Fountain Central High School alumnus Jennifer L. Wright’s new book is out next week.
Wright’s second novel, Come Down Somewhere, is out September 6th.
The book follows Wright’s first novel, If It Rains, out July 6, 2021 and published by Tyndale House Publishers. “Come Down Somewhere” is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Wright described “Come Down Somewhere” as “a historical novel set in the 1945 Trinity Test”. The Trinity Test was the first nuclear weapon detonation as part of the Manhattan Project. Testing was done in New Mexico.
‘If It Rains’ was set during the ‘Dust Bowl’, when violent sandstorms hit the American prairie.
“Come Down Somewhere” centers around two girls, Olive and Joe, who come of age in 1945, focusing on their friendship and how their lives change. Olive is forced to leave the ranch after the government takes over it and uses it as a test site for Trinity. She moves to Alamogordo to live with her grandmother and meets Joe, an army sergeant whose father is now working on the ranch. Neither girl knows what’s going on, so their friendship is somewhat shaky and unstable.
“And then it all comes to a head on the fateful day of July 16, when the Trinity bomb actually explodes,” Wright said.
Wright has written most of her life.
She has a master’s degree in journalism and worked as a journalist before becoming a writer.
With her son born and Wright at home taking care of him, she still had a desire to continue writing.
“So I thought, ‘Let’s write a novel,'” she said. “I’ve always been drawn to historical fiction. When I started writing my first book, we lived in southern New Mexico. A journalist was so intrigued by sandstorms that he began researching them, and a novel was born.”
While exposure to sandstorms ignited the idea for “If It Rains,” Wright said the proximity to where the Trinity Test took place reminded him of the plans for “Come Down Somewhere.” Said it was helpful.
“The area in Southern New Mexico where I live is less than 100 miles from where the Trinity Test took place,” she said. “It’s such a big part of the local history here that we haven’t seen much historical fiction written about it, and it felt like it wasn’t really an explored period in history. So I felt it was a story that needed to be told.”
“If It Rains” and “Come Down Somewhere” are Wright’s first forays into fiction writing.
Wright said he used many of the same skills he used when writing non-fiction as he did when writing fiction.
“I actually use a lot of the same skills,” she said. “Same research skills because I want to be as historically accurate as possible, even if it’s fiction. I think writing fiction is more fun. It’s a creatively satisfying way.”
Asked how her time at Fountain Central influenced her lifelong love of writing, Wright cites a teacher in particular for inspiring her passion for literature.
“My third or fourth year, Mrs. [Lisa] Jones was my English teacher and she ignited my passion for literature,” she said. “I know I wouldn’t have been the bookworm I was without her. Being a bookworm definitely led to the writing career I pursued. “
Wright encouraged aspiring writers to start writing and keep doing it.
“I would say to anyone who wants to be a writer, just write,” she said. “I always say this is a marathon, not a sprint. It honestly takes perseverance to keep writing, keep writing, keep writing. Don’t give up, read as much as you can. Read. Because the more you read, the better you become.”
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