Spotlight on Saundra Mitchell

Saundra Mitchell is a screenwriter and the author of Shadowed Summer, which has received some wonderful reviews by bloggers like The Story Siren and review publications like School Library Journal.  And because Saundra is such a fantastic person (and I genuinely mean that), I am so excited share with everyone just how wonderful she truly is!

What was your reaction the first time you saw Shadowed Summer on a bookstore shelf?

I still haven't seen it in the wild! This is the curse of living in a small town. But let me tell you- the first time I saw it on a vlog with other people's books, it was such a rush. It felt real! Until then, I had seen my book a lot, but like, one copy at a time, in my house. It still could have been imaginary, or a brilliant ruse or summat. Once I saw it in someone else's house, with other books that verifiably existed outside my brain, oh, I was staggered. And someone sent a picture of it in a bookshop in the Philippines. My book has been out of the continental US; I never have. It's incredible!

Do you have any mysterious Ouija board stories that you would like to share? 

The only Ouija board story I have is not at all mysterious. I played with them a lot, but nothing spooky happened. However, I had a friend in junior high school who invited me to go to camp with her. More specifically, she invited me to go to BIBLE Camp with her. And I'm not sure where the Ouija board came from, though I knew for CERTAIN we weren't supposed to have it. Which is why, during its maiden voyage, it ended up in the arms of a silver maple tree. 

Nearly caught by one of the camp counselors, we flung the Ouija board out the window- it soared like a demonic frisbee and lodged itself in the nearest tree. For the entire rest of camp, that thing was like the tell-tale heart. No matter where we were, no matter what we were doing, I felt that Ouija board just in the periphery of my vision- I was certain someone would discover it and we'd all go to camp jail or hell. Or both.

What type of research was involved in keeping Shadowed Summer true to actual ghost hunting?

The characters in Shadowed Summer do about exactly everything they shouldn't do when it comes to ghost hunting. I've participated in paranormal groups before; I cut my teeth in the 130s at the local library. But I thought it was more interesting if Iris and her friends bumbled around and did everything wrong. I mean, I was the dummy who nearly got caught with a Ouija board at Bible Camp. No way could Iris be smarter than I was at that age!

What is the most difficult aspect of alternating between screenwriting and writing a novel?  In what ways are the two types of writing similar?

The hardest part is leaving room for the actors to work. When I write a screenplay, my meaning is supposed to be clear through the dialogue, leaving room for the actors to decide how to interpret the moment. They need room to create characters, their mannerisms, their motivation, the way they speak. So when I write a screenplay, I always have to remember- no matter how badly I want a character to say a line in a certain way, that's it's not my decision. But conversely, I have to work hard to put that information in my books, because there will be no actor stepping into Iris' role, to interpret her. All of Iris- all of the characters- exist on the page- either I make it work, or it doesn't happen at all!

But both forms require good beats. Each scene needs to have a beginning, a climax, a resolution- and every scene needs to work in service to the whole. The nice thing about coming into novels from screenwriting is that I'm hyperaware of my beats. Not only does it help me figure out how a scene should go without too much trauma, I can look back over what I've written and see where beats are missing from the whole pretty easily. (Of course, sadly, this often means I have to cut out stuff I really love, because the beats tell me that I was playing and not working in those scenes. Meh!)

What can we expect in the future from Saundra Mitchell?

I have a paranormal historical on submission right now, and the 2009 season of Fresh Films is under way! I hope to write new novels and new movies every year until I'm too old to toddle to the keyboard- and if I'm very, very lucky, I'll have the privilege of sharing them with you.

And now for the fill-in-the blanks segment...

My least favorite foods consist of peanut butter, bananas and meatloaf. Talk about shuddering convulsions of horror, yikes. That would be my dinner every night in hell.

Three people (dead or alive) who I most admire are (and no, you can't choose Shalonda) Besides the incomprarable Shalonda, I'd have to say David Simon, for brilliantly telling the truth about a blighted city without ever once giving up on it, Coretta Scott King, for standing up for everyone's civil rights every single day of her life, and my BFF Wendi. She's the most brilliant diplomat I've ever known, and kinds of creative brilliance I can't adequately describe. I want to be like her when I grow up.

My high school teachers would have used the following words to describe me: distracted, frustrating, quiet.

The one song I could never grow tired of is Greensleeves, followed closely by O Holy Night.

In 10 words or less, I would describe Shadowed Summer as the long last summer, when everything changes.

Thank you Saundra for taking time to participate!  

You can find out more about Saundra Mitchell at her website.  More information about Shadowed Summer can be found at the book's website.