Author Up Close: Ann Michelle Harris’s True North

Greetings, WU Family. In my first post of the year, I’m introducing you to Ann Michelle Harris. Ann Michelle is an attorney by day, and at night, she writes romantic suspense and fantasy/speculative fiction with diverse characters and positive social justice themes. In today’s Q&A, she shares how her work in the areas of poverty, abuse, and child welfare guides her, how that work inspired her novel, North, and why she feels building community is one of the most important things a writer can do for their career.

GW: One of my favorite parts of this series is learning about an author’s origin story: the thing that propelled you from someone who only thought about writing to someone who actually wrote and has a book out. So, what’s your author origin story—in other words, why did you start writing and keep writing?

AMH:  I have loved reading adventure stories since I was very young. I was an English major at Penn so I loved not just stories but also story analysis, themes, and structure. Several years ago, I went through a stressful time in my life and began immersing myself in escapist stories as a form of comfort. After months of consuming other people’s stories, I decided to become a contributor of short stories to a public writing forum. Positive responses convinced me that I might have a larger story worth telling and that I could be brave enough to take the risk to try to tell it. I specifically wanted to write an adventure story in honor of my children. Shortly after this, the pandemic came and gave me even more stress but also much more time to write since I no longer had to spend hours commuting to the office each day (and it gave me plot inspiration). That extra time allowed me to dig deeper into creating a full manuscript and begin the process of querying.   

GW:  Can you tell us about your path to getting North published?

AMH: After completing my manuscript, I began to query it to a few agents and independent publishing houses. I got rejections, but one rejection from a large indie press had detailed feedback about the plot (particularly the ending) and that helped me tweak some elements. I also worked with a developmental editor, a beta reader, and a critique group to fine-tune the scene structure and build more tension in the story arc. By then, I had heard from a few writers that it is sometimes more accessible to directly find a publisher than to find an agent. I had another historical gothic manuscript that was getting a lot of traction with agents, but I decided to pitch North to a small press at a writing conference, and they loved it after reading the full story. After I signed the publishing contract, I continued to fine-tune the manuscript and then worked with the publisher for editing, galleys, and cover design. I tweaked everything until it was ready for submission to the distributor, and then finally it went into pre-order. I used my pre-launch time to promote the book online, connect with readers, and lean heavily on the wisdom of my more experienced writer colleagues, who were incredibly supportive. Then the big day came and my book was born. It still feels magical to hold it in my hand or to see my name and my story online at major retailers.

GW: Tell us a bit about North. What inspired you to write it? What do you want readers to take away from it?

AMH: North is a YA fairy tale retelling of The Snow Queen with diverse characters. In the medieval-like South Kingdom, Kai is a captive boy who can heal from any injury. He’s a cynical war orphan who has fallen through the cracks of the child welfare system and ended up enslaved to a cruel lord who uses trafficked children to work for him. But when Kai has a chance encounter with a fierce princess with a murdered father, his dangerous adventures are just beginning. Kai becomes a brother to Wil, a reckless prince with a tragic secret, and Cara, a warrior princess dodging an arranged marriage while fighting repeated attacks from the oppressive North kingdom. For Kai, life at the palace means danger, prejudice, and political intrigue. But when Kai suddenly disappears, Cara must decide if she will risk everything to save Kai, and her kingdom, from the brutal queen of the North.  I always enjoyed reading fantasy stories with my children but was disappointed by the lack of diversity in many of them. So, I wanted to write a story with Black leading characters in honor of my children. I was also inspired by my observations of how children of color are treated in different spaces, and I was inspired by my experience working in the areas of poverty, abuse, and child welfare. I hope this story makes readers think about how we treat each other and how we can work together, even in a broken system, to build a more equitable and compassionate community.

GW: What’s the most difficult thing about your writer/author life, and how do you manage it?

AMH: It’s social media and “marketing.” I love interacting with other writers and with readers online. But as a natural introvert, I always worry about whether I’m doing it “right” or doing it enough. Fortunately, I have met so many wonderful and supportive fellow writers on the various platforms. It’s actually wildly surreal to have people I’ve never met in real life, cheering me on through the various stages of my writing journey. It’s also fun to occasionally meet them in real life at writers conferences. When North, went into pre-launch, I began connecting to readers online, which was terrifying and exciting. As interest began to build for North, I worried about authentically building those connections as well as honoring expectations. There are a lot of scam artists out there who prey on new writers, so you have to be careful. And, because I’m new to it, I worry that I’m spending too much time on it. I try to budget my time to specific slots during the morning and evening. Since I’m with a small press, it’s been a learning curve to make reels and graphics, but my kids have helped me learn. Overall, it’s worth it to get people connected to a story that I hope will be a blessing to them. My goal in writing North is to share a fairy tale that will inspire and comfort others during their own times of stress, and

Photo courtesy of Ann Michelle Harris

connecting via interviews and social media is an essential way to way to do that.

GW: What’s the most important piece of advice you could give writers who want to be where you are now?

AMH:  Find a writing community, whether it’s in person, virtual/remote, or on social media, (and preferably all three). There may be some natural-born authors who can just roll out of bed and type out a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. However, the rest of us will need craft books, workshops, and one-on-one feedback on dialogue, point of view, and plot structure. Or, on marketing, publishing contracts, or pitching your manuscripts to agents and publishers. My first published work was a short story (“Changeling”) included in a competitive submission anthology from the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Prior to that I had taken online and in person plotting and scene structure workshops from Sisters in Crime and Georgia Romance Writers. These helped me build tension and flesh out my characters in North. I found my publisher and my beta readers for North through the Atlanta Writers Club. But, beyond the technical information, writer colleagues can help you with the emotional part of the writer’s journey. Querying is soul-crushing, publishing can be slow and daunting, and editing and rewriting can be hard for perfectionists. Venting, commiserating, and getting advice from fellow writers on the same journey has been essential for me and it has given me the courage and the skills to bring my social justice fairy tale adventure to life.

GW: I absolutely agree about community; it’s essential for building a thriving writing career. Thanks for a great interview, and I’m looking forward to reading North.

To learn more about Ann Michelle and her writing, please visit her website, https://annmichelleharris.com/. You can find buy links for North here.

Over to you: How has community helped shape your writing?

Grace Wynter

Grace Wynter is an author, editor, and workshop facilitator. She has an MBA from Georgia State University and a Professional Certificate in Editing from the University of Chicago. She has conducted workshops for organizations such as Writer Unboxed, Wake Up and Write!, Sisters in Crime, and the Atlanta Writers Club where she is also a freelance editor for their biannual Atlanta Writers Conference. Her editing clients include traditional publishers such as Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, and Hachette, and an array of indie publishers and self-published authors. Grace is the community architect behind Tessera Creatives, an online directory that connects authors and publishers with skilled, culturally competent freelance creatives who provide services for the publishing industry.

When she’s not alternating between the Marvel and DC universes, Grace resides in Atlanta, Georgia. You can connect with her at GraceWynter.com.