Stefan Scheuermann has degrees in history and literature and has taught English composition at the university level. His writing spans multiple genres in fiction and non-fiction, from comparative language and biography to alternative history and historical fiction/fantasy. His fiction aspires to demonstrate the fantastical nature of real human lives and show how thin the line can be between history and fantasy.

SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?

Scheuermann: The protagonist, Anna Koob, is my 10th great-grandmother. I discovered her during genealogical research. She was burnt as a witch in 1603 in Germany. 

As I told others about the discovery, I heard comments like, “Wow, that’s cool.” But I did not find it “cool.” I was mortified, and I found myself intensely compassionate to her fate. 

Little else about her survived. I knew the dates of her birth and death, where she lived, the names of her parents, child, and husband. With a desire to better know her and her fate, I researched the area, the time period, and other historical relevancies.

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My imagination began to fill in what I could not conclude with evidence. I began to write my speculations, which were eventually more fiction than factual. It is hard to say when I decided to write her story as a “based on actual events” historical fiction. I wanted to honor her, while drawing attention to such tragedies, and to place before an audience the parallels between the persecution of women then and now.

SunLit: Place this excerpt in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole? Why did you select it? 

Scheuermann: The excerpt is from Chapter Seven, which covers the often awkward courtship of Anna and Jost. I chose this section because it demonstrates the flawed humanity of people who are admired for lofty traits. It’s part of the long, bumbling courtship of two intelligent people. Their minds connect on a high level, but their romance seems to knock heads together until a better understanding of the other develops.

SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write? 

Scheuermann: Historical research ran quickly dry. When it did, I turned to inspiration. Sensing Anna’s blood inside of me, I asked her to tell her own story. I yielded my pen to her. It felt very much like she took it, like I was being shown something beautiful more than creating it.

SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?

Scheuermann: It is certainly no exaggeration to say that I came to know the subject of the book. Anna Koob became such an intimate part of my life that I still write her letters. I keep a box where I store the letters and convince myself that she has read them.

SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?

Scheuermann: Time has always been my biggest challenge as a writer. Virtually every minute of my life is already spoken for. With “Brighter than the Flames”, the story was always on my mind, and my lack of time to sit and write it was an acute frustration.

SunLit: If you could pick just one thing – a theme, lesson, emotion or realization — that readers would take from this book, what would that be? 

Scheuermann: The brightest stars among our species are often not the ones most easily seen.

SunLit: In a highly politicized atmosphere where books, and people’s access to them, has become increasingly contentious, what would you add to the conversation about books, libraries and generally the availability of literature in the public sphere?

Scheuermann: Literature heightens every facet of our beings. In a critique of another author, the great poet Alexander Pope wrote of the work that it serves “to wake the soul with tender strokes of art, to raise the genius and mend the heart.” Each author does so differently and to a different audience of readers. To limit the work of certain authors on certain topics is to stifle the potential growth of their readers.

“Brighter than the Flames”

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SunLit: Walk us through your writing process: Where and how do you write? 

Scheuermann: I do most of my writing in the café of my local public library. The library is a bustling place, teeming with a variety of life and activities. I find much inspiration there. In the library, my academic side and my spirit can snuggle closely together and collaborate.

SunLit: Tell us about your next project.

Scheuermann: I am working on my first collaborative work, an historical fiction based on the life of Scottish King Alexander III. It is called “King of the Gulls.”

 Just a few more quick questions

SunLit: Which do you enjoy more as you work on a book – writing or editing?

Scheuermann: Definitely writing, though they are very different experiences, each with rewards. While I write, I feel like I am living with the characters. While editing, I feel like I am reading about them.

SunLit: What’s the first piece of writing – at any age – that you remember being proud of?

Scheuermann: When I was 14, I wrote a letter to my grandmother. It was in writing that letter that I discovered the power of words to express the human experience. I became a fan of letter writing, and began reading the letters of famous people.

SunLit: What three writers, from any era, would you invite over for a great discussion about literature and writing?

Scheuermann: Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, and Samuel Johnson

SunLit: Do you have a favorite quote about writing?

Scheuermann: There is no Frigate like a Book / To take us Lands away / Nor any Coursers like a Page / Of prancing Poetry – / This Traverse may the poorest take / Without oppress of Toll – / How frugal is the Chariot / That bears the Human Soul. – Emily Dickinson

SunLit: What does the current collection of books on your home shelves tell visitors about you?

Scheuermann: I tend to dwell on the distant past, and I find in history the ingredients that make up modern people.

SunLit: Soundtrack or silence? What’s the audio background that helps you write?

Scheuermann: That depends entirely on the nature of the chapter. I often listen to the music of the culture and era I am writing about.

SunLit: What music do you listen to for sheer enjoyment?

Scheuermann: I like the folk music of different cultures around the world, and I love to hear music in different languages.

SunLit: What event, and at what age, convinced you that you wanted to be a writer?

Scheuermann: I believe it was in high school English class, studying Shakespeare.

SunLit: As a writer, what do you fear most?

Scheuermann: I fear the death of my characters – that I will die and the characters I have fallen in love with will never be loved and admired.

SunLit: Also as a writer, what brings you the greatest satisfaction?

Scheuermann: Connecting with my characters on a personal level, when I start hearing them talk to me while I’m driving down the highway, when I awaken with their voices in my head.

This byline is used for articles and guides written collaboratively by The Colorado Sun reporters, editors and producers.