Emerging Author: Tiffany Quay Tyson, THREE RIVERS

According to THREE RIVERS author Tiffany Quay Tyson, her heroine, Melody, has lost faith and feels like she’s drifting. She has a hard time seeing the reason for anything.

Melody would have made a perfect debut author, but her creator admitted her life wasn’t too far off the character’s--just less dramatic.

“I distinctly remember being in my twenties and wondering how my life had progressed so aimlessly,” Tyson said. “I actually had good jobs and some career success, but there was a point where I realized I hadn’t really chosen any of it. Early in the book Melody realizes she’s been waiting for something better to come along, but nothing better ever does. I felt that pretty distinctly at times. So I guess I share her doubts and insecurities. That’s probably why she was such a difficult character to write.”

Tyson was an accomplished short story author before she made the switch to novel-length work. When asked if the change was daunting, she explained why it was an easy--and welcomed--change.

“I much prefer writing novels. Short stories require such discipline and precision to be successful,” she explained. “Novels are, by their very nature, messier. I like to kind of sprawl out when I write. I go off in a bunch of different directions and let my characters get into big messes. A lot of that doesn’t actually make it into the final work, but something about the size of a novel makes everything seem possible. The truth is, I’m always working on a novel. I just dabble in short stories.”

Like the publishing business, fate played a role in each character’s life. Some things “are just going to happen,” but assigning reason to those events “is what people do to make sense of life.”

“Over the course of the book, though, (Melody) begins to understand that even random tragedy can be an opportunity to learn something or it can help spur a decision,” Tyson said. “The other primary characters, Obi and Geneva, have a stronger belief that things happen for a reason. They are much better at assigning meaning to the things that happen to them, though sometimes they do so in ways that might not be so wise.”
 There’s a new project already underway for the author. Although she declined to provide details, she offered a small hint for readers to look forward to.

“It’s still being formed, so I don’t like to talk too much about the actual characters or plot, but I can say it’s about how slippery memory and identity can be,” Tyson said. “I’m also really looking forward to heading back to my home state of Mississippi to do some readings and signings at bookstores there. Thanks to social media, I’m in contact with so many people I can’t wait to see—childhood friends, college buddies, old teachers, cousins from both sides of my family. It’s going to be a roving reunion, and it’s going to be fun.”

About Tiffany Quay Tyson

Tiffany Quay Tyson is a writer living in Denver, Colorado. She was born and raised in Mississippi. THREE RIVERS, her debut novel, will be published July 21, 2015, by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press.

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About THREE RIVERS

A massive storm was coming straight for Mama's little plot of land in the Mississippi Delta and there was no way any of them could outrun the weather.

For three years Melody Mahaffey has been on the road, touring as a keyboardist with a terrible Christian pop band she can hardly stand. So when her mother calls, full of her usual dire news and dramatic pronouncements, Melody is relieved to pack her bags and call it quits. But at the sprawling, defunct Three Rivers Farm her family calls home, Melody is shocked to discover her father is dying. Even worse, her mother has abandoned the family, leaving Melody the sole caretaker of her father and brain- damaged brother. Sure that her daughter will do the right thing, Geneva leaves to seek spiritual guidance and break things off with her long-time lover.

Rain begins to fall and an epic flood threatens the Mississippi Delta. While Melody tries to get a handle on the chaos at home, a man and his little boy squat on her land, escaping their own nightmare. Obi is on the run from a horrific mistake, and he's intent on keeping his son with him at any cost. When the storm arrives, though, they have no choice but to take shelter in Melody's house. And the waters just keep rising.

A lifetime of lies, misunderstandings and dark secrets bubble to the surface as the flood destroys the land and threatens their lives. Set against the fertile but dangerous landscape of the rural south near the fictional town of White Forest, Mississippi, Three Rivers beautifully weaves together three parallel stories, told over three days, as each character is propelled headlong into the storm.