Episode 289: Stitching Together Multiple Timelines — Interview with Constance Sayers

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Constance Sayers talking about her debut novel, A Witch in Time, which is forthcoming in February.

A finalist for Alternating Current’s 2016 Luminaire Award for Best Prose, her short stories have appeared in Souvenir and Amazing Graces: Yet Another Collection of Fiction by Washington Area Women as well as The Sky is a Free Country.

Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She received her master of arts in English from George Mason University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She attended The Bread Loaf Writers Conference where she studied with Charles Baxter and Lauren Groff. Currently, she is a media executive at Atlantic Media (publisher of The Atlantic). 

She lives in Maryland and is the co-founder of the Thoughtful Dog literary magazine. 

In this episode Constance and I discuss:

  • How a painting inspired A Witch in Time
  • Blending together multiple storylines into a cohesive narrative
  • Managing pacing with different storylines
  • Balancing writing and researching
  • Novel-writing lessons from writing short stories

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Constance Sayers

Constance Sayers’ debut novel, A Witch in Time, will be published in February 2020 from Orbit (Hachette Book Group). A finalist for Alternating Current’s 2016 Luminaire Award for Best Prose, her short stories have appeared in Souvenir and Amazing Graces: Yet Another Collection of Fiction by Washington Area Women as well as The Sky is a Free Country. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She received her master of arts in English from George Mason University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She attended The Bread Loaf Writers Conference where she studied with Charles Baxter and Lauren Groff. Currently, she is a media executive at Atlantic Media (publisher of The Atlantic). 

She lives in Maryland and is the co-founder of the Thoughtful Dog literary magazine. Visit her website or connect with her on Twitter.

A Witch in Time

A young witch is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist, in this haunting debut novel.

In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet LaCompte has a passionate, doomed romance with the married Parisian painter Auguste Marchant. When her mother — a witch — attempts to cast a curse on Marchant, she unwittingly summons a demon, binding her daughter to both Auguste and this supernatural being for all time.

Born and re-born, Juliet is fated to live her affair and die tragically young across continents and lifetimes.

But finally, in present-day Washington D.C., something shifts. In this life, Juliet starts to remember her tragic past. And this time, she begins to develop powers of her own that might finally break the spell…

A Witch in Time is perfect for fans of A Secret History of Witches, Outlander, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 289

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