visit.
Washington, D.C.
A book that you recommend everyone reads.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Celebrity you’d want to be friends with.
Taylor Swift. Every album she puts out is an echo of my life. I adore her. She captures the female experience unabashedly.
Your most unrealistic dream job.
Writer
Buy it!
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Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this book!