Small-town Wyoming upbringing led Sarah Reichert to focus on community

Sarah Reichert (S.E. Reichert) is a writer, novelist, poet and blogger. She is the author of The Sweet Valley Series from 5 Prince Publishing and five other novels. Reichert is the Youth Coordinator of the Writing Heights Writers Association. Her work has been featured in The Fort Collins Coloradoan, Haunted Waters Press, “Sunrise Summits: A Poetry Anthology,” “Rise: An Anthology of Change,” Poetry Ireland Review, and “We Are The West: A Colorado Anthology.” Reichert lives in Fort Collins with her family. In her non-writing hours, she is a mother to two teenage girls, loves being outdoors, and is a 2^nd degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate JuJitsu. 

Reichert’s book “Raising Elle” was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in Romance.

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

S.E. Reichert: I grew up in a small town in Wyoming, and come from a small ranching family. The first 22 years of my life I was raised and lived in this one environment. When I got out and started traveling and living in more urban areas, I realized how unique my childhood was. Not so much being raised in a rural area, but in the different ways that people connect locally, when you’re cut off from a lot of the world. 

A lot of small towns and communities in Wyoming face poverty and hardship, and as other people have started escaping bigger towns to buy land and property, it forced a lot of small ranches to sell. It’s the way of the world, but it’s also the destruction of a way of life and the deeper roots of being connected to the land for your livelihood. 

In my own town, a huge “ranch” has come in, bought up entire sections of land and has even tried to block locals from using the county roads. They don’t contribute taxes or funding to the local community, but they take up huge resources (roads, airport noise and maintenance, land, housing for their staff). So, while the theme of “Raising Elle” is about rising up after adversity and reclaiming your strength and your ability to love, the overarching theme in the series is about family and community, and standing up for the little guy in a world of corporate greed. Kind of deep for a romance, I guess. 

On a closer level, “Raising Elle” came about from knowing women, and being a woman, who had suffered through abusive situations and relationships and how that contrasted with the strong women in my life. I started to wonder, if you’d suffered this horrible loss, and lived in fear for so long, how do you come back to trusting, not just yourself but another person? And is love possible after that kind of betrayal? When writing it, I went through a few different versions, building characters that felt realistic and fallible but still had the potential and the desire to grow and love.

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

Reichert: I picked this small section because part of the beauty of The Sweet Valley Series is in the small town where it’s set. The characters that live there and the function that community serves in Elle’s healing is a big theme of the book. The scene in the bar is a pretty good representation of what it feels like to come home to a small town after being away. The way some people don’t change, and how seeing someone you once loved can feel like getting thrown back in time. 

It gives us some history on Elle, how the community views her family, supportive or not. It’s also the first time readers get to see Elle and Blake together on the page. Up until this point, they’d been muddling through their own lives, and this is the first time they’re thrown back together after a lot of years and heartache apart. I like to think it’s part surprise, part regret, and the first inklings of hope and comfort they both start to notice after a long time of being in the dark. 

My favorite part though, is in seeing Elle (after surviving an abusive marriage) start to feel more protective of herself and the things she loves, as well as in finding her strength. Hitting Ty with a bar stool is, in a lot of ways, one of the first steps she takes in realizing she’s stronger than she knew. Plus, he deserved it.

SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write? And once you did begin to write, did the work take you in any unexpected directions?

Reichert: So much of this book came from memories of growing up. From the small town back roads, to trying to irrigate in a drought, to Elle’s sisters, and the way Elle’s parents talk to each other. There are little pieces everywhere in the book that are just, pure rural life. I knew a fair amount about horses and chickens, but I didn’t know much about goats, so I did do a lot of research on them. I asked people who owned them in my home town lots of questions, and found out all kinds of interesting things on the internet like how many offspring they could have, what kind of fiber they produced, what else they could be used for (“mowing” the tall grass between solar panels is one thing they’re very adept at, as machines can’t get between). 

The book itself went through probably three major rewrites (names and scenes completely changed) before I even queried it. I think I struggled because at times I was afraid of the intensity of Elle’s situation, and doing justice to the kind of love she deserved to find. I have probably another whole book of notes and deleted scenes exploring who she is and who Blake is, and how and why they deserve this second chance. 

Some things were unexpected! I knew Elle was strong but until I sort of let go, and let her be her own character, and let her get mad (because she deserved to get mad) I didn’t know how resilient she could be, or how absolutely tall she could stand.

SunLit: Are there lessons you take away from each experience of writing a book? And if so, what did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?

Reichert: Oh my gosh, that’s a great question. I do learn something every single time I write a book. Sometimes it’s very mechanical (like, don’t use too many em dashes or exclamation points). Sometimes it’s an improvement in craft, like tightening up my dialogue and creating a good pace for the plot. There’s always something new to play with and something old to improve on. 

I really learned how to trust my characters and how to trust myself in portraying them in this book. Some of my earlier beta readers didn’t like certain aspects of Blake. A few of their points about specific scenes were valid and insightful and I made changes that created a better dynamic and a better man (thank goodness for beta readers). 

But there were some who almost demanded I change vital parts of his personality based on their own preferences. I think this book taught me a lot about how to take criticism and use it to make the book stronger and the characters truer to themselves. It also taught me to recognize which criticisms were constructive, and to stand up for my work when they weren’t. 

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

Reichert: This may be the first book I’ve written where I wasn’t really in love with Elle until about the fifth draft. I think I even blogged about my frustrations with earlier versions of her! I had a hard time finding the balance of creating this character that had survived terrible things and still expected her to be able to love after all of it. That’s a tall ask, especially in a romance novel. 

It really wasn’t until I stepped back, wrote a ton of backstory and side scenes about Elle and alternate situations, that I allowed her the space and support to heal. It became really important to let go of the idea that she needed a man. She doesn’t need Blake. At the end of the story, she’s standing tall and is loved by her family, and has purpose. And I think that makes it an even better romance. Because they don’t complete each other, each is complete on their own. 

But they enrich each other’s lives. They make the journey more bearable. It’s important to me to drive home the idea that a true romance is about finding someone who sees all the dark and holds you through it. Who doesn’t make demands on your freedom or autonomy, but who loves you for it.

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? 

Reichert: Oh man. Just one? Whew, okay…

Resilience through love. We are all resilient to some extent, but what Elle and Blake (and all of Sweet Valley) taught me, is that resilience without love becomes bitterness, hardness, detachment from the world.

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?

Reichert: I could probably write a whole dissertation. Whenever I read about books being banned or demands for them to be removed from public spaces, I think about fear. There is a great fear in our current society about people being exposed to a bigger, more complex world. Information, ideas, thinking…all of these “frightful” attributes come from reading. 

And people who take in information via reading (which is much more intimate and neuron-growing than merely watching something), start to think on their own, start to understand other ideas or perspectives, perhaps gain empathy and understanding. They learn to question information that gets thrown at them. And that makes them a population that is harder to control, manipulate, and fool. It’s harder to convince someone to hate a whole group of people when they’ve read a story from that perspective and have felt empathy and connection on a very real and human level. 

When people ban books, they are seeking to control thought. They are afraid of losing power. Probably because they know that their ideology is flawed, and if people no longer blindly believe, they will not have the numbers. Reading, unfortunately for these people may cause such dire consequences as brain development, thought processing, rationality, compassion, empathy, and humility. A reading mind is an open mind, and an open mind is a mind that adapts, creates, wonders, plays and loves. All of those things are very hard to control once let loose in the world.

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

Reichert: I used to write anywhere I could get a few minutes. I’m the mom of two kids and I remember writing most of my first book during nap times, and in the car while I was waiting for preschool to get out. I’ve written in cars and planes and kitchen tables, and in bed until I fell asleep on the keyboard. I’ve even jotted down ideas and conversations while out hiking. 

My children used to be in karate, and I would sit in the parent section and write madly for about an hour. I actually kind of miss the noise of the class — I got used to being able to create in that chaos. I think that was my survival mode of “get it in where you can.” Most parents probably can relate. 

Now that my kids are older, and after my fifth book, I decided I’d like a real desk with all my reference materials and pens close by, and a drawer full of snacks (essential), and a fun chair. A few years ago, I created a small home office to have a dedicated writing space. Now I do most of my work there. It’s a good way to separate my day from the writing time I have. It’s in an open loft so I’m still subject to the kids coming and going, and the laundry machines running, and my dog snoring behind me. It’s still a little chaos, but it’s mine. 

I try to write at least an hour to two a day. Sometimes that’s on a dedicated story, sometimes that’s rewriting a project, sometimes it’s blogs or promotional stuff. I try to count everything toward that time. 

I really like using the Pomodoro technique, especially when I’m having a hard time getting started or finding a flow. I set a timer, write for 20 or 30 minutes, take five off, and then write for another 20 or 30. It helps me by giving me a limit and a break. And I’m always amazed by how much I can get done in those short sprints. If I have a long period and a lot of inspiration I will sometimes just sit and write for an hour or two. I love getting into the magical lapse of it, where time doesn’t really mean anything and I’m just lost in the other world.  

SunLit: Were you expecting the twist at the end of “Raising Elle” when you wrote it?

Reichert: I had been through a couple different versions of the book. If you haven’t read it, I don’t want to give too much away, but in the original versions, Aaron is present until the end of the book as a harrowing part of the conflict. I think as I worked through Elle’s much-needed growth, it became increasingly important that she be a character who took action, and determined her own path. That’s all I’ll say.

SunLit: Tell us about your next project.

Reichert: Currently I’m working on finishing up a literary novel and will try to pitch it this year to an agent. I’m also the Youth Coordinator for Writing Heights Writers Association, so I have a group of teens I’m working with to put out their first anthology this summer. I have a new Urban Fantasy trilogy set in the Ornkey Islands of Scotland that I’m steadily working towards finishing. I have my second time-traveling romance, “Vella,” coming out, hopefully by next October. 

And I’m working on editing my first two-act stage play, so I can send that out to some theaters this fall. When I list all of that I feel like I might have writer ADHD. I kind of do. Sometimes if I get stuck or frustrated, I’ll work on something else for a bit and come back to the “problem child” and sometimes the shift away helps me see solutions easier. Plus, I just love stories. Whether they’re mine or other peoples. The more stories the world has, the better the world will be.

Just a few more quick questions

SunLit: Do you look forward to the actual work of writing or is it a chore that you dread but must do to achieve good things? 

Reichert: Oh, I look forward to it. Sometimes I feel guilty because I get so lost in it my cat doesn’t get fed on time. Tragic.

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

Reichert: I had a short story in the 8^th grade that I entered into Wyoming Young Authors. It was about a couple who got separated by the Berlin Wall, and how they reunited after it came down. It was horribly written but it was when I think I first discovered romance and adversity and it felt pretty big at that age. 

I also remember the first “book” of poetry I wrote in high school. It was pretty angsty but when I go back and read through some of it, I can still feel the emotions that drove my writing, and even though it’s cringy (as my daughters would say) I’m proud of how I learned to express all of those hard feelings at such a young age.

SunLit: When you look back at your early professional writing, how do you feel about it? Impressed? Embarrassed? Satisfied? Wish you could have a do-over?

Reichert: I love my first trilogy (The Southtown Harbor Series) They were my first real novels and I worked almost a decade on them. I’m proud of how hard I worked on them. I hired editors and I independently published them because I believed so much in the characters and the stories. I understand that they have some current industry no-no’s in them. (head hopping, flowery description) 

But I was reading Stephen King’s Dark Tower series last year and realized that he was the king (ha ha pun intended) of head hopping and extreme description. I’m no Stephen King, but I recognize that our voice is our voice, and there will be someone out there who appreciates and likes it. There are people who love those books (and it’s more than just my mom — it’s like four other people). Would I go back and change them someday? Maybe? I still read them once a year and haven’t felt the need to yet. Those books are part of who I am, and who I’ve become as a writer. 

SunLit: What three writers, from any era, can you imagine having over for a great discussion about literature and writing? And why?

Reichert: That’s tough. Viktor Frankl — he wasn’t a writer so much as a psychologist and philosopher, but he wrote a lot about finding meaning and the importance of struggle in purpose. Going a completely different direction, Chuck Wendig. He’s one of my favorite fiction writers, he has a unique voice and a great balance of description. I also think he’s just a really down to earth writer who understands the modern challenges and would be a fun conversationalist. 

Mary Oliver…she’s one of my favorite poets and I just feel like there’s this authenticity to her work. A simplicity that still manages to talk about very complicated things. I would list Ray Bradbury, Jane Austen, and Audre Lorde too but…that would be cheating.

SunLit: Do you have a favorite quote about writing?

Reichert: A few! But this one always hits me:

“We never sit anything out. We are cups, quietly and constantly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” -Ray Bradbury

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

Reichert: Probably that I have no taste or class whatsoever. Ha! Well, it’s really eclectic. Lots of craft books, from the specific (dialogue, character psychology) to the general (Chicago Manual of Style). Poetry books, Shakespeare, Voltaire and Frankl — I’m newly into some heavy philosophy — fantasy novels, romance novels, anthropology textbooks, Buddhist and naturalist guides, “The Feminine Mystique.” Kenpo Manuals (Ed Parker) and some hiking guides.

I guess it says that I’m curious. That I like studying humans and thought. That I have so much to learn, and it comes in so many forms. That I believe in getting whisked away with a story as much as I believe in getting better at writing them.

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

Reichert: Oddly enough, I create a playlist for almost every book I write, and I’ll listen to that on walks or down time, just to sort of keep the feelings and thoughts in my head. It’s usually just songs that remind me of the characters, or the setting, or the interactions and crisis moments. 

Sometimes it inspires new scenes or different conversations that I’ll jot down. But when it comes to sitting down and writing, I can’t listen to anything with words. So, I really like the Piano Guys, I love Ludivico Einaudi, something inspirational and instrumental helps. I can also work in silence but sometimes it’s nice to have a little background noise. 

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

Reichert: I started really writing in the 8^th or 9^th grade but it was always just a hobby. I never really got a lot of encouragement except from a high school English teacher…but never to be a writer, just to keep writing. It wasn’t until I finished that first series, when I had those books in my hands and I just…had such an overwhelming sense of happiness and pride that my characters existed now in the same world as me. I remember thinking, man, I want to keep doing this.

SunLit: What’s your greatest fear as an author?

Reichert: Not having a next book, or next project, or next novel. I think I fear running out of ideas, or not being able to write. 

SunLit: Greatest satisfaction?

Reichert: Man, there’s nothing in the world like when someone comes up at a signing or launch and is just excited and happy, and wants to talk about a character or a scene. And you both get to nerd out together about this weird little stack of papers, filled with words. Or when they post a quote from your book and how it made them laugh or cry. 

Knowing that my stories and my characters, even my poetry, touched someone, made them think, made them feel something. Human connection and bringing readers some joy and escape. I love that.

Type of Story: Q&A

An interview to provide a relevant perspective, edited for clarity and not fully fact-checked.