Interview with Mary Jane Ryals by Angie Ledbetter
Mary Jane Ryals is an award-winning poet, non-fiction, and short story writer. She is an editor at Apalachee Review and a research associate at Florida State University’s college of business. She is also the 2008-2010 Big Bend Poet Laureate. Her latest novel, Cookie & Me, is a coming-of-age story set in Tallahassee, Florida, in the turbulent 1960s.
R&T: How long have you been in the "literary" biz?
Ryals: On and off, mostly on, for about 20 years, I've been a reader and editor at Apalachee Quarterly and then Apalachee Review (name change). First as a poetry reader. Now I'm the fiction editor.
R&T: How/what do you look for in accepted pieces for your publication?
Ryals: One of New York's best literary agents just emailed to say that he wanted contact information for six of the writers in Apalachee Review's latest issue. He said he'd never found that many at one go in his time trolling for stories.
So what I say here may sound cruel, but it's the way I troll for stories: The first paragraph. If the first paragraph grabs me, I keep reading. If not, I let it go. It could be a first line that surprises me.
Here's a for instance, “Lives of the Saints,” by Katie Cotugno:
“Laura brings her cell phone on the junior retreat, which makes sense, since the first rule on the handout we got last week was NO CELL PHONES WILL BE PERMITTED ON THE JUNIOR RETREAT.”
Not a word is wasted here. I find out, Uh oh, already trouble—so I want to keep reading. What's going to happen to Laura? Already, I have a lot of info, like that this narrator is young, a junior retreat probably means a high school retreat, and the kids are probably tech savvy. I also get a sense of rhythm, youthful rhythm and language and immediacy. And since the title seems to suggest a Catholic school or something connected to religion, it's probably even more risky to be breaking school rules. I'm in.
This doesn't mean Apalachee Review “wants” Catholic high school stories. It means we want strong voices and openings that jump into the middle of trouble pretty quickly. When we get “When I was a child, life was pretty easy....” I start scanning down the page for the real story. Often, usually, it doesn't start until page 3, or even 7 or even 11, and too often, there's no story. What happens? And then what? And then what? And language. Tight, strong language. Action.
R&T: How do you keep it all in balance without going nuts?
Ryals: I AM nuts. I do too much. I forget everything, including times and dates for when I'm going to have lunch with my girlfriends, who are my sustenance. [My new novel just came out in] September, too, so I write fiction, too. And now I'm going to do an anthology of paragraphs for the Gulf Spill. So I'm completely overwhelmed and nutty.
I teach business students in the Spring, who tend to have way more practical sense than I do. Sometimes they like the nuttiness, and sometimes they just stare at me like, HUH? Whatever.
It's me. My mom said when I was young, she could put me in a room and leave me there, come back later, and I'd have something going on. My own little world of play. She said I was ALWAYS busy. She didn't have to worry about me, because I had stuff going on in the room. I could probably remember dates back then, though.
R&T: Any tips for the writers out there?
Ryals: This isn't what anybody wants to hear, but it's true. Just write. If you're a writer, write. Or take time off from writing and don't feel guilty, just keep thinking and observing. Don't worry so much about getting published or having your first novel when you're 25 or whatever. Write. It's a soulful process. And get yourself a workshop. Have honest and empathic readers comment on your work.
R&T: Recent wonderful reads?
Ryals: I just finished Mockingbird, a biography by Charles J. Shields about Nelle Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Great book that leaves author Nelle alone, which is what she wants.
I'm in the middle of Mark Mustian's The Gendarme, told urgently from the point of view of a WW I vet who's at the end of his life. He escorted Armenians from Turkey during the war and now wants to find the woman he fell in love with, who was one of his captives. He wants to ask her forgiveness for what happened during that march.
Before that, I read a crime novel, Flesh Market Close, by Scottish writer Ian Rankin, set in Edinburgh.
R&T: What do you love in poetry?
Ryals: I also just read Mad with Yellow by Lisa J. Starr, the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island. Her poems about losing her parents just kill me (pun intended). I have my parents, but I know deep down she's right about how this must feel.
R&T: What are your feelings about signings and speaking at conferences?
Ryals: Yes, I like to read and sign books. I'm pretty introverted, and intimidated by big audiences, but it's good to stretch yourself. I toured with my short story collection ten years ago and figured out what audiences like and don't like to hear. That way, I figured out what people like to read, too. I do think it helps your writing if you can think of readings that way. Same with poetry. I like to read a poem with another person or a group of people. Keeps it lively.
R&T: Some "do nots" in writing?
Ryals: Shiny writing means using strong verbs, just for starters. Try to ditch the adverbs, as they preach at you. Love those good nouns. Write like you're singing, then go back and edit yourself. People who will go back and edit and edit and edit themselves make the most successful writers usually.
R&T: What do you think about the retold fairytales and such that are popular of late?
Ryals: Well, my husband was giving me some of those stories. I don't want to indict anybody. His stories reminded me that I'm fascinated by how writers who are creative writing faculty at universities can sometimes get ruined by egotism and insularity. But then so can any kind of celebrity. Stay rooted to the earth, writers.
Best of luck with your new book, Mary Jane! Thanks for taking time away from your crazy life and schedule to do this interview.
You can find Mary Jane's Cookie & Me here on Amazon.
Angie Ledbetter is Co-Editor/Publisher of Rose & Thorn Journal. Visit her in the blogosphere or Twitterville.
"Write like you're singing"! I love it.
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