An author with close ties to Grand Marais is coming out with her first book for young adults.
Carlie Sorosiak has written If Birds Fly Back, which will be published by Harper Collins and hit the bookstores on June 27. Birds will be translated into at least seven languages.
The great-granddaughter of Ed and Ruby Lind, when Sorosiak is back home in North Carolina, she works at a writing desk crafted by Paul McFarland, of Kimball Woodworks, a gift from her grandmother Pat Zankman.
Sorosiak told the Cook County News-Herald a little bit about herself, including how the local area has influenced her writing. Side note, she likes polydactyl cats.
“My grandmother, Pat Zankman, lives in Grand Marais and is still really active in your historical society. I love visiting Grand Marais—especially your adorable independent bookstore, Drury Lane. Grand Marais is also the partial inspiration for my second novel, out by Harper Collins in 2018.”
The great-granddaughter of Ed and Ruby Lind, and granddaughter of Pat Zankman, Carlie Sorosiak is currently living and writing in England. She has three books coming out; her first is If Birds Fly Back.
Some history:
Carlie grew up in North Carolina and holds two master’s degrees: one in English from the University of Oxford and another in creative writing and publishing from City, University of London. Her life goals include traveling to all seven continents and fostering many polydactyl cats. She currently splits her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, hoping to gain an accent like Madonna’s. If Birds Fly Back is a sparkling debut about love, family, and the mysteries of the universe, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Nicola Yoon.
What is your intended audience? Do you write for juveniles? Adults?
My intended audience is young adults—mostly girls over the age of 13. I think there’s a common misconception that YA authors have to “write down” for teens, but nothing could be further from the truth. If Birds Fly Back tackles everything from astrophysics to the complexities of grief. It also takes placing in a nursing home, partially inspired by the senior center in Grand Marais, and one of the three main characters is an 82-year-old cult novelist.
How long have you been writing?
I wrote my first full-length novel between the ages of 9 and 13. It featured people frantically riding around on horses for no particular reason, and I’m shocked that no one wanted to publish it! I didn’t seriously start writing again until after my first master’s program at the University of Oxford, where I read young adult literature at night as an escape from academia. I was accepted to several
Ph.D. programs in English and American Studies, but I decided to pursue an MA in creative writing and publishing instead. That’s when I wrote If Birds Fly Back. For some reason, I had it in my mind that I wanted a book deal by age 25 — and I just managed to make my “deadline.”
Q- Who are your inspirations?
In terms of writers, I love the work of Jandy Nelson, Kathryn Stockett, and David Nicholls. I am a huge Donna Tartt fan as well; when I found out that we share a literary agency in London, I just about jumped for joy. It was one of my “Hey, I’ve kind of made it” moments.
In my personal life, my mother is my number one source of inspiration. Writing is about empathy and understanding others — in essence, about caring — and no one is more caring than my mom, Jen Sorosiak. My grandmother—Pat Zankman of Grand Marais—is also a source of inspiration. Her love of books is infectious.
Do you make a living as a writer? If not, what do you do for full-time employment?
Currently, I’m lucky enough to make a living as a writer. Maybe that won’t always be the case, but right now, I’m enjoying living with my characters full time. In the past, I’ve taught storytelling at a Malaysian university, worked at two independent bookstores, and edited children’s books at T. S. Eliot’s publisher in London.
Tell a little bit about where you grew up, your hobbies, likes, and dislikes.
My family moved a lot when I was a kid, but I mostly grew up in North Carolina —the setting for my work-in-progress third novel. It’s a state with a rich, complicated history, and I’m looking forward to exploring that further. As far as hobbies, I live in Greenwich, England now, and one of my favorite activities is walking in Greenwich Park, climbing the hill up to the Prime Meridian and seeing all of London stretched out before me. I spend most of my down time reading (you probably could’ve guessed that!), but every so often I indulge in a TV show like Poldark. I really love its Cornwall setting, although in real life it’s entirely too windy!
How many words do you write per day? Do you have a schedule that you follow?
If I sit down and am very serious about writing, I try to do one thousand words a day. Sometimes I reach this, other times I don’t. Really, I should have a schedule that I follow, as I have deadlines from both of my editors (at Macmillan in the UK, and at HarperTeen in the U.S.), but I’ve found that strict schedules only ratchet up my anxiety. My goals are just to move steadily onwards and to finish each novel within a year, no matter how I get there.
Last, did you know that there is a polydactyl cat at the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West, Fla., that has 26 toes? I have three cats. All unique, but none polydactyl.
Yes! I did know about Hemingway cats and their many toes! I’ve never been to his house in Key West, but it’s definitely on my to-do list. Duncan, my male polydactyl cat, has seven toes on his left paw. It’s incredible! Bella has six on both of her front paws. They are the best writing buddies, even when they step on my keyboard.
A brief review of If Birds Fly Back: “Linny has kept a journal of famous disappearances ever since her sister Grace ran away in the middle of the night. Sebastian is an aspiring astrophysicist with a working theory for everything — but the one thing he can’t figure out is the identity of his birth father.
“They haven’t met—yet—but Linny and Sebastian have one thing in common: an obsession with famous novelist and filmmaker Alvaro Herrera, who went missing three years ago and has just reappeared. As their lives converge around the mystery of Alvaro, they begin to uncover the answers they’ve been looking for.”
Visit her online at www.carliesorosiak.com and on Twitter @carliesorosiak.
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