fi nal chapter when I got there. But that’s not what
happened. After about the third chapter, I
abandoned the outline. This is a character-driven
novel. I loved the moments when I would reread
the next day what I’d written the evening before,
and say to myself, ‘Now where did that come
from?’ That mysterious process always stuns and
delights me.”
Susan recounted the infl uences teaching
college and high school English for many years
had on building a solid foundation for her.
“Helping students engage in literature for 33
years convinced me that there is no fi eld of study
any more important,” she said. “It brings
knowledge, satisfaction, and wisdom. Literature
reveals truths about what it means to be human
more than any other discipline. It forces us to see
as others see, to feel as others feel, to connect
others’ experience to ourselves and thereby
achieve greater understanding (the good, the bad,
and the ugly) of our own human nature.
“There is no greater teacher for writing fi ction
than teaching fi ction.”
Bells For Eli feels like the tenth novel written by
an accomplished Southern writer at the peak of
her powers, fl exing her literary muscles, engaging
with her readers through the eyes of compelling,
complex and very human characters.
What’s next for the author?
“Lately, I’ve been writing talks on subjects
related to circumstances in Bells for Eli to present
at book events on my tour. I’ve also been writing
guest blogs in relation to the novel,” Susan said.
“But I know what you’re asking. Is there another
book I have in mind? Yes, there is. At present, I
have some rudimentary notes and direction. Still
located in the South, the novel will be modern
day rather than set during a previous era as is
Bells for Eli. The story will involve a teacher and
two students, one from a privileged background
and one from deprived circumstances. I’ve not
written a work from varying viewpoints and
intend to challenge myself to write from the
viewpoint of each of these characters
surrounding a central confl ict between
opportunity and hardship.”
Susan is a recipient of several regional awards
for her fi ction, including The South Carolina
Fiction Project, The Alabama Writers Conclave
First Novel Chapter, The Porter Fleming Literary
Competition, and The Southern Writers
Symposium, she has also published numerous
stories and nonfi ction pieces in literary journals.
Zurenda lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Visit her website: susanzurenda.com, Facebook:
Susan Beckham Zurenda and on Instagram:
susanbeckhamzurenda
Bells For Eli, Mercer University Press, March 2020
- mupress.com
Jonathan Herbert is an award-winning
writer who grew up in Englewood. His
novels, Banyan Street & Silver King,
have won multiple literary awards,
including recognition from the Paris
Book Festival. You can follow him on
Twitter @herbertnovels or
online at herbertnovels.com.
We reached the tree line. Th e air seemed
cooler, away from the thick, open heat.
Soon enough, we arrived at the fl at bank
of bare clay where Francie had lowered her
baby into the water. We glanced at each
other.
“We’re here,” Eli said. Th e spot was quiet
except for the slender sound of water bubbling
and swirling among the rocks. “Do
you think her baby is still here or surfaced
somewhere else?”
“Th ere would have been a big story in
the newspaper if a drowned newborn baby
appeared,” I said.
“Maybe no one would bother to open the
sack.”
“No, I think it is resting in its grave
somewhere deep in the Broad River, or
maybe even in the ocean.” It was crazy to
imagine a dead baby in a bag full of rocks
as peaceful, but it was a way to cope.
“I like that idea,” Eli said. And we both
exhaled.
Eli reached out and took my hand. I
squeezed hard. Incongruous as it sounds,
because we shared the sad secret, because
we were together, we had been able to
confront our fear in coming here. I could
feel it, an almost physical thing pulsing
between the palms of our joined hands.
/susanzurenda.com
/mupress.com
/herbertnovels.com
