An Interview with Elizabeth Scott, Author of Bloom

When Elizabeth Scott was a teenager, she did not yet plan on becoming a writer. She did not know exactly what career she would pursue once she was out of high school. What she did know was that she didn't want to live in the middle of nowhere.

Years later, all grown up and having had a variety of jobs, Elizabeth found herself writing a novel about a girl who is searching for something more. In BLOOM, Lauren finds herself stuck in a kind of emotional limbo. I suppose you could say that she too is in the middle of nowhere. ( Read my full-length book review. )

Spring has sprung, BLOOM is in stores, and Elizabeth is hanging out at Bildungsroman.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Oh, this is a tough one. See, every writer I've ever met has always wanted to write, and has fantastic stories about the writing they did when they were children and you know what I've got?

Nothing. I started writing when I was twenty-seven (I know, what a random age!), and ended up meeting some very kind people who encouraged my horrifically feeble first efforts and, over time, nudged me to consider thinking about writing something and, you know, actually sending it out into for people/publications to look at.

So, long story short, I knew when I was thirty-two, after someone bought the first short story I ever worked up the nerve to send out. That's when I thought, "Hey, maybe I really can do this."

How long did it take to write BLOOM?

It took me about eight weeks to write the first draft. And then a lot longer to revise it!

I really liked the confusion that I 'heard' in Lauren's voice. Do you find it easy to write in first person?

I do. It's like slipping into someone else's skin, and I like that. I think first person is very intimate.

One of my favorite early passages in the book is Lauren's memory of her mother pressed up against the glass, looking out. Would you rather be on the inside looking out or the outside looking in?

Outside looking in. You can see more that way.

Throughout the story, Lauren makes it clear that she does not want to be like her mother. Do you think that she will ever want to reunite with her mom?