What do twentieth-century Ireland, Empress Theodora of Byzantium and travel have in common?

All are the subjects of three literary ventures by a Northwestern novelist.

Medill freshman Tory Fine is attempting to break into the professional literary world with three literary projects under way — all in varying stages of the publication process.

Fine conceived her first literary brainchild when she was in high school.

“I started the book while I was in Ireland when I was 14, and I finished it when I was 16,” said Fine, a Los Angeles native. “It was a short story that grew and grew. It’s a young-adult novel that combines a little bit of history, suspense and is also a bit of a coming-of-age book.”

Set in 1949, the novel takes place at a school created to unite the north and south by bringing the students together. The novel’s main character must decide between leaving her small Irish hometown to pursue her goals or staying to protect her grandmother’s school.

After Fine conceived her “baby” and finished it two years and 200 pages later, she realized she didn’t know how to get it published.

“I went to the bookstore and bought the ‘Idiot’s Guide to Publishing,’ read it cover-to-cover and did exactly what it said,” Fine said.

In the guide, Fine learned she needed to draft a query letter, which includes the author’s targeted audience, a synopsis of the book and a short biography.

“I sent out many letters to many agents and many publishers, and Andy, my agent, was the first to respond — well, the first to respond positively,” she said.

Because Fine was able to lure in an agent in about six months, she said she considers herself fortunate.

“I actually had it really easy,” said Fine, adding that it sometimes takes more than two years to get an agent. “The literary business is extremely slow.

“To get a reply, it takes about three months — and just for the query letter.”

Fine now must find a publisher to print her book, a process that she said could take longer than the search for an agent.

“There are (publishers) interested in it, but there haven’t been any contracts yet,” she said.

With her first book’s fate now out of her hands, Fine, eager to live her dream as a writer, has two more works in production.

Fine said her second book explores one question: “If you had the knowledge of your past life, how would it affect your future?”

“The second book I am not that far into yet,” she said. “It is a bit more philosophical, and I am taking more time with it.”

Fine has been doing a lot of research on Empress Theodora of Byzantium, a historical figure on whom the main character’s past life is based.

“She was an incredible woman,” said Fine, adding that she is intrigued by Theodora’s life.

After spending more than three years on fiction endeavors, Fine also has started planning a third book — this time non-fiction. Although the third book is still in its early stages, Fine said she is excited about venturing into the non-fiction arena.

With literary experience already in hand, she said she has clear goals for her life as a professional and a firm understanding of what it will take for her to become a great writer.

“My ultimate goal as a writer is to be a novelist,” she said. “I would like to be a journalist, specifically a foreign correspondent, before I sit down to write novels permanently, because I feel that you need real-life experience before you can write a truly great piece of literature.”