By day, Jessica Strawser — a Pittsburgh native — is the Editorial Director of Writer’s Digest magazine, North America’s leading publication for aspiring and working writers since 1920. By night, she is a fiction writer with a debut novel, Almost Missed You, forthcoming in 2017 from St. Martin’s Press and another stand-alone novel to follow in 2018.
Don’t miss out: Strawser will be launching Almost Missed You at Penguin Bookshop on April 6th!
From the Publisher: “Violet and Finn were ‘meant to be,’ said everyone, always. They ended up together by the hands of fate aligning things just so. Three years into their marriage, they have a wonderful little boy, and as the three of them embark on their first vacation as a family, Violet can’t help thinking that she can’t believe her luck. Life is good.
So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach―just packs up the hotel room and disappears. And takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all.
Caitlin and Finn have been best friends since way back when, but when Finn shows up on Caitlin’s doorstep with the son he’s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn’t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice…”
“Almost Missed You is an emotional powerhouse of a novel, filled with complex relationships and difficult choices, the secrets we keep, and the lies we tell to those we love while hoping to shield them from harm. Strawser’s tale of guilt, blame, redemption, and forgiveness is a must read for anyone who enjoys a well-told, compelling exploration of the human heart.” —Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain and A Sudden Light
What’s your favorite thing about Pittsburgh?
Definitely its history. My grandfather worked in an Ambridge steel mill, and my dad grew up in a tight-knit community of mill families, where decades later my grandmother still spoke of all the women scrambling out of their row houses to pull their sheets off the clotheslines when the wind took an upriver turn. I loved reading Out of This Furnace in high school, and still vividly remember the shared pride in our classroom that came with knowing our local heritage had a firm place in the curriculum.
Now that I live in Ohio, I sometimes get hassled (with love, of course — at least, I think they mean it with love) about being a Steelers fan, but they back down once I explain that it’s practically a genetic trait. (Having married a Bengals fan, we’re still sorting out what happens to the genes from here… but so far our kiddos enthusiastically cheer both teams, which is actually a lot of fun.)
What books are on your nightstand?
One of the best parts of my day job at Writer’s Digest is the opportunity to interview bestselling authors for our cover stories — so you’ll always find the latest title by my next interviewee there. This is a great way to push myself to read in different genres; last year, for example, I gave myself back-to-back crash courses on Junot Diaz, Robert Crais and Debbie Macomber. Of course, I try to always be reading one of my own favorites too (Liane Moriarty, Jodi Picoult, Maggie O’Farrell) …
Is there a book you’d like to see made into a film?
I’m one of those annoying people you do not want to go see a book-to-screen film with, because I’ll constantly be shaking my head and whispering to you about what was different in the book. That being said, I can’t say I wouldn’t like to see my own novel made into a film… not that I’ve given it much thought (Jake Gyllenhaal as Finn, oh please oh please, cough cough).
If you were to write a book set in Pittsburgh, what would it be about?
As a Pittsburgher who has spent a lot of my adult life living elsewhere, I’d love to turn the tables and set a fish-out-of-water story in my hometown.
Who would you most want to share a plate of pierogis with?
My 3-year-old daughter. She’s had a milk allergy since infancy — no cheese, no butter, no fun—and we just received the good news from her specialist that her latest tests came back clear and she has officially outgrown all dietary restrictions! I can’t wait for her to try that pierogi goodness for the very first time. I think we can all agree three years is too long to wait!
Photo: Corrie Schaffeld
A Thrilling Lost Chapter of Mob Rule From the Publisher: "Western Pennsylvania’s New Kensington was in the grips of Mafia Read more
"Clary is the Whitman of West Virginia, honoring the laborers, the precious encounters, the deeper wisdoms. He understands intimately that Read more
From the Publisher: "In Watching Sarah Rise, Jenny Briggs shares her experience parenting her daughter Sarah, a feisty girl who Read more
About the Author: "Sean Gregory always loved fiction. At an early age he began reading the Hardy Boys and quickly Read more
A lyrical and heartfelt tribute from a parent to their “everything,” their child. From the Publisher: "Following a parent and Read more
Littsburgh has always been a “nights and weekends” passion project, ever since we started the site back in 2015. We Read more
New York Times-bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe will be featured at The Peters Township Library Foundation’s seventh annual Novel November Read more
"Life on the streets is hard but it's deadly when a young woman battles addiction." From the Publisher: "Where is Read more
From the Publisher: "Somehow, the sun always finds its way through the windows of the five mansions on Wisteria Drive. Read more
From the Publisher: “Bye, Ocean! We love you!” the little girl sang along, a big smile on her face, because Read more
When we posted about the Steel City Creatives writer's group, we learned that the founder (Charlotte Hopkins) also runs a Read more
M. Christine Benner Dixon, Ph.D. is an author, editor, and writing coach living in the Squirrel Hill South neighborhood of Read more
From the Publisher: "This fourth installment in the Tales from the Sheep Farm series continues the story of Delia Ford Read more
From the Publisher: "Wellness is more than mere numbers on a scale. Embark on a transformative journey towards sustainable weight Read more
From the Publisher: "Arriving in Marquette for her freshman year at Northern Michigan University, Molly enrolls in Dr. Robinson’s ecology Read more
“Podobnik pulls no punches in her brilliant analysis... ultimately showing us that liberation is a collective project.” — Renee Powers, Read more
From the Publisher: "When Tina Honkus was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it felt like a death sentence. All of the Read more
From the Publisher: "A shot-and-a-beer-town, a drinking town with a sports problem, a gruff, no nonsense, working class, blue collar Read more
"Anna Monardo’s story is one of strength and vulnerability, the two chambers of the immigrant heart." —Adriani Trigiani, The Good Read more
From the Publisher (Trib Total Media, LLC.): "In the earliest days of the pandemic, Covid-19 cut a deadly path through Read more
