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MEET ANNE C. BROMLEY (3/2011)
by Ann Stalcup

Did you write stories when you were growing up? At school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

Anne C. Bromley

I started writing poems and drawing sketches in a red leather diary (a gift from my aunt) when I was seven years old. But my “breakthrough” came in fourth grade when I wrote a play about Johnny Tremain, a young silversmith’s apprentice who got caught up in the rebellion that led to the American Revolution. My teacher assigned parts to my classmates, and I remember the fun and thrill of hearing my words spoken by others. That play, however, was my last. My red leather diary and many other journals were filled with poems, stories, and a few songs.

When you were a child, did you ever have a moment when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

Even though I loved to write in my journal, I never thought of myself as a writer. I had “grander” plans: I wanted to be 1) an archeologist, 2) a physicist, and 3) a Catholic nun – not exactly in that order. It took many years and two incisive professors to get me on the path I was meant to follow – that of a writer and a teacher of creative writing.

Was your first book accepted immediately? Or did you experience a number of rejections?

My first book for children, THE LUNCH THIEF, a story picture book for young readers (ages 7 – 11), took about six months to write (from inspiration to final draft). The manuscript was rejected ten times before it was accepted for publication by Tilbury House Publishers.  This experience felt like light-speed compared to how long it took my first book of poems, MIDWINTER TRANSPORT, to be finally accepted – five years!

What kinds of things inspire you to write?

The shredding clouds across the moon. A boy with green hair and nose rings buying taquitos at the cash register of a convenience store (what is his secret? I wonder). A young father riding his bike around the block several times to put his baby to sleep. An overheard conversation that begins with “No way am I gonna tell her the truth!” Or maybe it’s a feeling welling up from deep in my heart that turns into an inner proclamation: “Now it’s time to get this story down!” Or I’ll read something in the newspaper or online about some extraordinary act by an ordinary kid: rescuing a cat, raising money for earthquake victims, or inventing a better mousetrap (one that doesn’t kill the mouse). I’m inspired by kids who exhibit their finest selves. THE LUNCH THIEF is about a boy who thinks twice before he acts, who sees the other side of the problem and resolves it with compassion.

Where do you get your ideas?

Everywhere! It’s a matter of being open and receptive to what I observe. Henry James once said, “A writer is someone upon whom nothing is lost.” Like sponges, we absorb the world around and within us. At some point, we have to choose the idea that needs to  become a story. It is that “I need to write about this now,” feeling that gets me started.

What gave you the idea for THE LUNCH THIEF?

While walking through the Men’s Department at J.C. Penney’s one evening in late November, I saw a heavyset boy about twelve years old, struggling to try on a sweater. His mother kept handing him more sweaters, and he was not happy about this. I listened. I watched. I went over to the Food Court of the mall and wrote down all that I’d seen and heard. When I got home, I wrote a 500-word objective description of this experience. Then I wrote an interior monologue in this boy’s voice. He “told” me his problem and that helped to jumpstart the story.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

I try to write every week day for two hours in the morning, but that doesn’t always happen. I also work in our family business. But I always carry a small notebook in my purse so that I can “steal” a few moments when I’m running errands to jot down an idea or a thread of dialogue.  I may or may not be at my desk or computer screen – the “writing” is still taking place.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

Having an author visit is much more than, “Look, everybody! Here’s a real writer!” This is just another feature of our “celebrity culture.” Instead, I would rather turn the students’ attention to the direct, joyous, affirming experience of writing itself. My hope is that if hands-on writing classes, in smaller groups are included, writing will become something that students will want to do and look forward to doing long after I have left the school. In the process, the students will tap into their own experiences and imaginations. In short, I want to leave students with the strong feeling of conviction: “I can do this too!”