Steve Sherrill Haunts Audience with "Joy, PA" at Center for Literary Arts Reading

Steve Sherrill (Photo credit Jonathan O'Harrow)

The room filled quickly. People buzzed around, feeling the energy of the atmosphere, filling cups with coffee and plates with cookies. They look over brochures, glancing at information about Pulitzer Prize nominated author Steve Sherrill.

Gerry LaFemina, Director of the Center for Literary Arts where the reading is being held and Professor at Frostburg State University opens for Sherrill. LaFemina, who has been hosting readings at the CLA for twelve years, praises the author, and jokes about his quirks: "Steve Sherrill... What to say about a guy with a garage full of 750 antique crutches? Who is a keen ukulele player? Who is a damn fine fiction writer?"

The audience laughs at the joking, and once they quite, LaFemina shifts the mood to a serious feel. He describes Sherrill as "a multi-faceted writer" one who "visits... the haunted, the others of this world."

After allowing his praises to sink into the audience, LaFemina brings Steve Sherrill up to the podium. The audience erupts with applause even as the author waves for them to quiet.

"It is officially known," Sherrill opens, "I would like Gerry LaFemina to introduce me in every room I walk into."

The author chooses to read from his newest and darkest novel, "Joy, PA." He prefaces his selections with short quips about how much of a "goofball" he is, and how his novel made his wife cry "on a regular basis." Right before beginning his reading, Sherrill remarks, "Remember, I'm a nice guy, and it's about love."

The mood slowly drops as Sherrill reads page after page of dark material. After so many pages, he stops, "This makes me tired," he says, looking up from the pages to meet his audience's eyes, "Let's all take a moment to breathe."

The author reads only three short excerpts from the book. He wanted to let the audience her from his three characters, Willy, his Mom, and his Dad,, giving the audience a real dose of what the book would hold for them if they chose to read it in it's entirety.

Kestra Forest, an audience member who stood in line to buy the book after the reading, said that the reading was "really cool, and really dark." She remarked that she believed Sherrill's instance on being a nice guy. "He came to my class [at FSU] earlier. He made a lot of jokes, and answered any question thrown at him."

To end the reading, Sherrill opened up to questions from the audience. He wanted to let people figure him out, and figure out that he really is a nice guy. "This is my writing brain," Sherrill said, "I take sick pride in letting my writing brain do what it needs to do."

Plaster the walls with rejection notes

I submitted my first manuscript, and I cannot wait to receive my rejection letter. 

You heard me correctly. I am more excited to behold the words "Thank you for your submission, but..." than I am to have successfully submitted a manuscript, my first manuscript. 

I met one man, Steve Oberlan, at an Independent Literature Festival in Frostburg, MD, and he said that every time he got a rejection letter regarding a submission, he would hang it up on his bathroom wall. He had so many, that he needed to find a new place to hang his letters within the next year. 

Here's what a rejection means: You were brave enough to submit, your work was read, and you are trying. It's all perspective.

I know one thing and one thing only about trying to get published: It is hard. There are thousands upon thousands of gifted writers out there, all submitting to the same publication houses and journals you are. Some are more experienced writers, and some are less experienced. Every enters on the same playing field, though, and sometimes you just have to get lucky.

I can assure you this: When I receive that first rejection, I'm getting it framed and popping open a bottle of champagne.