Discovering your voice: late-entrant author finds rhythm after 50

Inspired by living in Costa Rica, author Susan Grundy veered from her long running communications career to write about the weight of emotional distress and stepping into an easier way of being. Her short fiction has appeared in The Danforth Review and Montréal Writes. Her first book, Mad Sisters (Ronsdale Press), is a deeply moving memoir that explores the journey of caregiving and sisterhood through the lens of mental illness. Susan’s second novel, Black Creek (Inanna Publications), is a fictionalized account of intergenerational trauma in her female lineage. She is currently working on a third book that explores the gift of hearing voices. A graduate of McGill University, Susan lives in Montreal and London. In this interview, Susan discusses being a late-entrant author, balancing the heavy with the light in her writing, and her first break into publishing.

Author Susan Grundy

OCW: What life experiences have shaped your writing style?

SG: At the age of six I stopped writing funny poems (limericks) and stepped into the role of hero child with the aim to lighten the cloud hanging over our home and cheer up my distracted parents. Four years later, my older sister was diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia.

Where would my path had led me if I hadn’t stepped up as the family fixer-caregiver? Would I have followed (returned to) my creative passions at a younger age? Probably. That being said, my lived experience has shaped my writing style. I dive deep into my characters’ dark emotions and, when necessary, lighten the heaviness with humour. Above all, I want the reader to benefit, not suffer, from the stories I share no matter how serious the content.

I’ve been told that my writing flows, that the pages turn. The stories move forward at a healthy clip. I am very aware of holding the reader’s attention. I’ve always loved to make people smile.

Weaving humor into the heavy narratives

OCW: Can you trace any common themes across your writing?

SG: My writing explores the power of emotional pain and the choice to break free from its crushing weight. Through my female protagonists I explore the challenges of inherited trauma, psychosis, caregiver burnout, grief and loss, and single parenthood.

The cover of Black Creek, the new novel by Susan Grundy

Breaking through the wall of rejection

OCW: If you’ve been published, how did you find your first publisher?

SG: In 2016, I stepped away from my long-running marketing career and fired off a short story about death and recovery to a random list of literary magazines naively hoping for a “hit”. Shotgun style. I had no clue what I was doing. The editor of The Danforth Review picked up the story, arming me with confidence to keep going.

Finding a publisher for my first book wasn’t as simple. I laboured for hours over submission guidelines and query letters, finally summoning the courage to press send. Rejection letters trickled in. After six months, I revisited the websites of the publishers who had not replied. All but one clearly stipulated If you don’t hear from us, assume the answer is no. I reached out to that one publisher. She released Mad Sisters ten months later. Important to follow up.

Navigating the world as a late-entrant author

OCW: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?

SG: As a late entrant (I started writing in my early 50’s), I have often felt like an outsider to the writing community in Montreal, my hometown. Many of the local writers studied literature in university and/or devoted themselves to the craft early on. This can be intimidating for a newcomer, especially an older one who followed a different path. Recently, I joined a writers group in the UK where I live part-time. They meet in the local pub every Friday morning. Ironically, I don’t feel like an outsider. My advice to writers: when you feel intimidated imagine you are in a foreign city. Reinvent yourself. Also, don’t be afraid to write what you don’t know. Venturing into unfamiliar territory can be life changing.

OCW: Do you edit as you write, or write and edit later?

SG: I edit as I write. The joy and satisfaction, of perfect prose! Recently, an astrologer identified me as a quadruple Virgo, which makes perfect sense. My obsessive editing style grounds me. It also weighs me down. My next project is to conjure up some fire to take more risks and edit less on the first pass. Wish me luck!