Sonia
The short version...
Sonia Gensler grew up in a small Tennessee town and spent her early adulthood collecting impractical degrees from various Midwestern universities. A former high school English teacher, she now writes full time in Oklahoma. So far, her husband and cat are putting up with this. The Revenant is her debut novel. You can read an FAQ about it here.
The chatty, first-person version...
As a child growing up in rural Tennessee, I dreamed of teleporting to a castle in medieval Europe to experience firsthand the bygone days of chivalry and romance. When international time travel proved impractical, I compensated by devouring books and making up soap operas with my best friends. Countless recess periods were devoted to swapping stories, most of which featured epic romances with our favorite celebrities. The fact that this was incredibly geeky didn't stop us from continuing the tradition through high school.
I was ill prepared for the culture shock when I left my small southern town to attend the University of Illinois. Those northern kids poked fun at my accent and laughed at my inadequate winter gear. Though I survived the blizzards, I couldn't manage a budget and therefore nearly starved my first semester. Second semester I met my future husband, and he quickly learned the way to my heart was through my stomach. I never went hungry again.
As an adult I experimented with an assortment of professions suitable for a dreamy bookworm—museum interpreter, historic home director, bookseller, perpetual graduate student—before finally deciding to share my passion for stories through teaching. I taught literature and writing to young adults for ten years and learned much from my students about creativity and not taking oneself too seriously. Today I write full time and live in Oklahoma with my indulgent husband and my overindulged cat.
Further Odds and Ends...
TRAVEL—I hate flying but love to travel. You'll find many travel photos at my Flickr page. Check back for updates.
TEA—I couldn't live without it, and I'm obsessed with the ritual of afternoon tea. If you're looking for a good tea room in your area, TeaMap or TeaGuide can point you in the right direction. If you want to purchase high quality loose leaf tea online, I highly recommend the Cultured Cup—they carry a wide selection of Mariage Freres teas. You also can't go wrong with Adagio Teas or Harney & Sons. If you'd like to educate yourself further about tea, I'd suggest getting your hands on The New Tea Companion by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson.
READING—I track my reads at Shelfari and Goodreads. Click here for a list of my all-time favorite books (and check back for updates).
WRITING & PUBLISHING—I'm just a newbie in this industry, but I will say that finishing a manuscript is the first major hurdle on the path to publication. After you finish, you must revise, revise, revise. If you're looking for an agent, it's best to do your research—find the right match at Agent Query or QueryTracker. Study book deals at Publishers Marketplace. Join national and local writers' organizations, attend conferences, and read industry-related discussion boards & blogs. As for the craft of writing, I don't have any magical tidbits of advice because I still have much to learn myself. I can tell you this—those folks who told me to read everything I could find in my genre were right on the money.
