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judi
hendricks
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Judi Hendricks' debut novel Bread Alone, is a stylishly written study of love, marriage and baking bread. Here, she talks about her writing routine and the difficulty in finding an agent.
What
inspires you to write?
Interesting places, like Seattle, where I worked in a bakery, or the big,
wild beauty of the American Southwest. They always get me thinking of
the stories that could unfold in certain kinds of weather, terrain…Every
place has its own personality, and to me, the setting is almost a separate
character…and then there’s all those research trips…
How
long does it take you to write a novel?
Bread Alone took four years, but then I wasn’t in any rush. My second
book, Isabel’s Daughter, was already under contract and I had a
deadline, so it took 18 months. I think my ideal would be about two years.
Since I never know what’s going to happen in a story till I write
it, I’m never happy with the first version. I like to have a bit
of extra time to explore the possibilities.
Do
you have a writing routine? If so, what is it?
I’m a night person, but the rest of the world seems to keep starting
earlier and earlier. So I have two routines. When I’m living at
home with my husband, I get up early, have a double espresso, an hour
of exercise, do all the normal boring things like grocery shopping and
then, after lunch I sit down and get serious. When I was living in Santa
Fe by myself and working on Isabel’s Daughter, I reverted to my
natural routine, which is to work until 2 or 3 a.m., sleep till 10 or
11 a.m. and then do all the same things, just five or six hours later.
Is
it harder to start or finish a novel?
Neither. What’s hard is all that junk in the middle.
How
did you go about finding an agent and do you think it's necessary to have
an agent?
I had this meticulously devised, highly organized agent search, which
netted me 24 rejections in 8 months. Then I met the very gifted writer
and teacher, Jo-Ann Mapson, who liked Bread Alone, sent it to her agent,
and two weeks later I had an agent. I think in the U.S., if you want a
major publisher to look at your work, then you either have to be sleeping
with a major publisher, or you have to have an agent.
How
do you cure writer's block?
Fortunately, I’ve never had the B word. My writing problems tend
more toward how to say something than not knowing what I want to say.
When I’m experiencing technical difficulties I either go for a long
walk, bake bread, or read a book about something totally unrelated.
What
is your all-time desert island book?
Hands down, no contest--The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
What's
the biggest myth about being a writer?
That all you do is write and collect royalties. Oh, how I wish. Before
you get published no one ever tells you about proof-reading galleys till
you’re cross-eyed and you hate your book. Or book signings where
nobody shows up but your husband and the bookstore employees. Or interviews
where the person has never read your book and asks ridiculous questions.
What
advice would you give budding authors?
1. Write every day, and don’t let anything interfere. 2. Try to
find a writing partner whose work you like and whose judgment you trust.
Honest feedback and genuine encouragement are worth their weight in rubies.
3. Never give up.
What
can readers expect from you in the future?
My second book, Isabel’s Daughter, will be published by Orion in
June. It takes place in New Mexico and is the story of a young woman searching
for her mother and finding herself. I’m currently working on the
sequel to Bread Alone.
