“I have five published books and two completed manuscripts that I am currently querying. Like all writers, I am hoping to connect with an agent who can take my books to the next level.“
— Gretchen Rose
A member of the Writers’ League since 2023, Gretchen lives in the San Antonio area.
Scribe: Welcome, writer! Tell us — what do you write?
Gretchen Rose: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Romance/Suspense, Memoir, and Middle Grade Fiction
Scribe: If you could choose one author to blurb your book, who would it be, and what would you want it to say?
GR: Ann Patchett – “Gretchen Rose has an astonishing gift for creating unique characters and magical settings that take up residence in one’s heart.”
Scribe: You have one book you’re allowed to push onto all of your friends, and they’re forced to read it to remain your friend — which one would you choose?
GR: FUGITIVE PIECES by Anne Michaels.
Scribe: Tell us your WLT story.
GR: When I shared my frustration over not finding an agent to represent my newest historical fiction novel, my dear friend—the rock star poet and Y/A author—Naomi Shihab Nye suggested I join WLT!
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
GR: I have five published books and two completed manuscripts that I am currently querying. Like all writers, I am hoping to connect with an agent who can take my books to the next level.
Scribe: Here at the WLT, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one book that has come out within the past few years that you couldn’t put down? (Bonus points if the book is Texas related!)
GR: As a former long-time resident of South Florida, I would have to recommend THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I learned about this book in a Sunday NYT interview with Judy Blume, who wrote that she could not stop thinking about it. (I had the same reaction!)
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
GR: I started my writing career penning musical comedies, and in 1996, I assembled a professional cast for a professional production of my musical, TALISMAN. I hosted a an audition and recording session in Orlando, FL where I was able to not only assemble my cast but also produce a demo CD. My cast was fabulous. But the little eleven-year-old girl who played one of my leading roles was a stand out. Her name: Amanda Moore, now known as Mandy Moore! The show was produced in the largest regional theater in the south, and apparently, Joe Nederlander Sr. (of the Nederlander Broadway theater fame) got wind of it, for he called me—not once but twice—to inquire about it. Naturally, I figured I was Broadway-bound. (They were heady days, indeed!) But instead, he devoted his energies producing the smash hit, RENT. Just my luck!
