An Inspired Chat with Sarah Awa

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Sarah Awa. Check out our conversation below.

Sarah, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Have you ever been glad you didn’t act fast?
I’m always glad I don’t usually act fast! I’m much more tortoise than hare. I typically like to take time and gather all possible information before making any kind of big decision. (Okay, so my husband and I got married about 7 months after we started dating, less than a year after we met, but that’s a 12-years-and-counting success story. 🙂

I’m also a collaborator and value outside opinions. It’s very helpful to get other viewpoints, and sometimes trusted friends will give me great feedback, pointing out something I never would have thought of. (If you’re an INFJ like I am, I highly recommend getting an INTJ’s input as much as you can, and vice versa. #WeMakeAGreatTeam) Collaboration is especially important for the type of situation I’m in right now: hiring a professional narrator to turn one of Thinklings’ books into an audiobook. You bet I’m getting input from—aside from Thinklings’ CEO and the author herself—my friends who are audiobook addicts!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Aside from being COO for Thinklings Books (which I’ll talk about next), I’m also one of its authors. I write urban fantasy about werewolves in college. Not only do I love to craft an exciting, suspenseful story that keeps readers guessing, but I also draw from personal experience in exploring themes of illness and isolation and not fitting in anywhere. Having to hide your true self for fear of rejection or worse. I’ve had a chronic illness for 19 years, and a few years ago, I realized that I’m neurodivergent. Both of these aspects of myself have shaped my writing . . . how could they not? I hope that the themes in my books will resonate deeply with others who have the same struggles.

Thinklings Books publishes unputdownable fantasy and sci-fi books. It started out when three speculative-fiction-loving professional editors—Deborah Natelson, Jeannie Ingraham, and I—got together and formed a writing group. We called ourselves the Thinklings, in honor of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien’s group, the Inklings.

Over time, we found ourselves agonizing more and more about how messed-up the publishing industry had become. Why couldn’t good books get published? Why were so many bad books published just because their authors had big Twitter followings? We wished there were something we could do about the problem . . . and then we realized there was.

As a substantive/line editor, a developmental editor, and a proofreader, the three of us knew good writing when we saw it—and we knew how to make it even better. We had a lot of experience walking our clients through the publishing process—both traditional and self-publish—and we had contacts with marketing and design experts. We had some amazing unpublished books lined up and ready for production. We had, in fact, everything we needed to make a great publishing company. All that was left was to actually do it.

So we’re doing it.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I used to believe there was something fundamentally wrong with me. I never fit into any group at school and was bullied on a daily basis. When I spoke, people frequently took my words the wrong way, or they read into them what wasn’t there, so I quit talking at school almost entirely. I escaped through books. If I hadn’t had a loving family and a good home life to balance out the trauma from school, I don’t know where I’d be right now.

Now I understand that I’m autistic—actually, AuDHD—and I’ve learned so much about my neurotype’s unique strengths as well as weaknesses, and that I’m not “wrong” or “from another planet” or so many other things I was accused of (whether by others or myself). I just think differently, see the world differently, am wired differently. That means I can be a big help when it comes to collaboration. The autistic community online is pretty awesome, and I enjoy reading about others’ experiences and how they have learned to appreciate, rather than hate, themselves too. It’s always an encouragement.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would say, “You’re not made wrong, just different, in a beautiful way.” And if I’m allowed to add another thing: “It will get better. People will learn about neurotypes and the way your mind works, and many will accept and even celebrate neurodivergence.”

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Reading books. Any books! Reading used to be far more common, and even ordinary people used to read the classics and works considered “too difficult” today. It’s so sad that reading has fallen out of fashion and lost its value with many people. Our attention spans have shrunk so badly, and I will admit that smartphones with all their shiny apps are very tempting. Easier to get that quick hit of dopamine than to expend more time and effort on something that is much more rewarding on a slower, long-term basis. We all must learn to slow down and nourish our minds again!

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Well, nobody ever told me to get into the publishing industry; everybody always says there’s no money in it. But isn’t life so much more than money? What about nourishing your heart and mind? What if we truly lived and truly thought, instead of being empty puppets parroting whatever viewpoints society tells us to?

Every day, I feel the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping amazing authors get their books out there to the public. They truly deserve it, having been rejected by agent after agent because the big publishers are afraid to take chances and stray outside of their own self-imposed limitations. We need more unique input and ideas. There may be nothing new under the sun, but each person and their viewpoint is new! I understand that the big publishers can only put out so many books, so Thinklings is here to help “share the load,” as Samwise Gamgee would say.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thinklingsbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinklingsbooks/
• Twitter: https://x.com/thinklingsbooks
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/thinklingsbooks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinklingsbooks
• Other: @ThinklingsBooks on TikTok and Threads

Image Credits
Book covers by Nada Orlic of Erelis Design. Photos by Sarah and Oscar Awa.