 One of the best things about fall is the start
of school. Yes, I know. Spoken like a
true teacher, but I can't help it. There's
nothing quite like a brand new notebook, pencils,
and the 64 count box of Crayola crayons! Before
you get carried away and start thinking I'm
nuts, I am happy to report that I read in Redbook Magazine
that even Debra Messing shares my same sentiments
about school supplies.
This month's Jen's Jewel touches upon that
feeling of newness but at the other spectrum…the end of the school year. You
know that feeling. School is out! No more homework (for us to check)!!
Lazy days of summer ahead sipping iced tea by the pool. But what
if…what if your child was involved in an accident and from that point
forward, her life was never the same? How would you possibly be able to
live your life with the constant guilt in knowing that your child ended someone
else's life? It's truly something we never stop and think about,
but we all know it could happen in a blink of an eye.
THE REST OF HER LIFE (Find
this book in our catalog) is such a powerful, poignant
story that I just had to interview the mastermind behind this intriguing plot, Laura Moriarty. With
so many questions swirling around in my mind, I was thrilled to be able to talk
with her. What follows is our conversation. As part of the interview, Hyperion
Books has graciously donated five copies of her novel. Please
look for the trivia question at the end of the column. Good luck!
Go grab something warm to drink and get to know
my friend, Laura Moriarty.
Jen: Of all the books I have read this
year, yours has been the most provocative and
captivating in the sense that it touched upon
a topic that I had never given any thought
to as happening in my life. So that my
readers have a better understanding of your
writing style and influences, please fill us
in on your educational and professional background.
Laura: I got my
undergraduate degree in social work. I sometimes
wish I would have majored in English or creative
writing, but in many ways, my social work background
has helped my writing. The first scene I wrote
in my first novel, The
Center of Everything,
came directly from something I saw happen where
I was a social work student at a clinic for
the uninsured. Later, I worked with people
with disabilities, and some of the people I
met during those years show up in my first
novel as well. After working as a case manager
for a few years, I went back and got a graduate
degree in creative writing. I think my writing
really improved during those years in graduate
school: I had some practical life experience
under my belt, but I had a lot to learn about
reading and writing and language. I still do,
of course, but it was great to have those years
of intense study of reading and writing.
Jen: Has writing always been a passion
of yours? When was the defining moment
in your life when you decided to take a stab
at it and write a book?
Laura: I resisted
it for a long time. I didn't think I could make a living
at it. I wrote stories in my spare time, but
I majored in social work, and I was taking
pre-med courses. I wanted to do something useful,
and something that would give me financial
security down the road. But at some point I
realized writing was the one thing I was truly
passionate about. It would be hard to pick
one defining moment – some critics argue
the sudden epiphany is a myth! For
me, it was a long, slow realization. You
might also call it a case of growing commitment.
Jen: Your first novel, THE CENTER OF
EVERYTHING, got rave reviews. How did
you go about writing your new release, THE
REST OF HER LIFE, with the pressure of knowing
that your fans expected this one to be as stellar
(which it most certainly is, by the way) and
spell-bounding as your first?
Laura: I think you just
have to get over the idea that you're going
to please everyone all the time. I think my
skin is actually a little thicker now. I don't
need everyone to like every book. I have to
write what I want to write. I remind myself
that I can't say I like everything even
my favorite author has written.
Jen: A simple question, but one I have
to ask. How did you arrive at the premise?
The accident on which the novel is
based is such an innocent act that changes
the lives of a family forever. Did you
do much research? And if not, how then
did you so accurately portray the feelings
of your characters? As I read the book,
I kept thinking you must have been in a similar
situation or had known someone who had been.
Laura: No, I haven't been
in this situation, at least not yet. I say ‘yet' because
while researching this book, I realized how
common an accident like this is. When I've
done readings from this book, people invariably
come up at the end and say, ‘my mother
was killed by her friend like this,' or ‘I
paralyzed someone backing out of my driveway,' or ‘my
daughter's friend ran over someone
ten years and she has never been the same.' I
got the idea from reading the newspaper and
thinking about what a tragedy an accident like
this is for both the driver and the victim.
As for research, I did meet with a criminal
lawyer and also a civil lawyer. But I didn't
want it to become a novel with a court
scene as the climax. I wanted the focus
to focus on the emotional effects of an
accident like this, and also guilt, and
also the idea that you can do so much damage
without intending to.
Jen: What I liked best about THE REST
OF HER LIFE was the way you layered the story
with sub-plots, but at the same time, you stayed
true to the main storyline. Please tell
us about your writing process. Plot first?
Characters? Outline? About how long did
it take for you to complete the novel?
Laura: With The Rest
of Her Life, I came up with the plot first,
or at least the incident that sets the plot
in motion. As I said earlier, I wanted to investigate
the idea that you could do so much harm without
meaning to. I then thought, ‘wow, that's
true of parenting as well,' and I was
thinking that link when I was imagining the
characters who might populate this story.
Jen: Which part of the book was the
most challenging for you to write and why?
Laura: That would be the scene
near the end, where the two mothers, the
mother of the victim and the mother of the
driver, have their final confrontation. There
had to be some resolution, but not too much
resolution. I had to be true to the characters
and their feelings. They weren't going to fall
into each other's arms and weep.
So I spent a lot of time thinking of what
they might actually need to say to each
other, and what each woman would walk away
with.
Jen: There are many strong women in
this book with distinct characteristics that
we as readers can relate to at least one if
not all of them. If you had to pick
a favorite character, who would you choose
and why?
Laura: I like
Eva, Leigh's
friend, quite a bit, and she has a lot of me
in her. I say this with some trepidation. I
know not all readers will like Eva, because
she's a bit of a gossip. Okay, she's
a terrible gossip. I don't know if I
would call myself a gossip: I hope I'm
careful about people's feelings, and
I would never want to embarrass someone. It's
much more tantalizing for me to listen than
to tell. I think the same qualities that
make me love to read also make me want to know
the ‘back story' on the people
in my world. I think in some ways, gossip gets
a bad rap. If you're spreading rumors
or lies or even embarrassing truths about someone,
then no, that isn't valuable or good;
but, like the narrator of The Rest of Her Life
points out, I've found that knowing something
of an acquaintance's history – especially
any kind of suffering or heartbreak – will
make me more compassionate toward and interested
in that person. Eva, like gossip, is sort of
the glue of her society. She does care about
people. However, Leigh also notes that
she doesn't really feel so positive about
gossip when she's suddenly the one Eva
is talking about.
Jen: At times, I felt so sorry for Kara's
mother, Leigh, and the unfortunate childhood
she had to endure. What was your motivation
for painting such a dismal picture? Do
you think the plot would have worked as well
if she had just experienced a semi-normal family
life? I also couldn't help but
feel compassion for Justin, who seems to be
lost in the shuffle at times. Perhaps
his loneliness mirrors his mother's earlier
years. Was that your focus?
Laura: No – if Leigh would
have come from a semi-normal family, this would
be an entirely different book, more about external
conflicts than about internal conflicts, which
I think are more interesting. This is an odd
book, in that although the accident happens
to Kara, it's really her mother's
book. The blind spot that causes the normally
caring and conscientious Kara to roll through
a crosswalk and hit a pedestrian is a metaphor
for her mother's emotional blind spots – she
really doesn't see how her own difficult
childhood is affecting her parenting and her
relationship with Kara. The tragedy here – and
in so many families, I think -- is that
Leigh has always been obsessed with being a
better mother than her own mother was, and
trying to give her children everything she
herself didn't get. But in trying so
hard to do the opposite, she ends up fostering
the same kind of feelings in her daughter that
she herself had toward her mother. She is a
better mother to Justin, Kara's younger
brother, because, as you point out, he suffers
in a way Leigh can relate too. But before the
accident, Leigh's daughter has so much
she didn't have- a loving father, a stable
home - that her mother subconsciously feels
she can't relate to her.
Jen: What message, if any, are you sending
your readers by writing this novel?
Laura: I don't think it's
anything that could be summed up in one sentence.
But the theme that shows up, again and again,
is that people usually cause harm to others
not out of malice but because they just don't
see themselves, or a situation, clearly. Many
people – and I would specifically say
many parents – don't see themselves
the way their children see them. It's
frightening to think you could be causing problems
with your child when you're truly trying
to do just the opposite. As Leigh notes, ‘People
don't see themselves. They really don't.
It's eerie to see it up close.'
Jen: After the completion of the book,
was it difficult for you to say good-bye to
these characters? Had they become a part
of you?
Laura: Yes.
I mean, there is a lot of satisfaction in completing
a book. But I find myself wanting to use an
old character or old voice when I'm writing something
new. And that's not good. I try to stretch
myself and come up with someone new.
Jen: What has surprised you most about
the publishing business and why?
And if you could go back and do one
thing over in your career, what would it be
and why?
Laura: I do
think the publishing business is more open
and accessible than people think. This might
be because I've had
a very good experience, but I'm always
surprised by how many people ask me, with narrowed
eyes, ‘how did you get your agent?' It's
as if they think there's a secret handshake
or something. My agent's name and mailing
address are listed in the Writer's Market.
I sent her a letter, and then chapters, and
then the book. I worked hard. I revised. I
listened to her advice. At the end of the day,
I think an agent chooses to represent work
that she loves or at least knows she can sell.
But I don't think you have to know anyone.
Just today, someone acted very surprised when
I said that yes, I support myself and my daughter
with my writing. He said, “you're
really lucky,” and “you must have
a really good agent.” Both things are
true, but there's a bit too much fatalism
there, I think. I have all kinds of luck, good
and bad, and I do have a great agent. But I
also work hard – I pretty much dedicated
my twenties to working on my writing.
Jen: Are you at work on your next book? If
so, what can you tell us about it?
Laura: I am at work on
my next novel, but I hate to talk about it.
I feel like I might jinx it. I can only find
solace in the fact that I remember feeling
this insecure about the first two novels, and
they worked out.
Jen: Do you have a website? Blog? Mailing
list? Do you participate in author phone chats?
Any upcoming author tours and/or book signings?
Laura: I have a
website, www.therestofherlife.com and
the ‘events' page on my site lists
my tour dates. I'll be touring all through
September, all over the country. I'm
really excited about this, because I enjoy
talking with readers so much. I love to do
author phone chats, but it is a bit difficult
because most book clubs meet in the evening,
when my three-year-old is not at all keen on
letting me have an uninterrupted conversation.
I go to local book clubs all the time, and
that's really fun for me. I've
visited so many that I think I could write
an essay on book club cultures. They vary so
much. I've also visited several classes – college
and high school. I only do that if the students
have all read the book, though. It's
much more satisfying for everyone that way,
I think.
Jen: Thank you so much for the opportunity
to chat with you. Your book is
absolutely phenomenal. If you are ever
in the Baltimore area, I would love to meet
you! I wish you much success in the future.
Laura: Thank you, Jen! I hope I
do get to Baltimore – I'm a huge
Anne Tyler fan. I appreciate the encouragement
.I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Laura.
The first five readers to correctly answer the
following question and e-mail me at jensjewels@gmail.com will
win a copy of The Rest of Her Life.
Good luck!!
All the book are gone. Congratulations to Chris
F., Sally L. Jen P., Liz M., and Angie H.
What is the name of the main character's
younger brother in The Rest of Her
Life?
Next time, I will be bringing to you an interview
with Gemma Halliday, author of Undercover
in High Heels. You won't
want to miss it.
Until next month Jen
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Meet
the Author: featuring Jen's Jewels