Writer-in-Residence spotlight: Meet Andromeda Romano-Lax

Coverstory is Paper Covers Rock's ongoing interview series exploring the people, books, ideas, and art that inspire us.

Andromeda Romano-Lax is the author of seven novels ranging from historical and literary fiction to suspense. Her fiction has been published in 11 languages and optioned for TV/film. She is also a book coach and developmental editor.

This October, she will travel from Gabriola Island to spend a week on Salt Spring Island as Paper Covers Rock's first Writer-in-Residence. How exciting!

Are you a morning writer, night writer, or “whenever I can steal 20 minutes” writer?
I do believe that a more fixed writing routine could improve flow, but the truth is, I write anywhere and for any period of time: 25 minutes on the ferry or five hours at home, day or night. The upside of not being regular is that you grab whatever chances come your way. When in doubt about whether a quick session is worth it, I think of Andre Dubus III, who wrote House of Sand and Fog in 17-minute sessions in his car, parked in a lot halfway home.

What’s something you’re still figuring out as a writer?
How to sum up high-concept novels in one compelling sentence.

What are you reading right now — or what’s waiting on your bedside table?
Funnier by improv teacher and comedy academician Anne Libera. I’m not a humour writer but this is such a smart, analytical, surprising book; it inspires you to think even more precisely about genres and human emotional responses to story.

Is there a place you return to when you need to think?
A ledge of rock on my favourite Gabriola beach.

Who’s another writer you look up to?
Any writer who has made a career publishing in multiple genres and refusing to get pigeonholed: Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Percival Everett, Barbara Kingsolver, to name a few.

What’s a completely unproductive habit that secretly feeds your creativity?
Listening to podcasts, whether they’re about behaviour, society, or technology. On the positive side, they often spark ideas. On the negative side, they compete with fertile mind-wandering time, so I try to make sure I spend equal amounts of time with nothing playing in my ears while I’m washing dishes or exercising, for example.

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever been given?
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew.” Almost thirty years ago, a male writing prof said that to me while trying to dissuade me from taking an ambitious approach to my first creative nonfiction book. I’m so glad I ignored him. (The book was published and did well.)

What keeps you going when the work feels pointless?
Researching a new subject focuses me back on the process side of things and learning about the world, rather than obsessing over a final work product and how it will be marketed. For example, right now I’m learning about IRA terrorism in the year 1974 in order to set a novel in that era, and while the topic is grim, it also feels very relevant to today and gives me reasons for optimism about present-day conflicts.

One word you’re trying to use less in your writing?
Suddenly.

Give us one good clickable link.
Remnant, a newish weekly newsletter about interesting, distressed homes for sale internationally and a “place on the internet where a curious person can begin to constructively imagine a new life.” (A travel and ideas site, not a real estate site.)

You can find more of Andromeda’s work and her thoughts on the writing life at her Substack, From My Island to Yours.

We’ll be announcing details about her writing workshop on Salt Spring Island in October as soon as we can.

Until the next one,
Terri