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Janisse Ray
Janisse Ray
We all enjoy an adventurous thriller that keeps us on the edge of our seats, and one that involves young children dealing with extreme adversity can be particularly engaging.
Georgia Writers Hall of Fame author Janisse Ray wrote such a story in The Woods of Fannin County. It describes the ordeal of eight children—brothers and sisters ranging in age from three months to 10 years—who vanish from a rented bungalow in Morganton and end up living together in a remote shack in the Blue Ridge foothills of northeast Georgia.
For the next four years, they live mostly alone—no mother or father—scouring for food and continuously scrambling to care for each other.
Georgia Writers Museum (GWM) is fortunate to host Ray as its Meet the Author presenter on June 4 at The Plaza Arts Center in Eatonton. We spoke with her recently about The Woods of Fannin County.
GWM: With ecology as its theme, this book differs significantly from other books you have written. What is it about this literary genre that most appeals to you?
Ray: My father loved stories and always listened for one that would make a great book. He heard this story from his buddy Jimmy Woods, who ran an antique store in my hometown. Because the material involves the memories of children and information that implicates others, I decided to make it fiction. It is fiction, in that I retold all the stories to make them more compelling, more concrete, and more literary.
GWM: What compelled you to write about this unique story?
Ray: I have a special place in my heart for children, especially children who have withstood trauma.
GWM: What most encouraged you to become an author?
Ray: My people were the old crackers, the poor folks who settled in southern Georgia when the native folks were driven out viciously. My ancestors mostly had come from the British Isles, where their relationship to the spirits of the land was centuries old. They brought with them knowledge of the mysterium – the world of mystery – evident in their language, beliefs, and mannerisms.
Stories were very important to my people. The language was, too. And by that, I mean how and what words are used. Becoming a writer from this nativity was easy.
GWM: What is the most difficult part of the writing
process for you?
Ray: The most difficult part of the writing process for me has been making a living from it.
GWM: We know you’re already working on your next book. Can you give us a sneak preview?
Ray: Craft and Current is a how-to manual for writers on craft and accessing the mysterium. This book is close to my soul. I loved writing it.
The writing took years, but I actually stretched it out. I kept learning new things about craft and putting them in the draft. Then, I had an epiphany about magic and its necessity for great writing, and I revised the entire book to add thoughts and suggestions on accessing the mysterium.
GWM’s Meet the Author with Janisse Ray will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, with doors at The Plaza opening a half hour earlier. The event will also feature amazing sweets from the wild and décor themed around the book. Admission is $20, and tickets are available online at georgiawritersmuseum.org. Register soon and preorder a copy of The Woods of Fannin County for Ray to sign.