Authors Helping Authors: AJ Walkley's Kickstarter Campaign
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share this Kickstarter campaign from author AJ Walkley
Please take a few minutes to check it out here:
Anyone who donates (any amount) to her campaign from today until April 17th will get a free ebook from my publisher. The free ebook choice is from a list of selected titles and include Imprinted Souls, Wide Awake (Academy of the Fallen) or Mermaid's Curse!
Here is my Q&A with AJ about her project!
1. Tell us a little about yourself
and your life as an author
Hi everyone! My name is A.J. Walkley
and I am the author of Queer Greer and Choice. My
third novel, Vuto, is currently undergoing a Kickstarter campaign
to get published sometime this year. I have been a writer for as far back as I
can remember. My parents bought me a journal when I was in 4th grade and that
was it - I was hooked! I wrote detective stories with my cousin in elementary
school, Hanson fan fiction in middle school, Slam poetry in high school and
immediately chose to become an English Literature major/Creative Writing minor
as soon as I got to college. I wrote a musical my freshman year around the
music of Queen and many, many short stories throughout my college career. As
soon as I graduated and returned from the Peace Corps, I set to work on my
first full-length novel, Queer Greer. I love to tackle topics that
make people think, from LGBT issues to abortion (Choice) to women's
rights (Vuto).
2. Tell us about your current project
and what inspired you to write it.
Vuto was inspired by my experience as a health volunteer in the U.S.
Peace Corps. During my time in Malawi, Africa, I became much more aware of
inequalities women face in the Third World. I was especially shocked by several
customs that were difficult for me to wrap my Western head around - one of the
most egregious being the "two-week rule" of birth. When a woman gives
birth in the village, she cares for her child without the help of her husband
for the first two weeks of it's life. If the child does not survive that
two-week point, the father will never acknowledge that he had a son or daughter;
the responsibility for the baby's burial falls solely on the mother and the
women of the village. I could not imagine dealing with that alone as a mother.
This made me think, what if one woman refused to follow this tradition? What
would happen to her? This question formed the basis for the plot of Vuto,
where a young woman who has already buried two babies before finds her third
child dead before that two-week point; instead of burying her, she forces her
husband to acknowledge his daughter, leading to her banishment. A Peace Corps
volunteer takes Vuto in, only to be thrust into the middle of the situation
when the husband arrives in the night to punish his wife for not truly leaving
the village. The volunteer protects Vuto, killing the husband in the process.
The two women must flee, encountering cultural, physical and ethical struggles
along the way.
3. What are some of the obstacles
while writing Vuto?
One obstacle was incorporating vocabulary from the
Malawian language of Chichewa into the book. I really wanted to give readers
the feeling that they were experiencing Malawi like I did, and the language is
integral to that experience. I think utilizing some of the words and explaining
their meaning directly after a character uses one gets across what I was hoping
for - not to mention including a glossary at the end of the book. It's also
been several years since I've been to Malawi, so I wanted to make sure my
memories were accurate. I had one of my best friends from my Peace Corps days
proof the entire manuscript to assure that accuracy!
4. You started a Kickstarter campaign
to help fund Vuto, and the project was trending (#1) on the very
first day! What does it feel like to have the support of so many readers,
family, and friends?
Thus far, it's been truly humbling to
see so many people support this next book of mine. Friends from high school I
haven't spoken to for the better part of a decade are donating, and not in
small increments either! I am so fortunate to have so many people in my life
who believe in me and my writing. I only hope I can keep this momentum going
until my goal is reached!
5. When can readers expect to read
Vuto?
Assuming my funding goal is reached, I'm hoping Vuto will
be available for purchase by the end of this summer!
About Vuto:
Vuto is only 17 when her third child dies, mere
days after birth.
Malawian tradition prevents men from considering
a child their own until it’s lived for two weeks. Frustrated at not being able
to speak to her husband, Solomon, about all three of the children she’s had to
bury alone, Vuto forces him to acknowledge the dead baby. Her rejection of
tradition causes Solomon and the village elders to banish Vuto from the only
home she’s ever known.
Vuto seeks refuge in the hut of U.S. Peace Corps
volunteer Samantha Brennan, where Solomon discovers his wife has not left as
she was told, leading him to attack both women. Disregarding her oath to remain
uninvolved in village politics, Samantha interjects herself into the center of
the conflict, defending Vuto and killing Solomon in the process.
The women go on the run from Vuto’s village and
the Peace Corps, encountering physical, ethical and cultural struggles along
the way.
Vuto was inspired by A.J. Walkley’s experience in
Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2007.
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