Whitney Sweet
Canada
Whitney Sweet is an author of the novel, Inn Love, and two chapbooks of poetry. The Weight of Nectar, explores mental illness recovery, and Warrior Woman Wildflower, explores life from a woman’s point of view. All three books are for sale at your favourite online retailer.
In her first career, Whitney trained and worked as a chef. Food plays a big part in her life and writing. Now a days, she is a Creative Writing Coach through her business The Sweet Assistant. She is a mental health advocate, believer in diversity and inclusion, and body positive researcher. She also explores creating art with paint, yarn, and photography.
You can connect with Whitney on social media, email, or her website:
Instagram @whitneysweet_writes
TikTok @whitneysweet_writes
Facebook @whitneysweetwrites
Email assistantsweet@gmail.com
Your stories cover a diverse range of topics, where do you get your ideas?
One of my creative writing professors, Jennifer Duncan, used to tell us that “everything is research”. Anything and everything can become part of a story, when the time is right.
The subject range being diverse, as you say, I think can be attributed to a couple of things. Firstly, writing in different genres is a particularly Canadian way of being a writer. They say that the short story is to Canada as the “great American novel” is to the States. Canadian writers also tend to write in different modes, because our audience, at least in the traditionally published realm, just isn’t big enough, to make a living to stick to one area or genre of writing. I would define myself as a poet first, then long form writer, and then a short story writer.
Secondly, the pieces I’ve shared here are diverse because they reflect bits and pieces of my life. That is really my biggest inspiration, when I write.
Who is your favourite character from stories you've written?
I think Annie, from Tilt Kettle, is the character most like me, because that story is a dramatization and fictionalization of true life events, that occurred when I was a young and innocent line cook.
Radish, from Von Bricklebrow House, also holds a special place in my heart. I wrote that story for my mother while I was caring for her, near the end of her life. I wanted to make her laugh and smile. Remembering reading the story with her is a good memory.
Which story did you enjoy writing most?
Von Bricklebrow House was a lot of fun. I like the mischievousness of Radish, and the trouble he causes. I also think the Captain has a lot of potential because he is so eccentric. I’d like to revisit these characters sometime soon to see what other stories they have to tell.
What's something you would like readers to take away after finishing Von Bricklebrow House?
If they can take away a smile, that would make me happy. Life is so very hard and I think it is the job of artists to provide rest stops along the way so we can reflect upon ourselves and our emotions. In this case, I’d like Von Bricklebrow House to be a reminder that life is sometimes, full of fun.
Tell us about your writing process.
Oh gosh, well, I get an idea for a character, or a snippet of storyline. I usually mull it over for a bit. It could be an hour, or a week. When the moment is right, (usually when I have some quiet time to myself) I’ll write that snippet down and see where it takes me.
Who are some of your favourite authors?
bp nichol, Jan Karon, Jane Austen, Jennifer Crusie, Ann- Marie MacDonald, Priscila Uppal, Jaclyn Judah, Shannon Bramer, and probably many others I’m forgetting!
What's one piece of advice you would give to authors writing shorts?
Give your readers detailed imagery, and use the most conscience language you can to get to your point.
Can you tell us about any upcoming stories?
I see some sparks flying for Cherry and Dr. Miller in, Cherry on Top.
Why have you decided to publish on Novellea?
I’ve had a very hard year. My mother passed away in May 2021, and I cared for her during her palliative months. To do this, I stopped my career and put my energy and focus on making the end of her journey as comfortable as possible.
Following her passing, I suffered some set backs in my mental health, including a bad reaction to being over medicated.
I am still healing from these events and, I miss my creative self. I have been trying, and not being overly successful, to get back into the groove. Novellea crossed my path one day, and I thought it was a wonderful idea, and a great opportunity to read more, and share my work. I also thought it would be a good way to find an audience for my already released novel, and books of poetry.
I’ve already replaced my morning social media scrolling with reading a short story, when I wake up, everyday. It’s something I am looking forward to and it brings me joy.
I am hopeful and excited for the possibilities that Novellea can provide for my career.
