Interview with Kayce Stevens Hughlett

Kayce Stevens Hughlett is a tender, a healer, and an artist of being alive who believes in everyday magic and that complex issues often call for simple practices and author of SoulStroller. We’re delighted to feature this interview with her!

Thank you so much for joining us on WWWB, Kayce! 

Tell us about the beginning, where are you from?

I come from red dirt and blue-eyed pastors, an Avon lady, a truck driver, a solid brick home in the heartland off Route 66. Bethany, Oklahoma. Youngest child of Daisy Ernestine and John David Stevens. I was raised to be a salt of the earth good girl, circa 1960s. I was told I could be anything and expected to be a wife and mother. I complied. Twice on both accounts and became an accountant because it was practical.

How did your childhood impact the writer you’ve become?

There are so many layers to that question. My first memory of writing holds a perfectionist third grade teacher with an angry red pen. (I think more than a few writers have similar memories). In that moment a story formed in my mind that if I couldn’t write in perfect sentence structure and leave off hanging prepositions then I’d never be a real writer. A lifetime later, writing rules softened (or perhaps I strengthened) and I learned that my stories were worth exploring. Through writing I’ve reclaimed the joy of being a carefree child, explored how ancestry impacts our stories, and busted out of predefined prescriptions from my childhood.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

Writing actually chose me. In my late forties, I was caught in the drama between my mother slipping away into Alzheimer’s and my fourteen-year-old son disappearing into the haze of substance abuse. I was ill-equipped and unprepared for both.

With nowhere to turn, I reached for a slightly worn copy of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way that a friend had given to me. After perusing the initial pages, I bought a black and white composition notebook and started to practice the act of free-writing three pages every day. Three arduous pages of blurting my fears and tears into the notebook. I wrote grocery lists and blah blah blah over and over to fill the space when my mind stalled and I couldn’t find anything else to say. Slowly, surely, deliberately, I developed a daily journaling practice that ultimately led to beginning a blog that turned into my first book, As I Lay Pondering: daily invitations to live a transformed life. (Watch for its 2nd Edition release Fall, 2019).

How has writing changed you as a person?

How long do we have? The practice of writing saved my life. I’ve long shared this quote with Flannery O’Connor: “I write to discover what I know.” Through morning pages and a dedicated journaling practice I learned how to let go of expectations (my own and other people’s) and manifest my own dreams. While it’s all a practice—writing, living, being—I believe I’m a kinder and more connected person because of writing.

Could you tell us a bit about your book Soulstroller? What made you decide to write it?

SoulStroller is a story of finding voice in a culture that historically silences women, it’s an excursion around the world, and a personal exploration of spirituality and ancestry. When I began writing it, I thought the overarching story was about my travels and the beauty and wonder of the world. Then I noticed there was no way my inner journey was going to stay out of the narrative. My story of writing about journeys became its own adventure.

As the story evolved, I shared pieces of it with others and noticed the ways my fears, struggles, and joys intersected and resonated with readers. It then became important to share with a broader audience, so I pitched the manuscript to my publisher and here we are.

What would be your 6-word memoir?

Good-girl turns risktaker. Accountant embraces SoulStrolling.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever had, and the worst?

My favorite piece of writing advice came from Canadian author and coach Sarah Selecky who told me to follow my story, because it knows the way. She was right.

The worst advice for me: Show up at the same time every day and write for X amount of time. No matter what. While I’m a believer that we need to show up at the page, I’m not one of those writers who can adhere to a set structure. It’s a personal thing, but I need fluidity in my process. Otherwise I feel strangled and stressed.

What is your writing process like?  Are you a pantser or a plotter? (perhaps too, does your writing process differ between fiction and non fiction?

My writing process is all over the place and I probably fall somewhere between a pantser and a plotter. Different stages of the process call for varied approaches. Lots of my most authentic writing comes when I’m not trying to produce anything. And then there is the reality of needing to show up. My novel Blue began during National Novel Writing Month. I had a very loose idea of where the story was going and who the characters were, but mainly I went along for the ride. Writing the first draft took thirty days. Editing and getting it into book form lasted another couple of years.

Are you part of a writing community or a writing group?

I’ve tried different communities over the years with mixed success. I currently belong to a local group that meets on a semi-regular basis. It’s based on the Amherst Writer’s Way whose philosophy is that every person is a writer, and every writer deserves a safe environment in which to experiment, learn, and develop craft. It’s a wonderful place to be inspired and write in community.

You’ve written fiction as well as non fiction, do you have a preference?

My bent is toward non-fiction, because even in my novel there are stories borrowed from real life. Fiction, however, offers a lovely freedom to make shit up (can I say that?) and follow the imagination wherever it wants to go. I’m a huge fan of being present to the world and exploring the details of everyday life which is an approach that translates well in both genres.

What is your experience with social media as a writer? Do you find it distracts you or does it provide inspiration?

As a writer, I find social media primarily a distraction. It’s a love-hate relationship, and just when I think I’m done with it, I come across a lovely quote or discover a book or author I didn’t know. I meet encouraging people like the Women Writers, Women’s Books community and decide it’s worth keeping my profile up.  

What are you working on at the moment?

That’s the million dollar question. SoulStroller turned out to be such a huge endeavor, both emotionally and literally, that I’m taking some time to see what wants to show up. I have a few stories bubbling around, but nothing has landed yet. For the moment, I’ve returned to my roots and am focusing on shorter pieces, blog posts, and inspired travel.

Thank you WWWB!!!!!

Kayce Stevens Hughlett is a tender, a healer, and an artist of being alive who believes in everyday magic and that complex issues often call for simple practices and author of “SoulStroller.” She holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and she is a Certified Martha Beck Life Coach.

Her novel, “Blue,” won the Chanti Award for best women’s fiction in 2015. Kayce began her working life as an accountant for a multi-national firm and transitioned to the healing arts when life’s harsh circumstances sent her searching for answers on a less-linear path.

She is the co-creator of SoulStrolling® ~ a movement for mindfulness in motion. Raised in the heartland of Oklahoma, she now resides in Seattle, Washington with her family and muse, Aslan the Cat. Learn more at http://www.liveittogiveit.me/

 

SoulStroller: experiencing the weight, whispers & wings of the world

SoulStroller introduces a fresh way of living life on one’s own terms—expanding readers’ world views whether they choose to visit destinations like Paris, Ireland, or Bali, or get to know what home looks like through fresh eyes. Labeled shy and rendered virtually silent by age six, Kayce had been raised to fit the role of perfect wife, doting mom, and accomplished woman.

She fulfilled her mission by her mid-40s when society said she had it all. Society was wrong—her eldest child disappeared into a haze of addiction, and her perfect world crumbled. Ethereal, gritty, and relatable, SoulStroller is the evolution of a woman too timid to speak her mind into someone who writes her own rules and redefines what it means to live with silence, compassion, and joie de vivre.

Buy the book HERE

Tags: featured

Category: Interviews