86. Melissa Walker
How an author found power in direct political action
Aaaand we’re back!
With deadlines cleared and after a little recovery time, we’re back with the first full interview episode of 2023. I haven’t fully accepted that it is already March. The clocks change this coming weekend and I refuse to believe it!
In late 2016, Melissa Walker was working on her 10th novel when she went to a holiday party and heard then-Senator Daniel Squadron talk about the importance of state-level politics—even for the national landscape. She was inspired to take action. That action eventually grew into a pivot from full-time writing to full-time work with The States Project.
This conversation is everything I wanted from the Pivots, Comebacks, and Reinventions series. It’s a great example of how passion and purpose can realign for a season or a reason, while the writing is still always there. It got surprisingly emotional for both of us; I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
(It also got explicitly political in places, which may or may not be your jam!)
Find it wherever you get podcasts or listen directly right here.
Other News:
📚 My next novel, a followup to A Song Called Home, is in copyediting, which means it’s really done and really will come out. I never let myself feel certain about it until this point!
🌟 A Song Called Home was named one of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center's best books of the year. Thank you, CCBC!
🎧 I recently joined Mary Kole on The Good Story Podcast for a great conversation about writing, publishing, and navigating the marketplace. Listen here - or find it wherever you get podcasts.
✍️ I’m working on the promised TCL newsletter about how I’m deciding what to do next in this magical post-deadline time.
This Creative Life is a book, a newsletter, and a podcast from me, Sara Zarr, about reading between the lines of a writing life. The newsletter and podcast are free; buying the book (and leaving a great review!) helps support them and me. Sharing the newsletter is a big help, too!
