.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #83
Caroline Bock
What period of your life do you find you write about most often?
I’ve written a lot about my tumultuous childhood, however, these days I seem to be obsessed with the fiction and nonfiction versions of me in my 20s–40s.
What word do you find yourself using most often in your writing?
As a writer, I try to be conscious about overusing the same words, though my husband recently pointed out that I like “cacophony” quite a bit. It now appears only twice in my novel The Other Beautiful People!
What book is on the top of your to-be-read pile?
I have a lot of to-be-read piles these days! On top of my poetry pile, because I love reading poetry as a break from writing fiction, is Diane Seuss’ Modern Poetry and You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World edited by Ada Limón.
Why did you submit this piece to Yellow Arrow Journal? Why this piece at this time to this place?
I had worked on this piece for over a year. When I saw the theme, grief, I thought I might have a chance and sometimes you have to take chances even though I have never submitted to Yellow Arrow Journal. Thank you for accepting it!
Caroline Bock writes micros to novels. She is the author of the short story collection Carry Her Home, winner of the fiction award from the Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and the critically acclaimed young adult novels, LIE and Before My Eyes (St. Martin’s Press). Her latest novel, The Other Beautiful People, a workplace love story about a movie-loving marketing executive, will be published in the summer of 2026 by Regal House Publishing. She is also the copresident and prose editor at the Washington Writers’ Publishing House.
Her poem “Yellow Is Disappearing” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal kitalo, Vol. IX, No. 2, Fall 2024, and is part of her work-in-progress, a hybrid collection, tentatively titled, I Should Have Slept With Them All. You can find Caroline online at carolinebockofficialauthorsite.wordpress.com, on Facebook and Instagram @CarolineBockAuthor, and on Twitter @cabockwrites.
The Other Beautiful People will be published June 2 and preorders are now available everywhere books are sold. Please join Caroline at her launch events at Politics & Prose (Connecticut Avenue, Washington D.C., store) on Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. and at the Writer’s Center (Walsh Street, Bethesda, Maryland) on Sunday, June 7 at 4:00 p.m. Both events are free and open to all!