“My hope for writing in the future is that I continue to love it and feel challenged by it.”
-Lucia DiStefano
A member of the Writers’ League since 2017, Lucia DiStefano lives in Georgetown.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
Lucia DiStefano: As a ghostwriter, I write in almost every genre (fiction, non-fiction, self-help, even the other-than-the-recipe content of a cookbook), but under my own name, I write Young Adult novels. As a former high school English teacher, my heart has a giant book-shaped spot for that audience.
Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them?
LD: Richard Ford (Independence Day). Assuming I wouldn’t be stunned speechless by being across a table from him, I’d ask him whether Frank Bascombe feels as real to him as he does me (which is more real than many people I’ve met in the flesh); and then I’d ask him whether he realizes he’s one of the great experts in human psychology alive today (and then I’d try to still my quaking hands enough to avoid embarrassing myself with a catastrophic spill).
Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
LD: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. (Indeed, I have had the experience of feeling metaphorically stranded, and this book is one of the ones that reminded me of the redemptive and connective power of story.)
Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?
LD: That Texas writers are just as friendly and supportive and warm as Texans in general. Thank you, y’all!
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
LD: Writing has always been the largest and most consistent presence in my life, but I also want to work on achieving balance. Now that I’m here in the Hill Country and surrounded by so much that I’d love to explore, I want to learn how to give quality time to a life beyond my desk. So I guess my hope for writing in the future is that I continue to love it and feel challenged by it. I know that the business side of it is unpredictable (understatement!) and quite often downright zany, so I don’t want to hold out expectations for what I can’t control.
Scribe: Here at the Writers’ League, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one Texas-related book that has come out within the past year that you couldn’t put down?
LD: News of the World by Paulette Jiles. (Need I say more? Sometimes I read her work and catch myself wondering if a mere mortal wrote it. I mean that as the highest compliment, of course. I’m gobsmacked by her talent!)
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
LD: Ah, yes — blatant self-promotion! As a ghostwriter, I had no need to self-promote, but now I need to get the hang of that (and push through my resistance toward it). So here goes … I was recently named the winner of the 2018 Helen Sheehan YA Book Prize, which means my Young Adult novel Borrowed will be published in the fall by Elephant Rock Books — it’ll be my first non-ghosted book!
I’m on Twitter at @LuciaDiStef. My website is currently under construction, but when it’s live, it will be www.LuciaDiStefano.com.
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Thank you, Lucia!
If you’re a Writers’ League member and you’d be interested in being interviewed for our Meet the Members feature, email us at member@writersleague.org for more information. It’s a great way for other members to get to know you and for you to share a bit about what you’re working on!
Scribe 