|
 One
of my favorite interview questions that I love
to ask is: if you could go back and do one thing
over in your career what would it be and why?
Of course, the responses vary. Some authors are
very comfortable with the decisions they have
made while others wish they could turn back the
clock and do a few things over again. How about
you? Are you happy with the person you have become
or would you, too, opt for a second chance?
This month’s jewel focuses on exactly that…what
if. What if you could turn back the clock and
right a wrong? Or more importantly, what if you
knew how your life would end? Would you have lived
it differently and perhaps have taken more chances?
What would it take for you to start living your
life as if these were your last days?
I have mentioned in previous columns the number
of books that come across my desk. There are so
many potentially bestselling books out there that
it’s truly amazing. Of course, narrowing
down the field is always a trying feat, but it’s
all worthwhile when I find that diamond in the
rough that has the potential to become a shining
jewel. Without a doubt, Therese Fowler’s
debut novel entitled SOUVENIR is my favorite selection
so far this year. It’s a masterfully written
and poignant story that will touch your heart
like no other book you’ve ever read. Honestly,
if you buy only one book this year, take my word
for it. Make it SOUVENIR.
As part of this interview, Ballantine
Books has generously donated five copies
to give away to my readers! So, don’t forget
to look for the trivia question at the end. Please
go grab a cup of coffee and get to know the gifted
writer, Therese Fowler.
Find
this book in our catalog.
Jen:
I chuckled when I read your comment about doing
things in life in the wrong order because I can
totally relate. It is so true! I plan my life
expecting it to unfold with precision and then
opportunities have come along and changes had
to be made. Please tell us a little bit about
your personal and professional journey that inspired
you to become an author.
 Therese: First, and perhaps most importantly,
I love to read. All my life, my escape of choice
has been a good book whenever I could find one.
I love to write, too. Even when I was very young
I found real pleasure in using words—in
poems, lyrics, essays, letters—to express
myself. In school I excelled at language arts,
earning my teachers’ praise and creating
a sort of positive-feedback loop that gave me
a sense of self-worth I really needed.
I was in high school before I thought of writing
novels, and only as a “gee, wouldn’t
it be nice if…” kind of dream. Certainly
I didn’t take my interest seriously; coming
from a home life where no one was willing or able
to subsidize me past age eighteen, I needed practical
skills that would bring me a reliable income.
I took some business management courses and worked
in retail off and on for about a dozen years while
I was having kids and dabbling, in the most minimal
sense, with writing creatively. I thought I’d
make it my hobby, an endeavor that might supplement
my “real” income one day.
When my first husband and I split up in 1997,
the possibility of having time to write novels,
even as a hobby, became more remote than ever.
I took a part-time job and enrolled in college
full-time. Until late 2000, the farthest I got
with any attempt at a novel was to buy a few how-to-write-a-novel
books and scratch out a notebook’s worth
of ideas and false starts. Then, two things changed:
first, I wrote a short story for a class and was
told I had promise; second, when I graduated with
a degree in sociology, my new husband (who I’d
married the year before) encouraged me to wait
on grad school and give novel-writing a shot.
It was a long shot in more ways than one; over
the next five years, I wrote a novel, put it aside,
enrolled in a creative writing MFA program, wrote
a new novel (then re-wrote it from scratch), graduated,
found an agent, wrote another novel, and voila!
Overnight success.
Jen: Your first release is what I refer
to as a “meaty book.” It incorporates
major themes to hook your audience such as love,
honor, commitment, yet at the same time, your
prose is so elegant that you allow the reader
to escape into the world in which you have created.
How did you arrive at the premise?
Therese: If you mean how and why did I
decide to combine universal themes with effective
prose (thank you for “elegant!”),
the first part of my answer is that I love a love
story. Romantic comedy, drama, tragedy—all
these forms appeal to me. Love is as universal
a theme as exists. When I thought about what I
wanted to write if I were fortunate enough to
make a career of writing, I knew this would be
my realm.
The second part of my answer: When I was earning
my MFA, I studied writing craft, and I studied
literature. Understanding the scope, history,
and purpose of fiction gave me a way of seeing
stories that I’m not sure I ever saw before.
The best novels are so effectively crafted that
they make us forget we’re reading and immerse
us in lives that matter; and those lives matter
because at one level or another we recognize ourselves
in the characters’ experiences. When I understood
this, I couldn’t imagine aspiring to anything
less.
Jen: So often, we hear that authors have
no say in the selection of the title of their
book. Was this the case for you as well? Personally,
I think the title SOUVENIR best encapsulates your
entire theme of the novel.
Therese:
Thank you! I titled the story SOUVENIR when I
was about three quarters of my way through the
first draft, for just the reason you say. My agent
saw it the same way, as did my editor. In the
early days, when the novel had just sold to Random
House but hadn’t been read by the sales
and marketing people, there was some talk of changing
the title. After the in-house reads began, though,
I didn’t hear anything more about it.
Sometimes, however, the title the author has
chosen doesn’t play well. When that happens,
most publishers will try to come up with something
everyone can be happy with. The goal is always
to find the title that will serve the book best.
Jen: A
struggle many first time authors have with the
writing of a novel is point of view. Whether it’s
the simple task of selecting the right one or
more complexly, being able to nail it so that
the reader can feel a connection with the characters
both of which present a challenge. I think you
grabbed the bull by the horns by having three
points of view, all of which were beautifully
executed. Please take us through your writing
process and how you determined which path to take.
Therese: I
think ALL writers struggle, at least some of the
time, with the matter of selecting the right point
of view for a story—though some will simply
choose the one they believe they’re best
at, regardless of whether it’s the optimum
choice for a particular story. Executing the choice,
whatever it may be, is the second challenge, and
the more difficult.
When I was working on my MFA, I was also a graduate
Teaching Assistant to several different undergraduate
lit classes. One of those was called Studies in
Fiction. I sat in with the class each time it
met, listening to the professor’s lectures,
taking notes, doing the reading, and then periodically
leading discussion groups. This is where I learned
how to deconstruct a story and evaluate its parts—and
how I learned to recognize what makes a story
effective.
I struggle more with choosing the right POV than
I do with any other element. Whose story is it?
Where does the story begin? It’s hard to
know these answers when you don’t know the
whole story (and I never do, when I’m starting
a new project). My method is to dive in with whatever
my initial analysis tells me…inevitably
to toss those pages and try a new approach…which
may not stick either—but all the while,
I’m learning the story and seeing more clearly
the answers I’ll need.
With SOUVENIR, I started with Carson as my narrator,
telling the story as a retrospective tale. I added
Savannah’s perspective next, imagining that
Meg’s would be represented solely through
her journals…but eventually I determined
that Meg needed to be a far more active presence—and
then ultimately I saw she was the central character.
I find the story by writing it, and re-writing
it, and, if necessary, writing it again. It’s
admittedly a strange process, and I’m certain
it would make some writers crazy to do things
this way, but it works for me.
Jen: Meg Hamilton, one of the main characters,
lives a life that is familiar to us today. She
is a successful doctor, trophy wife (if you will),
and mother whose main objective is to please everyone
else while losing herself in the process.
What makes her so vulnerable? And if she could
turn back the clock and had the chance to do it
all over again, do you think she would have made
the same choices?
Therese:
Like a lot of women, especially those who are
put into positions of responsibility—for
themselves and/or others—early in life,
Meg is in the habit of putting everyone else’s
needs ahead of her own. Farm life in particular
encourages this kind of all-for-one, one-for-all
belief system, so when she’s presented with
an option that will help her family—and
admittedly help herself as well, she truly feels
there’s only one right choice.
Many marriages work like Meg and Brian’s
does. Our society perpetuates traditional gender
roles, so that even when women pursue professions,
they end up managing the household too. They feel
duty-bound to be good wives, good mothers, and
good daughters— usually at the expense of
themselves. Meg is vulnerable in part because
she’s a product of a life lived according
to all these expectations, and in part because
she carries a heavy load of guilt.
Do I think she’d do things differently
if she could? Absolutely. Experience was a powerful
teacher.
Jen: Rather than having a woman scorned,
you chose for a man, Carson McKay, to play that
role, which I thought was a brilliant twist. What
lesson is the hardest for him to learn?
Therese: Initially, Carson let pride get the
better of him—because he couldn’t
imagine that the break-up would be permanent.
Then, when he had a window of opportunity to alter
the situation, he chose to punish Meg instead.
It’s understandable; he was young, male,
defensive.
When he’s back in Ocala to plan his wedding
and the subject comes up again, he’s still
prickly. He gets his wake-up call, literally,
when he later hears from Meg; fortunately he’s
mature enough to face his shortcomings, rather
than let pride and regret rule the rest of his
life.
Jen: To complete the triangle, Meg’s
daughter, Savannah, is the third main character.
What relevance does she have that makes her point
of view so crucial to the telling of the story?
Therese: Savannah and Meg are in many ways two
sides of one coin. She’s the girl Meg might
have been, if Meg had lived a life of privilege.
I think it’s important to see that Savannah,
who is bright and attractive and wants for nothing,
is still prone to making the same sorts of naïve
decisions and judgments Meg made. Young women
so often see themselves as far more capable and
mature than they truly are. Because they do, they
tend to make poor choices with sometimes far-reaching
consequences.
Savannah helps us recognize how universal the
vulnerabilities are, which I think emphasizes
some of the points Meg tries to make once she
understands how her mother failed her, how she
in turn failed Savannah—and how the hard-won
knowledge, put in Savannah’s hands, might
save Savannah from further mistakes. Ultimately,
SOUVENIR is a story about redemption and healing.
Jen: There is so much of the novel that
we can’t discuss without giving the book
away, but one thing I did want to touch upon was
how the story pertained to your personal experiences.
How much of your life is portrayed in this book?
Therese: A very little bit of a lot of different
things—that’s the short answer.
None of the characters is a fictionalized version
of anyone I know, and none of the story’s
events come directly from my own experiences.
What I’ve done is what most authors do:
I’ve used my observations and my experiences
to inform the ones I’ve imagined for my
characters.
Jen: When the novel was finally completed
and the ink had dried, how hard was it for you
to say good-bye to these characters? Did you feel
as if they had become a part of you?
Therese: Well, I really can’t say I’ve
said good-bye to them yet. Opportunities like
this interview allow me to keep spending time
with them, which is a treat. I do get very close
to my characters, and I know I will eventually
see a lot less of them; it’s nice that they’re
always as close as the nearest copy of the book!
Jen: What was the most rewarding part
of the novel for you to write…the beginning,
the middle, or the end and why?
Therese: Writing the last several chapters was
incredibly rewarding. I’d put my characters
through so much turmoil, and while I couldn’t
give them a traditional HEA (happily ever after);
I knew they were getting the best possible outcomes.
Jen: What message, if any, are you sending
to your readers by writing this book?
Therese: I suppose there are several, depending
on one’s perspective—but primarily
I want to encourage people to live their lives
consciously.
Jen: So far, what has surprised you most
about the publishing business?
Therese: That a nobody like me could find such
an enthusiastic welcome. Starting with my agent
and extending to my editors, all the assistants,
the marketing and publicity and sales people,
the booksellers, and especially the readers, I’ve
walked into open arms.
Jen: Whose opinion do you value most
when it comes to your writing and why?
Therese: It’s two people really: my fabulous
agent, Wendy Sherman, who in many ways is my ideal
reader and is certainly the good shepherd of my
career; and my editor, Linda Marrow, who has guided
so many wonderful stories and authors to great
success. Linda’s author list is like a best-sellers
and award-winners who’s who: Judith McNaught,
Tess Gerritsen, Jonathan Kellerman, Linda Lael
Miller, Jude Deveraux, Nancy Pickard, Carol Goodman…
Jen: Please tell us about your website.
Do you participate in author phone chats? And
if so, how would my readers go about arranging
one? Do you have e-mail notification of upcoming
releases? Do you blog? Any scheduled appearances
and/or book signings?
Therese: My website is www.theresefowler.com;
it’s a still-evolving project, but readers
can find a lot of good stuff there, including
how to get in touch with me. I’m scheduling
book club chats (in person when possible, by phone
otherwise) as time permits.
There isn’t yet a newsletter sign-up (it’s
in the works); I do blog—though less frequently
than usual at the moment, as I’m finishing
revisions on my next novel. Right now, the blog
has the most up-to-date information on my events
schedule.
Jen: Are you currently at work on your next novel?
And if so, what can you tell us about it?
Therese: Yes; it’s scheduled for publication
in the UK late this summer, and in the US next
February. The latest working title is AFTERTHOUGHTS
(stay tuned on that account…) and I’ve
described it this way:
On its most basic level, it’s the story
of a popular TV talk show host who gets a second
chance with an old flame, only to find herself
falling for his son, who’s nine years her
junior.
As with SOUVENIR, the new novel takes what are
familiar story elements and puts them to use in
a multi-layered drama about family and relationships
and the naiveté of youth. You’ll
see another look at questionable decisions made
for what the characters believe are honorable
reasons—because really, to me the most interesting
stories become personal, inviting us to consider
what we believe is right and wrong.
Jen: When the opportunity to read a novel
as superbly written as yours comes my way, it
just reaffirms why I truly love my job. Thank
you for sharing this story with me. It has been
such a pleasure being able to be a part of your
journey.
Therese: Thank YOU,
Jen!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Therese.
If you haven’t bought your mom a gift for
Mother’s Day, why not pick up a copy of
SOUVENIR? I’m sure she
won’t mind if you read it first! HA!!
Okay, the first five people to e-mail me at jensjewels@gmail.com
will win a copy of SOUVENIR. Good luck!
Name two of the three main characters in SOUVENIR.
Next month, I will be bringing to you my interview
with Jane Cleland, author of the charming cozy
mystery ANTIQUES TO DIE FOR. You won’t want
to miss it!
Until next time…Jen
|
Meet
the Author: featuring Jen's Jewels