On Wednesday, November 12, 6 authors will gather at Indy Reads Books as part of The Downtown Writers Jam, Vol. 2 hosted by The Geeky Press. We’re currently curating those authors, and taking recommendations from friends, colleagues, and other people involved in the Indiana writing scene. Don’t wait to be nominated, though. You can submit your work for consideration.
Meanwhile, we wanted to introduce you to our first brave soul: Erika T. Wurth.
Erika T. Wurth’s novel, Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend, will be published by Curbside Splendor in Sept of 2014. Her work has appeared in numerous journals. She teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and she’s been a guest writer at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She’s Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee and was raised outside of Denver.
Growing up, all she wanted to do was read Dragon books underneath the display case to hide from whoever wanted to beat her up. When she got older, she was sure she would write horror or fantasy, but for some reason, she wrote realistic fiction. No dragons. She misses the dragons, sometimes.
You can find her at her blog and on Facebook.
At The Downtown Writers Jam
What’s the name of the piece from which your DWJ story comes? Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend
What was the question or idea that sparked that original piece? I grew up where people were three tribes, or fresh off the Navajo reservation, or Latino but Indian in descent and around many, many working class whites. The reason I write, and why I wrote this novel, was because the way they sounded, their lives, wouldn’t let me go.
The smell of cigarettes in their acid wash jackets, the parties they went to, their angry mix of language, the boys they loved, it was all a part of their pain, but there was something beautiful in their struggle, the sound of their voices, the way they survived. They were funny, and angry and had something I didn’t.
Where can people find or buy your work? Buy Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend.
What should the audience expect from your storytelling at the Downtown Writers Jam? I’m a funny guy.
Get to Reading
Best book or long-form writing we should read, but probably haven’t? And why? Lev Grossman’s Magicians series is like an adult ticket back to Narnia. You get your dragons & you get your complex, funny, weird characters & lovely writing.
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