Local author Maribeth Fischer publishes third novel

A somewhat flippant remark by a well-known writer gave local author Maribeth Fischer the validation she needed to complete a book six years in the making.

Fischer, the founder and executive director of the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild, said she felt stuck in a writing rut when she joined the prominent and unnamed author for a weeklong workshop. 

Although she had published two novels, and received three Delaware Division of the Arts fellowships and two Pushcart Prizes for her essays, Fischer felt like a has-been. She was actively teaching and encouraging students to write but felt she was in a dark place, unable to move forward with her own craft.

During the workshop, the author told Fischer if she was not writing out of her own deepest fears and trauma, she was not being authentic. Fischer took umbrage at the comment.

“My first two books are about grief, and I didn’t want to do it again,” she said. “Why do the defining things in our lives have to be the worst things?”

Driven by the belief that the good things in life are not shallow, Fischer gave herself the task to write about happiness as an important literary subject.

“It got me back,” she said. “I loved writing my happiness essay.”

The exercise renewed Fischer’s love of writing, so she picked up the novel she started years ago and gave it the care it deserved. With the plot already mapped out, Fischer concentrated on developing her characters.

The story centers around Claire, a woman who grew up in Rehoboth Beach and married her high school sweetheart. Later, tragedy occurs and Claire decides to create a fresh start in a little town in Wisconsin, where she meets someone special and establishes a close group of friends.

Claire begins to question her happiness when a person from her past resurfaces. She wrestles with telling her new friends about what happened to her. They may think differently about her if they know, she wonders, but if she doesn't tell them, is she a real friend? 

“Do we have a right to our mistakes?” Fischer asks. “Can we keep them private? Do they define us? It’s a struggle for her.”

A book launch party for “A Season of Perfect Happiness” is set for 5 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Lewes Public Library and via Zoom in cooperation with Browseabout Books. Books will be available for purchase and signing. To register, go to maribethfischer.com.