I am all kinds of delighted to be able to interview one of my writer heroines this week. Jessica’s Strawser’s debut novel, Almost Missed You, was named to Barnes & Noble’s Best new Fiction shortlist upon its release in March 2017 and it was one of my favorite books of the year. I’ve admired Jessica for years at the fantastic Writer’s Digest Conference held in New York City each summer; she’s the editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest magazine, where she served as editorial direct

When I was an aspiring author, I read every query letter success story I could get my hands on. There was a common theme to these essays, which tended to go something like this: the writer, having long since given up hope that she’d ever become published, is strolling through Target one day when her phone rings. She glances at it, realizes the phone is displaying the 212 area code, and promptly suffers a small, excited seizure. This is it. The Call. She answers to find the ag