Author interview with Cheryl Rainfield

Cover of SCARS by Cheryl Rainfield

For more than ten years, Cheryl Rainfield has written fiction for teens and children, submitted her manuscripts to publishers and agents, critiqued others' writing and received critiques in turn, and read tons of books and articles on fiction technique. In 2006, Rainfield got her first teen fiction short story published. In 2007, her second. And in 2009, she received two contracts for two different teen novels --one of which two different publishing houses offered her contracts for.

Rainfield's first book, Dragon Speaker: The Last Dragon, a YA hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) fantasy came out in September 2009 from HIP Books, and Scars, an edgy realistic novel, came out March 24th from WestSide Books.

I recently reviewed SCARS and had the opportunity to interview Cheryl Rainfield, learning about her path to publication, and the emotional investment she put into SCARS. . .

Tell us about your path to publication.
I always wanted to be published. I started writing as soon as I could read. Probably even before that, in my head. Writing and art were my outlets, and part of my survival. But I didn’t get serious about sending out my work to publishers until about 10-15 years ago. Then I read tons of books on writing technique (I still do), attended some writing conferences, joined an ongoing critique group , and my writing hugely improved.

I started getting personalized rejections. I had a lot of initial interest in SCARS from editors and agents liking it, but none of them took it on. I even had an agent who was interested in SCARS for a few years, working with me while I did some revisions. But nothing came of it.

Over the ten years or so I kept revising SCARS, and did about 40 complete revisions. I kept submitting it, as well as working on new novels. I got a few short stories published.

The last few years before I got a contract were really hard, emotionally. People were telling me that my writing was good, but no one was publishing my novels—and that was my dream. Especially for SCARS—it is such an important book to me on so many levels. I went through a lot of despair and depression, worrying that I’d never get published, never reach other people through my writing, when it felt like that was what I was to my core—a writer. And the voices of my abusers got louder in my head, telling me that I would never succeed, that I was a failure, etc. I’d been through so much abuse, and so many things were a struggle in my life. It was hard to feel hope.

And then within a month of each other, I got two different contracts for two different books—SCARS, and a hi-lo fantasy (The Last Dragon). And I actually had two different publishers both offering me a contract for SCARS at the same time. That was a moment of pure joy. And a moment I could say back to my abusers (at least in my head) “You were wrong. I CAN succeed. And you can’t silence me. You haven’t.”

How long did it take SCARS to go from idea to bookshelf and what problems did you encounter along the way?
SCARS took about 10 years for me to get it published. Part of that was likely my growth as a writer. Part of it may have been the content of SCARS. I knew there were a lot of painful issues in the book that I talked about in a real way—self-harm, sexual abuse, and sexual orientation being challenged. Some publishers or editors wouldn’t want to tackle some of those issues. And part of my path to getting SCARS published, I believe, was luck. I just happened upon the perfect editor for SCARS—Evelyn Fazio—who loved SCARS and appreciated it as it was, had a vision that fit with mine, and helped me make it even better—and the perfect publisher, WestSide, who publishes edgy, realistic YA books, and who were willing to take a chance on a new writer. I heard about WestSide Books through a writer elist I was on. I love how supportive the community of writers are.

You’ve stated that SCARS is a book you care a lot about—you’ve put little bits of your own experience into the fiction—like Kendra, your main character, you’re a sexual abuse survivor, and used self-harm to cope. How difficult was it to write this novel and having to experience those feelings all over again?
Writing—and editing—SCARS was a really positive experience for me. Writing it was an expression of my pain and some of my experiences poured into fiction. The pain, the trauma—for years it was a constant experience for me; it was all I knew. I’ve only just started to experience happiness. So writing about it allowed me to get some of it out and to have a voice—to say things I couldn’t say otherwise. It became a part of my healing. And once I knew SCARS was going to be published, it was even more a part of my healing—knowing that I’d be heard, and also that I’d be able to reach others and offer some compassion and validation, and let others know they weren’t alone. Maybe even help some people who knew nothing about self-harm to gain a little more understanding or compassion about the experience, and possibly respond to people in their lives who self-harm a bit better.

There were times, though, that working on SCARS was difficult—times when working on it brought up memories of the abuse for me, because some of the things I wrote about are things I went through. Or other times, just because of how hard it was to get it published, how long it took, some of the abuse training would kick in, battering at my self-confidence and soul.

But mostly, working on SCARS was something I needed to do, like we need safe human touch. It was a strong way for me to speak out, and to reach others. A way to find hope, and possibly to give hope. I know healing is possible, no matter how deep the wounds, and I’m always wanting to give that hope to others, to let them know that they can heal, they can find some happiness or peace or the things they need. That there are good people in the world. I think, I hope, that some of that comes through in SCARS. It was also a very positive experience for me to write the ending of SCARS—to have Kendra’s abuser go to jail, and to have Kendra find and create her own chosen family. That was very satisfying.

Since her own mother is too self-absorbed to hear her cries for help, Kendra finds support in others instead. How important was it for you to show young adults that they can find support?
It was incredibly important for me to show teens—and any survivor or person who self-harms—that they can find compassion, support, and safety. That there is safe love and good people in the world.

I know how horribly isolated and alone I felt during all the years I was abused, and how that increased the pain for me, and added to the trauma, the emotional scarring. And I know how much the few kind words and gestures I received, and the kindness of some people, the support, meant to me when I felt like I was drowning in pain. It was, and still is, a huge piece of healing, to be able to get support, love, compassion. To be heard. I knew from an early age how important those things are, and I’ve always tried to give it, as well as tried to receive it.

Growing up and being abused, I devoured books; they were my safety, my soul food, my nurturance. Some books, like fantasy, gave me escape from my world. Others, like realistic fiction, gave me some things I could identify with, even if they weren’t exactly my own experiences. Most books gave me a glimpse into what it could be like to have caring people around, and how to work through various levels of pain. I was always looking in books, needing to know I wasn’t alone. I hope that a lot of readers will find some validation, compassion, or things that move them, in SCARS.

In addition to being an author, you’re also a dedicated blogger who was recently named the best of the best by youngadultbookscentral. What do you like best about blogging and why?
I like how, through blogging and social media, through the Internet, we can have conversations with so many more people than we’d be able to reach without it. I love how we can support each other, share good books and resources that we love, get information we need that we might not otherwise have had, or be able to say things that maybe we couldn’t person-to-person. Blogging, and the Internet, opens the world so much more to people.

I love being able to share books I’ve loved with others, and to encourage people to pick up those books. I love feeling a part of a wide, strong community who love to read, and who care about people. And I love how, even if you happen to be shy, you can start out talking to people online, and share a bit of what matters to you.

To learn more about Cheryl Rainfield, please visit her official website.

Additional Information:
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 250 pages
Publisher: Westside Books; First edition (March 24, 2010)
ISBN-10: 193481332X
ISBN-13: 978-1934813324