An Interview with Cathy Schieffelin

Cathy Schieffelin is an avid reader and writer. A love of nature and years of adventure and travel contribute to her daily writing life. She is a regular attendee of local writing workshops and participates in writing competitions. Her work has been published in the Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin, Adanna Literary Journal, Halfway Down the Stairs and Microfiction Monday Magazine. The Call, published by Atmosphere Press in December 2024, is her first novel. Wildflowerspress.com is her website and blog that explores the writing craft and other elements for a creative life. She splits her time between New Orleans and Folsom, Louisiana with her husband, three children, pack of hairy mongrels, Danish warmblood (Imax), aquatic turtle (Atlas Jack) and fiesty rabbit (Leo).

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title came to me soon as I wrote the first lines of this book. Or at least, that’s my memory. I pictured a guy waking on a rooftop in a remote island country (the same country where I’d been a Peace Corps volunteer) and hearing the Call to Prayer echoing around him. Once I had that image, I wanted to incorporate “the call” into other aspects of the story. It’s a simple title—maybe a little mundane—but it fit with what I was going for.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

I jumped up and down, doing a happy dance around my living room. My dogs thought I’d lost my mind. I was thrilled to hold it and to start reading it, like it was something I’d picked up at the bookstore. A great feeling…

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I began writing in earnest five years ago. I’d been through a breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery and used writing as a way to process the uncertainty of things. I found my first writer’s workshop at that time and started attending. My first pieces were non-fiction and then I took the plunge to try and write something made-up. My first samples of fictional writing were critiqued honestly and I was given some great advice—”Write what you know.” That’s when my Peace Corps days popped into my head and Nate and Juliette began to come to life.

I love reading now. At one time, as an adolescent, I found reading to be a terrible struggle. I’m sure I had dyslexia of some sort and ADHD—all the things my own children struggle with. But in college I had a terrific professor who helped me find a love of reading. Some of my favorite authors are Peter Heller, Cormac McCarthy, Barbara Kingsolver, Pam Houston, Claire, Keegan, Jesmyn Ward and Colleen Hoover. Yes—it’s quite a hodgepodge of writers—but I find inspiration in so many different genres and writing styles. I’d say Pam Houston of Cowboys Are My Weakness was one of my early influences. She has a beautiful voice for writing stories based in the outdoors. Her characters are vivid, flawed and real. I’m drawn to those kinds of stories.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I have a Master’s in Public Health. I used to work as an Evaluation Specialist for a program working families living with HIV/AIDS. I also started my own wildlife education business, Wild Times Education Programs ten years ago, after seeing polar bears in the wild, in Churchill, Manitoba. I’m a nature buff and occasional birder. Ironically my first job out of college was working in eastern Kentucky for the Frontier Nursing Service as a literacy tutor and the Asst. Editor of the organization’s quarterly bulletin. I interviewed midwives, coalminers, quilters and got to meet health professionals from around the world who were interested in the model of healthcare being employed in the isolated Appalachian Mountains. And I was a healthcare Peace Corps volunteer in the Comoros Islands, where I met my husband – and where my novel begins.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

Just doing it. There are so many parts to writing and editing and publishing and marketing a book. I wanted to learn the business and Atmosphere Press helped me do that. I loved my Developmental Editor. She taught me so much about how to create a compelling narrative, how to keep the narrative structure consistent, how to dig deeply into my character’s psyches to make them interesting and real—and relatable. She was an excellent teacher. Never once did she tell me I needed to get rid of something. She asked questions, helping me to decide what was essential for the telling of my story.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Funny you ask…at the end of the novel is a playlist of songs I listened to while writing. The first is the Call to Prayer – The Adhan. Anything by Habib Koite and Baaba Mall sets the mood for me. “Si Tu Vieux” by Baaba Mail and Mumford and Sons is probably my all time favorite piece I listened to—it’s sultry and is the music in my head when Juliette brings Nate back to her newly decorated apartment in Chapter 36. “Kothbiro” by Arub Ogada was another gorgeous song I listened to while writing some of the atmospheric descriptions of places in the Comoros and Mauritius. I also listened to a lot of Tyler Childers (Whitehouse Road), Zach Bryan (Tourniquet), Wyatt Flores (Dead Man’s Road), Charles Wesley Godwin (Another Leaf), and Cole Chaney (Back to Kentucky) for the parts that take place in east Kentucky.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I hope they recognize the impact of trauma on people’s decision-making and the healing power of redemption when we can learn to forgive ourselves and to ask for help when we need it. I also hope readers enjoy the spicy sexy parts—they were fun to write and hopefully give some levity to the heaviness of the trauma described in the book’s pages. My perfect reader is someone who loves adventure and mystery and a bit of romance and who wants to ask me questions.

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

I’m working on a historical fiction novella set in eastern Kentucky in the 1960’s during Johnson’s War on Poverty. It’s about a young woman escaping her abusive husband to find work as a plant guide. It’s also about the man she left and his reasons for being the way he is. It’s another story trauma and finding peace. I’ve got another novel in the works too—I began writing it when I was taking a break from The Call—about a park ranger and a woman he meets one dark, stormy night. That one needs editing and re-writes but I hope to keep this writing going. And finally I’m working on an NYC Midnight writing contest short story prompt.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

It was a great experience. I recommend doing this, if you can afford it. My biggest concern while doing this was the cost of the process. It’s not cheap and many people would not be able to afford to do this. But I will say—you get what you pay for. I had good people to work with in all the different aspects of publishing. My favorite part was working with my developmental editor, Asata. She was a gem. And I’m glad Atmosphere Press was willing to stall things when I needed them to.

If you have the means and the desire, I’d highly recommend Atmosphere Press. And even if you have to save up, it’s worth the time and effort. I don’t regret my decision at all. It was a joyful and unique experience. I plan to do it again.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.