Susan Rebecca White has a keen sense for how her characters talk and think. An impressive debut.

Of course I'd sometimes have characters from downstate living upstate, but it took a while for me to start writing about where I grew up.

I believe that we can access stories, and voices from those around us, more easily often than from our own imperfect memories.

Susan Rebecca White has a keen sense for how her characters talk and think. An impressive debut.

I had written about a small hamlet upstate, and had been called into a meeting about my story, which, as it turned out, had upset a lot of people.

When I teach, I try to assign writers from whom I can learn.

I think it's probably better to make a region your own, and then maybe you can go somewhere else, but a lot of great writers have stuck to one region.