Welcome to
my blog Cathy. Thank you for taking the
time to answer a few questions about yourself and your book The El.
Q. Tell us about your
latest work—title, genre, etc. — and why you wrote it?
A. My latest work is a novel called THE EL. It
is loosely based on events in my family history. I felt compelled to write it
for many years and finally, took some time off from my profession as a
freelance writer and did.
Q. What draws you to your
genre(s)? Why is this type of story compelling to you?
A. I love the freedom of writing fiction, the
ability to weave stories using just words and imagination.
Q. What is your writing process like? Do you
map the whole thing out or do you just let it unfold?
A. For THE EL, it was almost as though the
story wrote itself, as though one of the characters (I'm still not sure which
one) were channeling themselves through me. The words just spilled out of me.
It took me only six months to write the manuscript of about 400 double-spaced
typewritten pages. But it took me seven years to get it published!
Q. Tell us about the inspiration for ‐what part of the book came to
you first?
A. The El was inspired by episodes in my
family history. Most of the characters were modeled after people in my family.
Even people I never knew--like my great grandparents (who were realized in
Poppa and Bridget). Many things never happened and were entirely fictionalized
but the house and most of the people were inspired by people in my family. It's
very odd but the book came to me in a very linear fashion, the first chapter,
the first line, and followed in order, almost like it was being communicated or
channeled to me. The entire book might reflect this: it's like you're
sitting down to tea with a neighbor and they're telling you this story about
another neighbor, a very warm, familiar tone. (I hope!)
Q. What kind of research was involved in
writing your book?
A. A great deal of historical research both on
the Internet and in libraries since the book takes place in 1936.
Q. You obviously did extensive research for
this novel: what were some of your most useful or favorite sources that you'd
recommend to others?
A. Thank God for the Internet! Just about
everything you could imagine is there. For example, I'd heard a lot about
"Dish Night" from my dad, who is "Tiger" in the book, but I
was able to find a story written by a gentleman describing dish night as well. There
are even images of dishes that were given away on Dish Night. Google is my
favorite search engine and Wikipedia is a wonderful information source.
Historical sources, like the Brooklyn Navy Yard's site, had unbelievable
photos, even of the construction of The Brooklyn. So my advice is to be
very specific when entering a Google search. You'll be amazed at what's out
there.
Q. How much of YOU makes it into your
characters?
A. At least one character in my works usually
has a large part of "me" in it. For THE EL, it was Rosanna. She is
loosely based on my grandmother and her plight but the more I wrote it, the
more I realized that she was me and many of the horrors she experienced were
ones I went through during a hurtful previous marriage.
Q. Do you have a favorite line or
scene from the book?
A. That's a tough one but my favorite
scene/chapter is probably Chapter Three, where the family gets ready for Easter
dinner. The pots bubbling, conversation flowing, different people doing
different chores, the lovely chaos, is something I love and so reminiscent of
the holiday dinners of my childhood. And I also love the last line...it still
gives me chills.
Q. How do you balance the need to have
time to write with the needs of family, society, etc.?
A. It's difficult but I feel drawn to writing so
I often will do it early in the day, when the rest of my family is asleep.
Fortunately, I have a very flexible work schedule so I am able to have stolen
moments with my writing.
Q. Have there been any authors in
particular, that inspired your writing?
A. I've always loved the artfulness and
simplicity of John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway and more recently, John
Updike.
Q. Is there a story you want to tell
behind or about your work(s)?
A. THE EL is a marriage of episodes in my
family history and fiction. I tried to pay homage to the florid characters I
heard so much about growing up, some of whom I never met. The young boy, Tiger,
is based on my father, with much love.
Q. What other projects are you currently
working on or about to start?
A. I am currently working on Novel # 2, which
is set in the 1970s. It's called SOCIETY'S CHILD and is based on experiences I
had in the "club date" business during that time period
Q. Could you share some of your marketing
strategies? Which ones are the most
effective in your opinion?
A. I'm currently employing a "media
blitz" in the manner in which I've been hired to do for many artists.
Getting the word out there, going to readings, contacting press outlets, local
news venues, with an "angle" about my book. And that is, that
Brooklyn is suddenly vogue but here's a book by a "daughter of
Brooklyn" which is real and (hopefully) strikes a visceral chord with
readers. I've gotten some wonderful reactions so far.
Q. What would be the top five, (or 3 or 1 or
however many) things you would tell aspiring authors?
A. 1.
Write, write, and write
2. Never give up
3. Write some more
Again, thanks Cathy
for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. We appreciate you and your
work.
Good luck with your
current and future publications.
For more
information:
Purchase: at Amazon,
iTunes, Nook
Read the
first five chapters of The El for free on Amazon :
http://www.amazon.com/The-El-ebook/dp/B009M98CFA/
Please go to the comments button below in white box next
to the time to interact with our Author and other readers.
Dee, I can't thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to talk about THE EL and about writing in general. You have a wonderful blog! The best of luck with it.
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome Cathy. Good luck!
ReplyDelete