Rising Stars: Meet Laura Resau

Hi Laura, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been an author since 2006, when my first young adult novel, What the Moon Saw, was published with Random House—a dream come true after years of drafting, revising, and facing rejections. Since then, I’ve published nine more books with global settings, mostly novels for older kids and teens, as well as one picture book.

I’ve loved collaborating with women from Ecuador and Mexico on several books based on their fascinating life stories. Much of my work is inspired by places I’ve lived and traveled in Latin America and Europe and often explores human and environmental rights issues.

I now live in Fort Collins, where—in addition to writing—I teach English to a wonderful group of immigrants at a local farm. I also find it rewarding to mentor emerging writers as a faculty member of the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University. And I have loads of fun doing author presentations and workshops in libraries and schools around the country.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think that any multi-decade creative journey comes with challenges—it’s all part of the adventure. For me, the obstacles have been psychological, learning to work in harmony with my body and mind. Since childhood, I’ve dealt with anxiety, panic, and pain that has come to visit in waves. Over the years, my love of creating has motivated me to understand how to manage these issues.

I often think of the quote by Georgia O’Keefe: “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from a single thing that I wanted to do.” Okay, so “terrified” would be a bit strong to describe my own anxieties, but I can definitely relate! And I think that many of us can. So much of being a creative human is figuring out how to deal with fears so that we can get on with creating.

After some stumbling and grappling, I’ve learned how to not let these challenges define me. Now, at the heart of it, here’s how I define myself: someone who loves to create beauty. Over the decades, I’ve gathered many tools to manage chronic pain and anxiety so that I can keep creating.

Of course, this takes daily work! As a creator, it’s easy to fall into the trap of judging your worth or success by your products (in my case, books)—and by measurements like sales, reviews, and awards. Praise is nice for the ego, but the flip side is the inevitability of negative responses, too—not everyone will connect to your work. So, instead of focusing on the outcomes of my creativity, I focus on being in its flow. I make a sacred practice of writing every morning with candlelight and tea, surrounded by plants and heirlooms. I practice this craft every day, staying curious and always learning.

For me, that’s the key to having a decades-long creative career. There are ups and downs. Fears come and go. Still, I know that creativity is an underground spring, right beneath me. My writing rituals help me tap into it, and my books are a side effect of this daily practice. With this approach, I find myself taking more risks and growing in new ways, without getting attached to external measures of success.

I’ve found that when I write from a deep soul place, readers connect with my stories and complete them in their own unique ways. Serendipitously, on the occasions when I slip into a funk about a perceived failure… that’s when an email or message comes from a reader telling me how one of my books impacted their life. This always feels like a gift from the universe, and I’m filled with gratitude that the person reached out at precisely the right moment.

At the deepest level, my identity is defined by what I love, and what I do. Rumi said, “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” To me, that’s what it means to me to be a writer.

Thanks – so, can you tell our readers what you’re known for? And tell us more about what you’re focusing on now. Is there something you’re particularly proud of?
Since I have a cultural anthropology background, speak Spanish and French, lived in Oaxaca and Provence, and traveled around Central and South America, a number of my books are set in these places. When most people think of my work, they think of multi-cultural novels with touches of magic and myth for older kids and teens. More broadly, you could say that my stories transport readers, and let them connect with unique settings and characters in meaningful ways.

I feel proud of the risks I’ve taken in my career and the new paths I’ve forged, especially in recent years. After nine novels, I felt inspired to write my first picture book, Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest—co-authored with Patricia Gualinga, an Indigenous leader in Ecuador. It was an exciting challenge to collaboratively tell her story in a concise and kid-friendly way—using poetic language, making every word count, and letting the text integrate with the gorgeous watercolor illustrations.

Another risk I’m proud of is branching out into a new genre—science fiction. My upcoming young adult novel, Virch (available for pre-order with a June 2024 release), was sparked by a philosophy article about whether we’re living in a computer simulation. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I wrote this futuristic story to explore ancient questions about reality versus illusion.

During the revisions, I learned how to create thriller-fast pacing, focus on plot and suspense, do post-apocalyptic world-building, and more. This took a long time! Looking back at my files, I see that I jotted down my first ideas for the novel back in 2012… which means this story was twelve years in the making.

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
People have been surprised when they hear that my new novel, Virch, is sci-fi. But I’ve always been a big fan of mind-bending speculative fiction—the kind that offers an entirely new perspective on existence and really makes you think. Some of my favorite films and TV shows over the years have been in this genre—The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Black Mirror, The Matrix, Interstellar—you get the idea! Of course, books in this genre thrill me too, from childhood favorites like A Wrinkle in Time to contemporary adult sci-fi like Dark Matter.

For me, having a long-lasting writing career is about exploring new territory, defying categorization, breaking boundaries, and most of all, growing and transforming.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauraresau.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraresau/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057088165074