The Big Idea: Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz

Some people climb the ladder to success, leaving others behind as they ascend the rungs alone, while others focus of strengthening the foundational base. And when they do move up, they turn back around and extend a hand to the others, lifting everyone with them. This literary loyalty to peers is essential, and something author Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz feels strongly about. Read on to see how this kind of support lead to the creation of her newest nonfiction novel, The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker. CRISTIN O’KEEFE APTOWICZ: When people hear my husband and I are both writers, they often ask what we write. My stock answer: “He’s a science fiction writer and I’m a historical non-fiction writer. We’re a mixed marriage, but we make it work.” My husband and I met in the late 1990s. He, the slam champ from Austin and me, the slam champ from New York City. We used to tell people we met at a poetry slam, but it was far geekier than that. We met at a screening of a documentary about the…