Sitting Pretty

In 1975, Kathy Patterson joins the sorority Gamma Phi Beta, trying to fit into the social climate of James Monroe University. In the same year, Bill Bennett begins his second year in the fraternity Sigma Chi. At the first big party of the year, Kathy and Bill watch silently as a senior Gamma Phi Beta sister, Linda, is sexually assaulted by one of Bill's fraternity brothers as she lays unconscious on the stairs of the fraternity house. Sorority and fraternity teachings enforce different perceptions on what it means to experience sexual assault, but Bill and Kathy both know that the subject is to be approached casually-more commonly, to not be spoken about at all. Sitting Pretty explores the dynamic between men and women in the seventies, the differences in fraternity and sorority teachings, and finding solace in sisterhood. Rebecca Scherr is a fiction writer and a graduate of George Washington Carver Center for Art and Technology's Literary Arts program. At the age of seventeen, her short story, "Ladylike," was awarded first place in the international Jack London Writing Contest. Her poetry, short stories, and personal essays have also been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, where she has won several gold keys, silver keys, and honorable mentions. In her spare time, Scherr enjoys a cup of coffee, walks with her dog, Mock Trial, and an episode of reality television after a long day. While soft-spoken in everyday life, Scherr has future plans to become a lawyer and looks forward to exploring the bolder parts of herself both in the courtroom and on the page. Sitting Pretty is her first novel, but she is certain there will be plenty more of her fiction on the way.