“It all started with a Hiccup. Hiccup and Toothless, actually,” said Alumna Laura White ’13 of her recently published fantasy novel. White, who writes under penname Elle Katherine White, began working on her book Heartstone as a student, after an evening of trying to divide her attention between reading Pride and Prejudice and watching the film How to Train Your Dragon. She stated, “Halfway through the movie I had the sudden image of Mr. Darcy riding a dragon and all I could think was ‘This story HAS to exist.’”
The fact that her story has gone on to be published is no small feat. From the time of its conception to its publication in January, the book has been four years in the making and has gone through multiple rewrites. White stated she had “Lots and lots of rejection…we went through several rounds of editing with Heartstone before going on submission to a list of editors my agent thought would be interested. After that, it was . . . more rejection. Luckily there was one yes in that sea of no’s, and that’s how we landed with HarperVoyager.”
White visited her alma mater in October, both to promote her book and to encourage aspiring writers that publication is possible. She held a lecture and visited classes, speaking powerfully about the writing life and the need for diligent work while maintaining a gracious attitude. Professor of English, Stephen Woolsey, who taught one of White’s classes at Houghton, stated, “She has a real calling or concern for the students here, wanting them to value their own gifts…calling them to a kind of courage in exploring those gifts and making the most of them.”
Students who attended White’s talks certainly felt the passion that White has for writing and encouraging young artists in their craft. Sophia Ross, who attended the lectures, stated, “Laura had a lot of practical advice for us at each of her events. She obviously works incredibly hard to balance her work life with her writing life. She’s proof that being published by a big house isn’t impossible, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.” HarperVoyager, White’s publisher, is a branch of HarperCollins, and is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world. Not bad at all, for a Houghton grad.
White stressed how important a writing community has been for her during the creative process, and recommended a similar path to aspiring authors. “Network with fellow writers at all stages in the career path,” she said. “Writing is often a lonely endeavor, and you need a strong community to keep you sane.” White also emphasized the importance of treating writing as a serious occupation. She worked as a marketing manager while writing her novel, but considered her writing to be the equivalent of another full-time job. She stated, “If you treat it seriously, other people will too; if you treat it like a casual hobby, so will the rest of the world.”