I think it would be fair to say that I’m
not what you would call a history buff. Quite
honestly, the only time buff enters my vocabulary
is at Visage Salon when I’m getting my nails
done. But all kidding aside, I have to admit that
the Civil War has always piqued my interest. On
quite a few occasions, my family has incorporated
a side-trip to Richmond, Virginia on our way to
elsewhere in order to tour the Confederacy’s
White House. Within those walls lies the rich
history that depicts the heroic battles of the
Grey Coats. If you’ve never been, I highly
recommend it. The artifacts on display are truly
fascinating.
When my colleague, Jessica Wiener from Hyperion
Books, sent me SWEETSMOKE by
David Fuller for possible consideration, my radar
went on high alert. How could I not read a novel
that dares to combine the struggles and heartache
of the Confederacy with a love story like none
other? Rarely do I get so hyped up about a book
that doesn’t fall into my typical Jen’s
Jewels category of selections. Without a doubt,
this is THE book for the fall. And after reading
it, I am sure you will agree.
As part of this interview, Hyperion Books has
graciously donated five copies of SWEETSMOKE
for you, my readers, to win. So, don’t forget
to look for the trivia question. Good luck! In
honor of the South, y’all grab a cold glass
of iced tea and get to know the amazing screenwriter
turned novelist, David Fuller.
Jen: For the last twenty-five years,
you have had much success as a screenwriter. This
month, your debut historical novel was released.
So that my readers may get a better sense of the
man behind the book, please tell us a little bit
about your educational and professional background
that led you to where you are today.
 David:
Hello, Jen. It’s a great pleasure for me
to be able to join you for this interview.
As a boy, I grew up, from age 7 to age 11, in
Europe. That was an education in itself. Through
that time I thought I was an American kid. When
I came back to the States I found out how much
I had changed. I went to college as a painter,
at the Rhode Island School of Design, but after
a year, I realized I was interested in other artistic
pursuits. I transferred to Brown University and
graduated from there with an eclectic degree.
I wanted to make movies and knew that the only
way to get into that field was to write. So I
planted my butt in a chair and wrote. And wrote.
It took time to break into the movie business.
During that time, I worked for a game show company
as an art director, where I did everything from
design elaborate network pitches for Dan Enright,
to hand-writing cue cards for Wink Martindale,
Jack Barry and Bill Cullen.
As a screenwriter, I teamed up with the talented
and clever Rick Natkin, and together we had a
nice run within the studio system. There was a
stretch of time when we sold everything we wrote.
Our most commercial script was made into a truly
dreadful movie, and even though we were completely
rewritten (and despite the fact that the head
of every studio had read our original script),
it was our fault when the movie failed. Naturally.
Blame the writer.
Jen: SWEETSMOKE is a beautifully written
story that dares to change the way in which the
reader will view the role of slavery during the
Civil War. How did you arrive at the premise?
David: As a young man, I worked for an African
American production company, headed by a local
Chicago celebrity and true Renaissance Man, Jim
Tilmon. I did illustrations for a multi-media
presentation entitled WE ARE BLACK, and learned
about African American history. I carried this
knowledge with me into my later work, and it eventually
led me to the premise of SWEETSMOKE in an unusual
way: My wife works at a movie studio, and her
assistant, Susan, wanted to be a producer. Susan
would send me scripts she liked, and I would read
them and tell her why they would make crummy movies.
In frustration one day, she said, ‘Okay,
so what should I be looking for?’ I said
something off the top of my head, like ‘Think
about putting things together that don’t
normally go together, like a bookstore owner falling
in love with a movie star, or a psychic dog, or
a slave detective…’ at which point
I realized what I had said. ‘Wait. You can’t
have that. Pretend I never said that.’ At
that moment, I understood the entire story; I
knew it would be set in Civil War Virginia, and
that the slave would be a carpenter, as carpenters
had more freedom than most slaves. There would
be a murder, and the murdered woman would be a
spy for the North.
Jen: SWEETSMOKE would not ring true if
the harsh reality of the lives of the slaves was
not accurately depicted throughout the book. How
much research went into validating the authenticity
of the time period? What was the most fascinating
piece of information you discovered?
David: After eight years of research, I looked
around and realized I could easily spend twenty
years more, and that I had to start writing. The
writing process took close to a year, and I continued
researching throughout. I want to emphasize the
fact that I am not a historian. I’m a storyteller,
and the research I did was expressly aimed at
supporting the story.
I came across many fascinating pieces of information.
I learned that when George Washington died, he
had put into his will that, after his wife Martha
Custis Washington died, his slaves should be freed.
Apparently, Martha spent a year hiding out in
her bedroom, afraid that his slaves would murder
her in order to achieve their freedom.
Another interesting piece of information I came
across was that when slaves from different plantations
came together, rather than comparing notes as
to the brutality of their respective owners, they
bragged about their plantations, as if they were
on different teams. That sort of unexpected, real
human response is why we have to tell stories.
Jen: The most difficult part for a debut
novelist is quite simply figuring out the best
formula in which to make the story work. For example,
murder mysteries need a motive. Love stories need
sexual tension. Historical fiction needs facts
in order to bring credibility to the plot. Quite
masterfully, you incorporated all three of these
in your first novel, SWEETSMOKE. What was the
most challenging part of bringing your story to
life in terms of balancing all three of these
aspects within the book’s framework? In
what ways was it different than crafting a script?
David: The most challenging part was incorporating
the research. The world of slavery and civil war
had to be woven into the fabric of the story so
that it felt seamless. If it appeared to the reader
that I was trying to show off all the cool stuff
I’d learned, then the book would be lousy.
Cassius had to be someone I could identify with
and live with. I have never been good at writing
stories from the point of view of a victim, and
although Cassius is oppressed in his world, he
is not a victim by personality.
The story then had a strong dynamic: I was excited
to see how someone of his intelligence and thought
process would handle himself. He had to be creative,
and he came alive for me. The sexual tension in
the story comes from his personality, the fact
that he is drawn to Quashee but is having trouble
letting go of his anger and his protective shell.
He knows that to fall in love would give too much
power to the planters, as his vulnerable emotions
would become his Achilles’ heel that the
whites could use against him. The murder mystery
plays off his personal history -- Emoline’s
death carries his memory back to the most horrible
incident in his life. My hope was that if I could
weave these pieces together, the story would work.
Jen: What I liked best about your book
was the way in which the reader was able to sympathize
with both Cassius, the slave, and Hoke Howard,
the plantation owner. Blame was not assigned.
Fingers were not pointed. Each had his own cross
to bear. In a sense, you were able to tell two
stories in one. Was it always your intention to
do it this way or is this simply how the story
unfolded during the writing process?
David: I had always planned to do it that way.
If you tell a story with obvious heroes and villains,
you are writing melodrama. I hoped to show the
slaves as deeply human: smart, stupid, witty,
dull, thoughtful, and insensitive. The same with
the planters. They are just as smart, stupid,
witty, dull, thoughtful and insensitive. There
are great similarities in the personalities of
Ellen Howard and Emoline Justice. Both are strong,
prickly women, difficult and intelligent.
Jen: To move the story along, there must
be strong secondary characters whose threads are
carefully woven throughout the book. Their ultimate
purpose is to add to the plot without taking the
focus away from the main character. Which storyline
involving one of your secondary characters was
your favorite and why?
David: I have affection for so many characters
in the novel. Thomas Chavis and his wife, the
owners of Weyman; Joseph and Andrew, Savilla and
Jenny; Mam Rosie and her dangerous connivances.
The Angel Gabriel was great fun to write. I find
myself mentioning so many of them, as if to leave
someone out might hurt their feelings.
The subplot of Tempie Easter rings powerfully
for me. She is not a likeable person, but what
happens to her is horrifying and reverberates
through the novel. You can make the case that
she brings it on herself, as it is her own plan
that Cassius turns against her, but that just
makes Cassius’s response to it that much
more meaningful. If she had been kind or decent,
I don’t think her story would have been
nearly as effective.
Jen: Cassius was different than most slaves
due to the amount of liberties he was given by
his owners. Why did he not choose to run away?
What made his loyalty to Hoke outweigh his desire
for freedom?
David: Why Cassius did not choose to run away
is a question that must be seen within its historical
context. Naturally, there was incredible danger
for a runaway. The law was fiercely set against
them, both in the South as well as the North with
the Fugitive Slave Act. Patrollers were on the
road, and a black face was instantly assumed to
be a slave. The whites planted fear in the slaves
in every possible way, including through their
religious upbringing. For Cassius personally,
he did not know what lay beyond Sweetsmoke outside
of thirty miles, which would have made running
away extremely daunting. The liberties he enjoyed
as a child and as a young man also would have
contributed to his staying in place. He certainly
felt no loyalty to Hoke after the incident with
Marriah. But something in his anger and emotional
coldness shut him down so that he was unable or
unwilling to reach for his freedom.
Jen: Who was the stronger character…Cassius
or Hoke? How so?
David: In so many ways, Cassius is a much stronger
character than Hoke. Hoke is a rather weak man,
indulgent of his own desires – he whimsically
purchases slaves and animals, and is forced to
sell them when he is in difficult financial straits
– and he’s a vain man – this
is particularly obvious when he compares himself
to Cassius’s physical strength. Cassius’s
weaknesses, which we see at the outset of the
novel, are self imposed. His distance, his rage,
plays out as immobility and ennui. But when he
starts to act, after he learns of the death of
Emoline Justice, his intelligence, his cleverness,
and his ability to think on his feet, take hold,
and his strength builds. Slaves needed to be wise
readers of their owners, in order to not only
survive, but to evade punishment.
Jen: I was surprised by Hoke’s wife Ellen’s
brutality towards the slaves. Was it common for
the plantation’s mistress to have much interaction
with the field hands as well as instill fear among
them? During that time period, was not the woman’s
main role to run the household and the man’s
to take care of the business side of the plantation?
David: Wars always seem to change traditional
roles, as we’ve seen throughout history.
Ellen has little interaction with the field hands,
but she of course has very close relationships
with the house slaves. Her flogging of Marriah
emerged from her own private fury. Within the
story, when Hoke is incapacitated, Ellen takes
over his books and the plantation business out
of necessity. She is forced to keep up the appearance
of Hoke being in charge, but at that point, she
has found that she’s better at his job than
he was.
Jen: Was it difficult to say good-bye to these
characters when it was all said and done?
David: Oh my yes. It was particularly difficult
to say good bye to Cassius. The moment I finished,
I thought of what he might be doing next, but
I realized, as time passed, that this was the
right way to say farewell.
Jen: Looking back, what do you think was
your true motivation for writing this book? Was
it a professional hurdle that you have always
wanted to jump? Was it to bring a better understanding
of slavery and plantation life during the Civil
War to light? Or could it simply have been to
broaden your own awareness of our country’s
rich history and how it relates to your life?
David: To some degree, it was a combination of
all three. But it was also a desire to tell a
good story. Here was fertile land upon which to
build a story, and a writer doesn’t often
get the chance to live through a distinct world
with a character as interesting as Cassius. When
he came into my head, I knew I had to tell his
story. Perhaps, in some odd way, he insisted upon
it.
Jen: What has surprised you most about
the book publishing industry?
David: Their kindness and generosity. Publishers
seem to like writers. I have loved working with
Leslie Wells, my extraordinary editor. She significantly
improved the novel with her thoughtful notes and
her careful reading. Ellen Archer is a great publisher,
a joy with whom to work, supportive and enthusiastic.
She even laughed at my jokes at the Librarian’s
Dinner. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention
my extended Hyperion family, Will Balliett, Allison
McGeehon, Michael Rotondo, Maha Khalil, Jessica
Wiener, Beth Gebhard, Alexandra Ramstrum, Jill
Sansone, Betsy Spigelman, Bijani Mizell and Chisomo
Kalinga. I adore them all.
Jen: Will you continue to pursue a career as a
novelist or will you return to screenwriting?
David: If there is a story that seems right for
the screen, I will consider pursuing it, but I
am spoiled by the pleasure of writing prose. It
allows my actual words, good, bad or indifferent,
to reach a public. The movies provide the words
only through proxy: actors, directors, rewriters.
Jen: Do you have a website? Will you be
able to participate in author phone chats? And
if so, how would my readers go about scheduling
one? (Me, first!!)
David: I would be thrilled
to participate in phone chats, and you will indeed
go first! There is contact information on my website:
www.sweetsmokedavidfuller.com
Jen: Thank you so much for being a part
of Jen’s Jewels. I am truly in awe of your
novel. It’s so well-written, so moving,
and truly an exceptional piece of literature.
Bravo. I wish you nothing but the best.
David: It was totally my pleasure. I am humbled
by your kind words and I deeply appreciate them.
Thank you for letting me be a part of Jen’s
Jewels.
I hope you have enjoyed this interview as much
as I did. Please stop by your favorite bookstore
or local library today and pick up a copy of SWEETSMOKE.
Okay, it’s time for your favorite part
of the column. The Contest! The first five people
to e-mail me at
jensjewels@gmail.com with the correct answer
to the following trivia question will win your
very own copy of SWEETSMOKE!
Good luck!
What is David’s website address?
Next month, I will be bringing to you my interview
with New York Times Bestselling Author Allison
Brennan. You won’t want to miss it.
Until next time…Jen
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