Local high school teacher publishes her first novel
An Orrville High School English and journalism teacher recently launched her first novel, published under the pen name Renee Verite. A tale of female empowerment, the book is titled “Living in a Dark House.”
When a local high school English teacher writing under the pen name of Renee Verite was 6 or 7 years old, she told a friend, “One day I’m gonna write a book.”
That day has come as Verite’s first novel, “Living in a Dark House,” has recently been published.
“Writing is in my blood,” Verite said.
Indeed it is. The author has a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in journalism. She teaches both subjects at Orrville High School.
Verite's novel, although distinctly grounded in gritty Akron, Ohio during the height and then the fall of the rubber industry, has a mystical element and is written in the first person.
Delanie Daye, feet planted firmly on the earth, is a smart, hardworking girl who harbors a dark secret. She appears happy, funny and carefree, but close friends catch glimpses into the “dark house” of life with Jim Dandy, her abusive and deranged father. On a quest for self-actualization, freedom, fulfillment, spirituality and education, Delanie is transformed by the many unsuspecting, uncanny and magical relationships that shape and carry her.
With allusions to pop culture, music, literature and the recent history of the 1980s, Verite tells her story with heart, humor and guts.
“I invite people along for the ride as they might just have a laugh, encounter an angel, remember their youth, revisit the 1980s or discover a belief in something beyond the physical world,” Verite said.
Verite said the process of writing her book began in earnest in 2013 when she lost her full-time teaching position at Orville High School due to a reduction in force. Although she was still teaching part-time, this situation provided her with just enough time to truly begin the writing process.
“I had a ritual every session where I would light a candle, say a prayer for a healing message. I wanted something positive to come out of it,” Verite said.
Verite said she started with the book’s plot. “It took me a year to do the plot, basically,” she said. “The hardest part of writing was connecting that framework."
When she had a draft together, she took it to David Wiesenberg of the former Wooster Book Company. “He told me, ‘You write like a journalist,’” Verite said.
Wiesenberg observed that she “needed to study fiction,” and he recommended some books for Verite to read. She worked on the draft more and took it to a few more friends for their comments and input.
“The plot was getting better, but it was still just a framework,” Verite said. “It took me nearly a year to finally be comfortable with it."
Next came the serious editing. “I began layers and layers of editing,” Verite said. “The book was 280 pages, about 10 hours to read through. At first I would just follow the dialogue through, line by line.”
Next would come a whole rewrite of the literary elements. “I revisited every simile and metaphor,” Verite said. “There also was a lot of editing to be done with regard to songs, movie references and whole sections of pop culture."
Verite wanted the book to be firmly grounded in her youth in Northeast Ohio in the 1980s. “Pop culture — and especially reading and writing — were my escapes,” she said.
There finally came a time when Verite knew the book was finished. “Then I realized that writing it was the easiest part,” she said. “I had no idea what I was getting into before I started it.”
Verite said she had not thought about publicity, students’ parents getting mad, potentially hurting other people and so on. “When it was finished, I realized, ‘What have I done?’” she said. “I made this Frankenstein. Either I have to live with it, or I have to make some changes.”
After having put so much work into it, Verite was determined to do whatever it took to publish the book. She made a number of editorial changes that addressed the issues that had arisen, and the book was ready to go.
Verite said local novelist Bob Adamov gave her much-needed business advice, her husband gave her legal advice and her two daughters were sounding boards throughout the process.
After forming an LLC for handling legal ramifications, publishing matters and such, the novel was ready for publishing. Copies are available on “Print-on-Demand” through Amazon.
“I think it’s just a bucket list kind of thing for all writers,” Verite said, “to have your work published.”