The daily Astorian., January 14, 2016, Page 8, Image 18

Submitted photo
“Smart Mouth” by Manzanita author Holly Lorincz won the
bronze medal for popular fi ction at the 2014 Independent
Publisher Book Awards.
For more information about Lorincz
Literary Services, visit
www.facebook.com/lorinczliteraryservices
Submitted photo courtesy of Holly Lorincz
Though she no longer teaches high school, Holly Lorincz is still heping potential writers fi nd their voice.
HOLLY LORINCZ:
teacher, coach, author, editor, mother — and one ‘Smart Mouth’
T
There are numerous well-worn clichés about
adversity, such as “everything happens for a rea-
son” or “when life give you lemons, make lem-
onade.” It’s easy to imagine that users of these
clichés have never faced any serious adversity
themselves.
Manzanita resident and teacher Holly
Lorincz could easily be forgiven for surrender-
ing when she was sucker-punched by adversity.
%ut instead, she chose to rede¿ ne herself and
began living the dream of every college grad-
uate with an English degree: being a published
author.
Fort 15 years, Lorincz taught language arts
at Neah-Kah-Nie High School in Rockaway
Beach. She also served as head coach of the
8 | January 14, 2016 | coastweekend.com
speech team.
She loved teaching, and it showed. During
her tenure, Lorincz earned Oregon Speech Ed-
ucator of the Year in 2007, plus two national
educator awards from the National Federation
of High Schools in 2007 and 2008. Her speech
team won the OSAA State Speech Champion-
ship two times and she coached six kids to nine
individual state champion trophies.
“I loved teaching and coaching because you
could see students’ tangible progress,” Lorincz
says.
A few years ago, Lorincz began struggling
with fatigue and dizziness. She initially put it
off to general stress, but they were symptoms
of a much larger problem: She had contracted
mononucleosis, a virus that sapped her physi-
cal and mental stamina.
It got so bad, it forced her to take a leave of
absence from teaching.
Lorincz recalls often not even having the
strength to get out of bed in the morning. “I
was weak and dizzy all the time,” she says. “I
couldn’t stand in front of students for an entire
school day.”
Though she tried to return to her beloved
profession, it soon became clear that her leave
from teaching would become permanent.
Lorincz says submitting her letter of res-
ignation was the hardest thing she ever had to
do. “Just like that, my identity as a teacher and
coach was gone,” she says. “I felt like the tether
that had been holding me in place was cut and I
had no attachment to anything.”
With a young son to raise and no idea what a
lifelong teacher with a chronic illness was sup-
posed to do next, Lorincz turned to writing.
Her ¿ rst novel, “Smart Mouth,” was born
from her forced separation from teaching.
“I spent a lot of time alone in the attic all day,
talking to myself,” Lorincz says.
The ensuing story came directly from her
life as a teacher. “Smart Mouth” follows Addy
Taylor, a newly minted high school teacher with
a mountain of bills who is horri¿ ed when she is
recruited to coach the school’s speech team.
As the saying goes, write what you know.
“Addy is my voice,” Lorincz says.
The novel was extremely well-received,
winning the bronze medal for popular ¿ ction at
the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards.
Suddenly, writing was Lorincz’s profession
and she dove right in.
She worked as a literary agent with the
well-regarded Chip MacGregor, with whom she
co-authored two industry books, “Step by Step
Pitches & Proposals: A Workbook for Writers”
and “How Can I Find a Literary Agent? And 101
Other Questions Asked by Writers.”
She also opened her own editing business,
Lorincz Literary Services, which she runs out of
Manzanita.
“This community has been so supportive,”
she says. “Lots of people had my back and be-
lieved in me.”
She has returned the favor by presenting
writing workshops at the Hoffman Center for
the Arts.
When asked for tips by potential authors,
Lorincz’s advice is simple: “Read as many good
books as you can, in whatever genre you like,”
she says.
Though she still deals with her illness’ ef-
fects, she has learned how to pace herself and
work through them.
When she’s not writing, Lorincz attends writ-
ing conferences around the country and has lec-
tured at several, something that fans the embers
of her inner teacher.
There’s even a television pilot adaptation
for “Smart Mouth,” written by award-winning
screenwriter Bryan Marvis.
Lorincz calls her evolution from teacher
to author the life every English major dreams
about.
That doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss her ¿ rst
love. “I’d go back to teaching kids in a heartbeat
if I could,” she says.
the arts
VISUAL ARTS • LITERATURE • THEATER • MUSIC & MORE
Story by DAN HAAG