Erica Lorraine Scheidt

About Erica:

Erica Scheidt lives in San Francisco and works for a non-profit organization, while also serving on the board of directors of ISIS, a 10-year-old non-profit focused on sex education and disease prevention.

As a teenager, Erica studied writing with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Jim Carroll at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colorado. In 2007, she was nominated by Rick Moody for the Best New American Voices anthology and in 2008 received an MA in creative writing at the University of California, Davis. Erica is a longtime volunteer at 826 Valencia, working with teen writers who are crafting their own stories, and is passionate about writing by teens and for teens. USES FOR BOYS is her debut novel.

www.ericalorraine.com

Erica's Books:

USES FOR BOYS

Author Interview:

When and how did you start writing?

I always wrote. I always, always wrote. And I was nothing but cocksure bravado as young writer. I would tell people that I would be published by 17. And then 19. And then 25. And then I stopped saying that.

Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you?

At some point, around 17, I got my hands on Hubert Selby Jr.’s LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN and I just couldn’t believe what he was doing. It was spare and poetic, but also brutal. His language was so raw. I’m not even sure I could read it today, but at the time it seemed to open up all sorts of possibilities.

Can you talk us through your career so far? What were the key moments?

I attended Naropa University in the late 1980s where I met all these big writers, from all over the place and the thing I was struck by was their single-mindedness. All of these wildly different artists had that in common.

Later, I was fortunate to study with some really generous writers, like Lynn Freed, Lucy Corin, Rick Moody, and Pam Houston in particular. These teachers were each, in their own way, intolerant of laziness. But if you worked hard, they responded in kind; Pam must have read half a dozen early drafts of USES FOR BOYS.

Describe your writing day. Where do you write? How do you organise your time?

I like to write in the early morning, when I first wake up, drinking coffee, until I’m so hungry that I have to get up and make breakfast. I sometimes have a hard time getting my focus back after I’m up and about. The afternoons are great, because my girlfriend comes home with her daughter and the house just fills up with kids and cooking and we dance around a lot.

Can you tell us about what’s coming next from you?

I’m working on a new novel about a 16 year old girl that tries on and discards identities like some girls try on clothes. It’s a künstlerroman, but her art is her identity.

Are there any tips you could give aspiring writers who are looking to get published?

Finish. Finish your story or book or poem, or whatever. Just finish it. I keep revising and revising until the story gets under my skin.

Which favourite authors would you invite to a dinner party?

Oh! Amy Hempel and Rick Moody. Absolutely. They’re friends, amazing writers and they’re both just tremendously smart and cool.