Interview with Andromeda Romano-Lax
It’s been a while since my last author interview—and I have a great one for you today! I’m delighted to welcome author Andromeda Romano-Lax to my site. Not only is she an amazing writer—her most recent novel Annie and the Wolves won all sorts of critical acclaim—she’s currently preparing for an Ironman Triathlon. Read on to learn more!
Kris Waldherr: Crowdfunding! You’ve done two, with the second one currently underway to help you complete an Ironman Triathlon. Can you tell me what drew you to crowdfunding? What advice you would have for authors and other creators considering such?
Andromeda Romano-Lax: A decade ago, an arts organization contacted me and offered matching funds if I would launch a project. I was working on BEHAVE, a historical novel about scandal-making psychologists in the 1920s, and I recognized this as a good opportunity to seek funds for a big research trip to all the archives I needed to visit, in Ohio, Washington DC, Johns Hopkins and Vassar.
The crowdfunding exceeded my expectations. It also yielded unexpected side benefits. Usually, I don’t talk about my novels until they are finished. One of the best non-financial outcomes of the BEHAVE crowdfunding was connections I made with several scholars because they found out about my novel while it was still only partially written. I welcomed their input and they reviewed pre-pub drafts and provided positive review blurbs. It was such a lucky turn of events.
My Ironman fundraiser was trickier. Although I am writing about my triathlon training in a Substack newsletter, this isn’t a literary project. And yet the benefits were similar. I haven’t yet made my full financial goal but I am thrilled with the money that has been raised and by going public, I reaped other rewards, including non-cash donations, connections and advice. Gathering a community to support me has been hugely motivational. My advice to others is to consider the “Why should I support this?” question but also to take the risk even if you’re not sure. You will find that some people close to you have no interest in donating, but distant acquaintances and even strangers will sometimes jump in. It’s a lot like promoting and selling a book. In the end, it’s up to you. You have to put yourself out there.
KW: On a related note, I’m fascinated that you’re training for an Ironman Triathlon. Do you find any correlation between it and novel writing? How does one inspire the other? Or are they completely separate parts of your life?
ARL: They are completely interrelated. Long-distance endurance sports equilibrate my moods and buffer me from the stress of the writing life, by giving me things I can measure and feel good about each week that have nothing to do with art or commerce. They also feed into the metaphors I use in my own head, which feed back into my writing process. For example, to complete my first half-Ironman race, I had to rely on a training program that involved fairly meticulous long-term planning. But once I entered the race, which took eight hours, I had to master the art of thinking only one hundred yards (in the swim), ten miles (on the bike), or five minutes (on the run) at a time. If I looked farther ahead, I’d fall apart. Writing a novel involves that same double focus. At times, you have to think about the big-picture view. But even more often, you have to focus on one sentence at a time. You can’t let yourself be distracted by how much is left to do or all the things you can’t control.
KW: Your most recent novel is Annie and the Wolves, a critically acclaimed literary novel inspired by the life of Annie Oakley. However, you’ve mentioned that you’re currently writing a suspense thriller. Can you tell me about your new novel and why you decided to try a new genre? What are the challenges and pleasures of shifting genre? (I’ve been writing historical romance myself of late and find it hugely liberating!).
ARL: Like many people, I had a hard time reading during the first weeks and months of the pandemic, and the first book that pierced my mental fog was a suspense novel, Angie Kim’s MIRACLE CREEK. Later in the pandemic, I had fun discovering the novels of Lisa Jewell and I started imagining plots that worked in similar ways. I played around with a few story ideas and then landed on a thriller plot inspired by a disturbing experience I had in Central America, in 2019. The resulting manuscript draft was the most fun I’d had writing in years, and it flowed out of me so easily, including the more emotional parts of the story, which involve a mother looking for her missing daughter. I intend to keep crossing genres and listening to that inner voice that says, “This feels good. Writing and publishing shouldn’t be a joyless slog. Take risks and try something new!”
A big thank you to Andromeda for the interview! I know I’m inspired by her example—and hope you are too. To learn more about the books of Andromeda Romano-Lax, visit her author website here. You can also support her Ironman crowdfunder here but hurry—it ends in under two days.
