Back again, folks! This week, we are diving into the literary world of S. M. Levine, an indie writer whose debut novel, The Trial Run, comes out on March 14th! It's a heartwarming romance that portrays characters who deal with real-world problems, including mental health issues and financial struggles. We talk about this, her journey to becoming an author, and the role of tikkun olam in her books.
Q. In the book, you mention that becoming a published writer was a long-time dream of yours. Can you say a little bit about how this dream finally became a reality for you?
A. I started writing seriously in 2019, after a conversation with my kid (now a teenager). I told them I’d always wanted to be a writer, but life had gotten too busy with work and family. They said, “Mom, you’ll never be a writer if you don’t sit down and write something.” That set me off on my writing journey. It was very much a feeling of, “if not now, then when?”
Last year, I started researching indie publishing, and I’m so happy with my decision to self-publish. It’s been amazing so far. I love the supportive nature of the community, and so many writers have helped me along the way.
Q. As a writer, it can be hard to know how much to share about our personal lives. What’s your philosophy on this so far?
A. This is something I’m figuring out as I go, as a newer author! I’m naturally a very introverted person, who, if given the choice, would live in a cave and send out books a couple times a year. Given that’s not an option, I’ve been figuring out how much to share of myself online this last year. I’ve loved connecting with readers so far!
Q. The Trial Run features characters who deal with very real-world, unsexy problems. What inspires you to create these types of characters, and what are some of the challenges they pose to you as a writer?
A. I love writing characters dealing with real-world problems, like anxiety or poverty. It’s important to me that my characters are not billionaires or CEOs, but just “ordinary” people doing their best and finding love. These are the stories I’m most interested in as a reader, too.
I also love writing about Jewish characters finding love and experiencing joy. I think I read a statistic that something like 50% of fiction books published with Jewish characters are WWII-related. And while that is a very important topic to learn about, I want us to have our happy love stories, too!
Q. On a related note, your tagline on your website is “Romance to repair the world.” Can you explain where this phrase comes from and what it means to you?
A. One of the first romances I wrote had a big theme running through it of tikkun olam, the repair of the world. This is of course the Jewish concept that we should leave the world better than we found it. That we might not complete the work, but we can’t abandon it, either.
When I was starting up my indie author space, I thought a lot about what I’ve gotten out of reading romance, and what I hoped I could give to readers of my romances. The world is in such an uncertain state right now, and what romance does best is give people hope, warm feelings, and the knowledge that all people from all backgrounds deserve that HEA.
So, what I try to focus on as a writer is, how can my romances help uplift people when they read them?
Q. Finally: a question I ask all the authors I interview: what is the best writing/publishing advice you’ve ever been given?
A. I think for me, the best advice has been to focus on the joy you get out of the writing process itself. You can’t control if people will read your books or like them. But the writing—that’s yours. And if you love what you’re doing, you’ll attract the right people to your work.
The Trial Run is available for pre-orders now, and you can find it on Kindle Unlimited on the 14th!