Inchoate: Lois Vander Wende- Williams

Inchoate: Lois Vander Wende- Williams

This week’s blog post is an interview with author Lois Vander Wende- Williams who has recently released her new book Inchoate, which is published under our Vanguard imprint.

We got the chance to ask Lois about her new book, her first with Pegasus Publishers, and what life is like as an author.

1. What are three interesting factors about yourself?

What is interesting about myself is how all my previous employment has been so different than what I do now for a living. To go from training show and racehorses to veterinarian technician and animal grooming, then Episcopal priest and chaplain, professor and author is quite a journey.

Another interesting factor is that I am actually an introvert and don’t mind keeping my own company, and yet when in the public or with someone, I get so connected to their stories [and] I really enjoy our time together. It is a complicated way of being.

Lastly, I would say I love sacred spaces, which include my home. I love visiting and touring spiritual places and spending time in Nature’s blessings.

2. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

As a child, I wanted to grow up and run away to work with horses, which I did at the age of 18. My love for horses never waned, and my first book, “Allyson’s Beau” is semi-based on my early adulthood in the equine world.

3. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Since I was a child, I [have] loved reading. Reading took me to faraway places and to imagined realms. As I became an adult and especially now as I participate in sharing so many stories as a chaplain and pastor, I love to share those stories in a way that makes people think.

Lois Vander Wende- Williams, author of Inchoate.

4. Can you tell me about the book?

To be honest, this book was inspired by a piece of music that I loved, one of the songs describes a drive-by shooting, or at least it could lead one to believe that. During the time, I was a dog groomer and a bit older and more settled than my co-workers, in a salon, girl tell[s] all atmosphere, where I began to weave a narrative of young adult experiences.

I then took these experiences and heightened them to give a pulp fiction feel. Jess, in their way, is a very complicated individual who doesn’t even know who they are. Rick and Emma Lee are co-dependent disasters for each other, and once you throw true love and manipulative lust into the picture, with a dose of Ecstasy, it gets exciting.

However, should the reader want to ponder on the personalities and the questions that arise for Jess, you begin to see disenfranchised grief, actually this is true for all the characters, which leads each [one] of them to choose different ways of dealing with their emotions. There is a possibility this story could continue, as questions about life and its meaning never end.

5. How long did it take you to write your first book?

My first book, “Allyson’s Beau”, took about two years to write, was self-published and basically was a coping mechanism for me as I began pastoral work. However, after that work was finished, I began to write “Inchoate”, and this is back in 2008. Interestingly enough, I originally wrote Jess with no gender, using no pronouns. My first thought was I wanted everyone to be able to put themselves in Jess’ position and ask those life-meaning questions. Then after some time, I put it down. As a way of doing self-therapy during the Covid pandemic shutdown, I picked up the work again, and this time the world had pronouns! I knew the timing was going to be right.

6. What do you think makes a good story?

For me, a good story keeps you turning pages, it makes me care what happens next. I have read a lot of amazing novels, and some of them develop over the long haul, which is fine, however, I like to dive right into the excitement, which, although entertaining it also needs to be relevant to the bigger picture and story.

7. What inspired you to write your book?

I have been a hospice chaplain for years, and I have noticed there are populations that never get the recognition of being present, never mind the confirmation that their emotions matter. Clinically, Jess is experiencing disenfranchised grief, gender dysphoria, and basic loneliness. For many young adults, the major part of society, including family and friends, see those who are different as background, not included, not as an individual, which leaves the person experiencing the loss lonely and questioning everything. I wanted to give this opportunity to experience the excitement of pulp fiction – drugs, action, etc. basically a fun read, but also introduce those difficult questions a lot of young adults struggle with.

Lois Vander Wende- Williams’ book Inchoate.

8. What did you learn when writing the book?

Interestingly enough, I learned that the same printed words could be interpreted [in] many ways. When asked to proofread the material several times, I found even my own voice reading the words I had written taking on a bit of a different character each time. One time Jess’ voice sounded angry and tough. On another read, Jess was just lost, each time the same words but different inner voices.

9. What surprised you the most?

What surprised me most about writing this work was that each time I read and reread it, the work had [a] deeper meaning. What started out as just an adventure into making a soundtrack into an interesting story from gossip I had heard, a work that can be read as fun, as a look into grief, and although I am not an expert on LGBTQ+, it brings forward the universal struggle to have meaning we all have no matter what pronouns you chose to use.

10. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

It may sound strange, but the advice I would give to aspiring authors is to listen to others’ stories for inspiration, sometime[s] truth is better than fiction, and truth with a twist is a good read. “Inchoate” contains characters that are protype, but their emotional journeys have [a] grounding in real people’s experiences. But most of all, get lost in your work, live your story in your head and enjoy yourself.

Inchoate

Lois Vander Wende- Williams

£8.99

ISBN: 9781800165120

Order today: https://pegasuspublishers.com/books/all/inchoate