Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

SOOP Founder Discusses Truth Versus “Truthiness” with Debra Pickett, Author of Newly Released "Reporting Lives"
  • USA - English


News provided by

Something Or Other Publishing

Jun 30, 2014, 06:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX


Madison, WI (PRWEB) June 30, 2014 -- At a recent literary dinner event, SOOP Founder Wade Fransson caught up with author Debra Pickett, who discussed the various ways in which she – and all writers – can successfully mine truth and fiction from their personal histories when crafting stories.

Writing a novel was a way to get at the truths that were most fascinating to me with some dramatic license to make them compelling enough – I hope! – that others might actually want to think about them, too.

Post this

In “Reporting Lives,” Pickett tells the story of Sara Simone, a television journalist who lands a big assignment in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. But she abandons her usual talent for playing up the “tragedy beat” for television audiences when suddenly jolted by questions of its greater morality and consequences. What follows is a tale of self-discovery and reinvention that plays out a world away from Simone’s Chicago home.

There are some obvious parallels between author Pickett and protagonist Simone. Both are successful journalists from Chicago whose work leads them to Africa, where they undergo transformative crises of identity. But there are also many key differences between the two.

The following snippets from the conversation between Fransson and Pickett explore the role of truth in fiction.

Wade Fransson (WF): Tell me a little about how you ultimately chose this format – a kind of fusion between fact and fiction – to relate this clearly personal story.

Debra Pickett (DP): As a journalist, writing a non-fiction book probably should have been my default, but, with limited opportunities to travel to Kenya and limited time to spend there – six trips, over about a two year period – I wasn’t totally confident in my ability to report and absorb information fully enough to really do justice to the people and place. And, while I might have done a memoir about my time there, I wanted to move beyond my own personal story to something larger. I was barely 30 years old when I started working on this project and, frankly, my own life experiences are not interesting enough to sustain a whole book. Writing a novel was a way to get at the truths that were most fascinating to me with some dramatic license to make them compelling enough – I hope! – that others might actually want to think about them, too.

WF: How did you decide what facts from your own life to keep intact and which to alter in creating the character of Sara Simone?

DP: Well, the first thing I did when I thought about her character was to make her tall. Because I’ve always wanted to be tall. So I began imagining this tall American reporter walking around in the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi and how she’d stand out there, how that might feel to her. The rest of the book really grew around the first image in my head: Sara ducking out through the doorway of a tin-roofed shack and feeling just sick and overwhelmed by the place.

WF: The noticeable gaps between some chapters left a few significant events to the imagination of the reader. Was this your deliberate literary choice, or a result of the editing process?

DP: It was mostly the latter. My early drafts included every single thing I’d ever learned or felt while working in Kenya. Sometimes, it was painful for me to leave things out that were so clearly of significance in my own head. Fortunately, I worked with some great editors who helped me sort that out: story had to come first. If an element didn’t move Sara’s story forward, or explicitly deepen the themes I was exploring, we ultimately had to leave it out.

WF: Did you find your writing influenced by the aspiration many writers have of seeing their work on the big screen, perhaps even before finishing the book?

DP: I spent ten years working on this book so, truly, just seeing it in print is incredibly gratifying. Of course I’d love to see “Reporting Lives” onscreen, but the main thing for me was always just telling the story and hoping that people might connect with it.

WF: The references to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in your book seemed more meaningful than Sara let on. Did you consciously emulate, or avoid, the autobiographical nature of Pirsig’s book?

DP: I last read Pirsig in high school, so, at this point, any influence is definitely unconscious. I will say, though, that, for me, an essay is about the most autobiography I could manage without being profoundly boring. Other people’s journeys are far more interesting to me.

About Something or Other Publishing:
Something or Other Publishing, LLC is a new concept in publishing that seeks to connect authors and readers like never before. Its democratized selection process and subsequent focus on author education, empowerment, and encouragement is designed to provide a platform for a new generation of talented writers. The company is based in Madison, Wisconsin.
# # #

Carissa Andrews, Something Or Other Publishing, http://soopllc.com, +1 (218) 330-9046, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.