HSU grad writes her first fulllength novel
Humboldt State University graduate writes her first full-length novel
Humboldt State University graduate Shelly Zapata has written her first novel titled “Indubitably.” The book’s release follows the 2019 publication of Zapata’s collection of poetry, “Dimples, Frowns & All My Ups and Downs,” written while she was making her way through a breakup.
Zapata, who lives and works in Eureka, has been writing since she was a child. Her new 330-page story follows main character Jazmine Martin, who flees to the small town of Whitebirch, where she once lived, and runs into an old flame upon her arrival.
“This novel was inspired by some events that have occurred to me in the years following my divorce,” Zapata said in an email interview with the Times-Standard. “While the story is greatly fictionalized, there are several scenes and conversations that have happened in real life.
“I wanted to create a story,” she said, “that paralleled finding yourself after a relationship has taken everything away from you. For me, writing is a form of therapy, so by putting my characters through similar events occurring to me, I can take a step back and analyze it differently.”
While penning poetry and fiction have both proven therapeutic for Zapata, the writing formats are different in many ways.
“Writing a full-length novel definitely requires more dedication. You could definitely go on forever if you didn’t have a deadline,” she said. “I like to break up my estimated total word count into a daily word count, so I know how many words I need to write in a day. With poetry, the inspiration can strike anywhere — in the smell of a flower, looking at the stars. For me, poetry is never planned out, it just happens.”
Zapata says one of the “coolest” parts of her new book is the cover art, created by artist Paige McClurg, who currently lives in Seattle.
“I originally met (McClurg) during a Eureka Arts Alive! at the Scruffy Nerd Herder,” Zapata said. “She was drawing with chalk, using both hands while also interacting with people who came into the shop. I was instantly mesmerized by her work and purchased two drawings, which have hung in my bedroom ever since.”
Zapata added: “I liked her style of art and so I knew I wanted her to do the cover. She agreed and asked me to give her a brief outline of the book and the characters. I told her to just free draw and show me what she came up with. The characters she drew were as if she had pulled them from my head. It was perfect!”
“Indubitably” (Bound Adventures) is available from Amazon and also from Zapata’s website, www.boundadventures88.com.
Her new 330page story follows main character Jazmine Martin, who flees to the small town of Whitebirch, where she once lived, and runs into an old flame upon her arrival.