In the new Republic of Texas, guns are compulsory and nothing is forgiven. Blue Running is a gripping coming-of-age thriller set in post-secessionist Texas. A fast-paced, page-turning book, it looks unflinchingly at what the future could hold, and finds hope there.
One of the main themes in Blue Running and other coming-of-age stories is the journey to self-discovery in the midst of “all hell breaking loose.” Like most other novels, my stories begin with the everyday-normal-but-not-quite-right. As a Texan who mostly writes about Southerners, “not quite right” covers a lot of ground. Like many other dystopian novels, my plot takes off when the main character is betrayed by the rules of her own world (“all hell breaks loose”), and her redemption is in her ability to find a way to right a moral wrong. At the root of all of my stories are those confusing formative years, when desire and betrayal and defeat are excruciatingly intense and seemingly never-ending. Many character flaws, I believe, have roots in these early traumas. And of course, environmental trauma can also carry a storyline through to many a self-discovery.
Several novels influenced my attention to trauma, character, and setting in Blue Running. Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale imagined shocking possibilities that stayed and stayed with me. Novels like theirs illustrate that vivid world-building can be effective catalysts for character development. At the heart of their novels and mine, characters pursue a fundamental desire for freedom and human connection. Cultural and political edicts often get in the way.
Blue and Jet, my novel’s major characters, strike out on their own, determined to find answers to their shattered lives. I was inspired by other writers who write powerfully about young people and poverty. Jesmyn Ward portrays her independent young characters in Salvage the Bones with honesty and authenticity. Samantha Mabry’s All the Wind in the World captures the precarious relationship between teenagers who are just trying to survive together in her post-apocalyptic Southwest novel. I wanted to create characters who were fiercely independent and vulnerable, and to craft a novel that foreshadowed the consequences of political and religious fanaticism. At the same time, I hope that, like the novels that inspire me, Blue Running gives readers a glimpse of hope in the human spirit.
Novelist, librettist, lecturer Lori Ann Stephens grew up in North Texas, where she developed an addiction to the arts. Her novels for children and adults include Novalee and the Spider Secret, Some Act of Vision, and Song of the Orange Moons, and her award-winning work has been noted by Glimmer Train Stories, The Chicago Tribune, and the English National Opera. She teaches Writing and Critical Reasoning undergraduate courses, as well as creative writing graduate courses, at Southern Methodist University. She lives in Texas and is a bit mad about her cat.
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05/09/23 |
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05/09/23 |
BONUS Stop |
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05/10/23 |
Excerpt |
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05/10/23 |
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05/11/23 |
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05/12/23 |
Playlist |
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05/12/23 |
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05/13/23 |
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05/13/23 |
Guest Post |
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05/14/23 |
Author Interview |
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05/15/23 |
Scrapbook Page |
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05/15/23 |
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05/16/23 |
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05/17/23 |
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05/18/23 |
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05/18/23 |
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Boys' Mom Reads! 
I always love to read what inspires authors to write their stories. Thanks for sharing this.