First off, I want to say thank you for telling Ruby’s story. I truly loved the book as it brought out all the emotions a book should do. From empathy, to anger, to forgiveness, to love and rebuilding. There are so many questions I have but to answer would give away a lot of the story, so I will do my best to be general but with enough to maybe give me some insight.
Q. Can you share the inspiration behind Across the Narrows? Specifically, how did you come up with the story of Ruby?
A. I was inspired by my mother’s life. In fact, I think that my desire to understand my mother’s experience is why I decided to try to become a writer. It was so many years ago that I first tried to write this story. That manuscript was titled Let The Matter Rest. I took a correspondence course for writers that the magazine Writer’s Digest offered. I did loads of research too because my mother’s experience held many mysteries. So, I went back to graduate school and studied literature and creative writing and I set aside this story for years. Many years!
Q. I must admit, you started the story off with a “bang”! It definitely grabbed my attention right away. Was this your intent from the beginning or did it evolve as the story came alive?
A. It evolved and I struggled with the point of view. In one draft I told the entire story in Alice’s POV. But this first chapter evolved out of a short story I wrote for a workshop. I think losing an infant must be one of the most heartbreaking things for a mother to endure and so I started there —with loss.
Q. Writing historical fiction can sometimes be a challenge, did you have to research a lot for the time period of Ruby’s story?
A. I agree that it is a challenge, but it also became sort of an obsession for me. And really, I did historical research about my grandmother (the inspiration for Ruby) and her era long before I wrote the novel. Sometimes I’d use the research as an excuse not to write. I so hope that I got the history correct. I worry about that. Kirkus Reviews classified it as Historical Fiction which was flattering. And oh, I do love Brooklyn. Not sure where you are… Canada?
As a follow up, I am from Canada!
Q. Authors often draw from personal experiences or interests in their work. Is there a particular aspect of your life or passion that influenced the themes or characters in your novel?
A. Well, as I said it is inspired by actual events but now that I am busy writing my 3rd novel I realize that I keep exploring the same themes. My debut novel Blind Eye was very different, but it was about an investigation – trying to figure out the why of a tragedy which I think this novel does too. I think that the literature that matters is the literature of loss. So, I am thankful for my readers who put up with these difficult themes. And I love investigating the topic of motherhood. I have two daughters.
Q. With the changing of time periods, did you find it hard to track or was there a method you stuck to?
A. Thank you Kelly for your close reading. It is flattering really. I did find some challenges with the time periods but mostly the difficulty was making sure that Ruby’s and Alice’s voices reflected their time period and did not sound alike. That was maybe one of the hardest things to do since I had no personal experience with the voices and attitudes and word choices that Ruby might make. I went back and read novels written in Ruby’s time period like Willa Cather or Agatha Christie. And for the Ruby chapters I relied on lots of newspapers… and I had actual divorce documents and public records.
Having the documents must have been fascinating! All I can say is well done!
Q. I felt there were parts of the story left open ended. More so of what could be left to the readers imagination. Will there be another story coming from one of those characters? As an example, Theodore or even Clare?
A. That is interesting! I think that in my heart of hearts I am done with this story. I feared that it would be open ended in ways. But – and this is probably an excuse- for my mother (who is named Alice) the story had an ending when she went to Brooklyn and visited her mother’s home etc. She was at rest with it then.
With your third book coming out, I will switch to more general questions now.
Q. Will this be a contemporary or historical and why?
A. This new novel is going to be contemporary —set in one summer in 1985. Oh, dear I hope this is contemporary. Ha! Because I also like writing about Place this story will move to Halawa, Hawaii which is on the island of Oahu. It will only be historical in the sense that I want to get the time period right and at the heart of the novel is the story about a girl who went missing that summer. I will be using actual documents to get the history right.
You have me intrigued! Looking forward to reading it!
Q. Writing styles can evolve over time. How do you think your writing has changed or developed since your first novel, and what lessons have you learned along the way?
A. Great question and made me sit and think back. It has taken me years and years to write my two novels. I wrote my dissertation as a novel and that was in 2009. That novel is in a drawer, but it lacked so much. So, it was my starter novel. My biggest problem has always been the structure – I know the story but how to knit it together is the hard part for me. So, I hope my style has evolved.
Q. What advice can you give upcoming writers when they start to doubt themselves and their abilities. What strategies do you use to keep the momentum and creative flow moving?
A. Well, I doubt myself all the time. But to keep working I find working with other writers the key. Since 2009 I have worked with the same First Reader. She reads every word I write and vice-versa. And I love going to actual workshops and of course reading. For my new novel I have a stack of books I keep rereading such as The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. So, I’d suggest to any young writer to find someone they admire to read their work and then honor that person by reading their work.
Q. What inspires you to write and have you always known your wanted to be a writer?
A. I am sure that reading is what inspires me to write but no, I did not always want to be a writer. I did not realize that I wanted to write until I was well into my career as a CPA, and I was a young mother with lots of responsibilities! I think it was about the time I read this one book, So Long, See You Tomorrow! and I really wondered how the writer did it. These days, if I am not working on some writing I am not happy.
Thank you, Kelly, for asking me these questions and for reading my book.
Thank you Martha for writing your story and giving us a glimpse into the past! I truly enjoyed reading it and look forward to your next novel. It has been a pleasure.
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