M. Laurel Walsh lived in Milwaukee for five years while she attended -- and later graduated from -- UW-Milwaukee. Although Walsh now lives in St. Paul, Minn., her first book, a compelling page-turner called "Hope Haven," contains numerous Wisconsin nods, including a Summerfest reference.
"I set Hope Haven on the Mississippi River so that I'd be a close to my beloved Wisconsin," says Walsh.
"Hope Haven" tells the story of Terry Allen, who has the misfortune of discovering a dead body on the anniversary of the hit-and-run accident that killed her family, and as she attempts to unravel the events of the untimely death of a young woman, she finds herself coming back to life.
Walsh is the editor and publisher of Double Dare Press, an online international literature and art forum and magazine. Curently, she teaches at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.
Walsh refers to her first novel as a "beach book," an easy read that's not as easy to put down. OMC recently caught up with Walsh and talked to her about the trials and tribulations of writing a book.
OMC: Was writing a book a life-long dream?
LW: I've been writing since before I could write. My mother loved my explanations for the lives of the little carrot families I drew on cocktail napkins in the bar my father managed. She saved these images and her dictation of my stories. My entire childhood was spent being told that I was a writer. Completing a book doesn't really fulfill a life-long dream so much as it has been on my chore list from grade school
OMC: Is "Hope Haven" based on real events? Are the characters based on real people? How much of yourself is in the book?
LW: The book is entirely fiction. I made these people up but they are rooted in the real humans I know and love. The character Ed is a by-the-rules cop who went to school with the main character. He is very similar to a dear friend of mine from high school. He also serves as a receptacle for a lot of male stereotypes about control. When people who know me well read the book, they always say they can hear my voice, yet I don't think I am very similar to the narrator.
OMC: How long did it take to write? What was your process?
LW: I was fortunate to have a writing group that took deadlines seriously. The first draft of the novel was written when I lived in New Zealand. At the time, the only work I could find was picking strawberries. This is the most physically uncomfortable job you can imagine. Squatting for hours in the hot sun made me very inspired to attempt to complete a work of fiction. It was sort of a "get me out of migrant farm work!" first draft and it had too many characters and at least 10 full plot lines. After I returned to the US, I went to get my masters in fine arts in writing and realized that the book was a mess. I never shopped it. Years passed and I was living in St. Paul, Minn. Again, I didn't have a job. The story had stayed with me for years, loosely, sort of in the back of my mind. I joined this group and the expectation was that we'd produce a couple of chapters each month. So I did. The book was completed in a year. Then it took a year to clean it up.
OMC: Do you plan to write another book?
LW: I'm teaching and I'm in school to get my doctorate in Educational Leadership so the only thing I am working on at the moment is structured inquiry and grading student essays.
OMC: How did you decide on AuthorHouse (self publication)?
LW: I was under contract with a traditional publisher for eight months and then they rejected me. I felt like I had wasted eight months of my life. The rejection letter was vicious. If I was a less hearty person, I would have stopped sending "Hope Haven" out. Luckily, I have a generous and supportive brother who was willing to pay to have the book published. Got to love the angel investor.
OMC: Where can someone buy this book?
LW: It is available on my Web site, www.mlaurelwalsh.com and online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Authorhouse. You can also call a local bookstore and they'll get you a copy.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
