News from Bywater Books

Georgia Beers

Ask Georgia Beers what she wants, and she'll say, "to become the best writer I can be." It's a simple enough aim. And a modest one: She already has a Golden Crown Literary Society Award and Lambda Literary Award to her name, and is one of the best-selling authors of lesbian romance.

But from the start Georgia has always wanted to get better. She began cautiously enough: first a journal; next, essays and short stories; then she met other authors online. And the more she practiced, the more determined she became. She could write what sells best--or she could write what she preferred. And that meant lesbian fiction.

Her first draft was accepted for publication straightaway. Since then, she's developed a rigorous process for writing. Any idea that comes her way gets written straight down onto an index card. It may be as simple as "A meets B," or it may be a great line she's overheard, but once it's down on a card, it won't be forgotten. The cards pile up, the details of the story gradually emerge, and when she's sure she's got what she needs, she spreads the cards out on the table--and orders the details of the story into line.

Now, hands up all those who think this sounds like an author who's "lazy"!

Because that's how Georgia describes herself. She also says she's got a lousy attention span, writes only in spurts, and sometimes avoids her desk by taking her vacuum for a walk.

And she worries--as so many writers do--about where she'll find her next idea.

And she has moments--as so many writers also do--when "you're totally convinced that you just suck." Which, it turns out, is where we come in. Ask her to explain why she wants to be a Bywater author and she says, "I love the quality of the authors they sign and the work they publish. ... I think working with the editors at Bywater is going to help me strive to improve, strive to become the best writer I can be, and I'm really looking forward to that." (Oh, and apparently "the newsletter rocked.")

I should have left that last bit out, shouldn't I, but it's Georgia who's the modest one. Not me! Plus, it has to be said, the love-in is mutual: at Bywater, we're looking forward to working with you too, Georgia.

Her first Bywater title will be published in spring/summer 2011.

Georgia lives in Rochester, NY, with her wife, Bonnie, the woman "who would change my life forever," and their two dogs, Henry and Finley.