CFBA AUTHOR INTRO: Siri Mitchell

Siri Mitchell: When I’m listening to a sermon and I’m taking notes, chances are, I’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If I’m nodding my head in response to a really profound statement, I’m probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.”

When I’m editing my manuscripts, I laugh at the funny parts. And I cry at the sad parts.

Sometimes I even talk to my characters. “Okay, Joe. Talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking here.” And yes, the characters answer me. I actually hear them talking in my head.

Half the time, I think I’m an okay writer. The other half, I’m tempted to take a magnet to the hard drive.

The easy part is writing. The hardest part is editing. The worst part is wondering if the books are going to sell.

I have plenty of ideas for books; the thing I lack is the time to write them. I write by the word. Other writers write by the page. However you want to tally it, 85,000 words is a lot of pages.

In the world of writing I have done nothing right. I wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before I signed with a publisher. And then I had to write a fifth book so that they could publish it. In the process, I saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than I care to admit. I vowed never to write another word again. Ever. I went on writing strikes and I even stooped to threatening my manuscripts with the shredder.

However.

Writing is the most fun I’ve ever had. Writing is what I look forward to. Writing is what gives me energy. A daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife, a mother. Those are the roles I have. A writer is who I am.


The Cubicle Next Door

Siri Mitchell’s insightful, funny chick–lit style shines in this story of putting up walls and tearing them down—all for love.

Jackie Harrison, a computer administrator at the Air Force Academy, is a self–proclaimed geek who must share her cubicle space with the new guy, instructor and former pilot Joe Gallagher. She turns to her online journal to vent and eventually to express growing feelings toward this office neighbor who is everything she is not—fun, happy, and social.

But when her blog is featured as a top pick on primetime news, everyone reads it—including Joe. Will he figure out the words of adoration and confusion are written about him? And will Jackie ever risk expressing her heart offline?