Q&A with Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, and Liz Parker

 

Linda Epstein, photo by Franco Vogt

 

 

Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, and Liz Parker are the authors of the new novel The Other March Sisters. It focuses on the characters from Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women. 

 

Q: How did the three of you decide to write The Other March Sisters, and how did you collaborate on the project?

 

Ally: It started as a conversation on Twitter after the Greta Gerwig film adaptation came out and then it just morphed into a whole conversation. Linda picked Amy and I, having recently gone through a cancer diagnosis, was very interested in exploring Beth’s story. And then Liz joined as Meg. The whole thing was very organic.

 

Liz: Once we each had our stories written, we recognized themes that ran through all of them and amped those up a bit. Then we decided to break the book into two parts based on when everything was taking place, with Amy’s story bookending Meg and Beth’s.

 

Linda: When we were putting it all together we had to go back into our individual stories and tweak some things so it all synced up. And in a few places we added/took little things out so that the characters were consistent throughout.

Ally Malinenko

 

Q: The writer Susan Wiggs said of the book, “With Jo’s powerful presence purposefully absent, the other sisters shine brilliantly, revealing a tapestry of love, ambition, and self-discovery that will captivate readers anew.” What do you think of that description?

 

Ally: I think it’s great! I remember reading the book as a child and of course loving Jo, but always wishing we spent more time with the other sisters. 

 

Linda: It’s always humbling when another author praises my work. I love that she thinks the other sisters shine brilliantly! That was our intention: to give Meg, Beth, and Amy their own stories, outside the purview of their family. And I hope readers are captivated! 

 

Liz: I was floored to receive this blurb. The self-discovery piece is so central to the themes of this book, and I’m happy that came through enough for another author to call it out!

 

Liz Parker, photo by Nick Parker

Q: Why do you think Little Women has endured for so long as a classic, and at what point did you first read the book?

 

Ally: Great question. I think it endured as a classic because it is rare to have the story of girlhood told in such a frank honest way. They love each other and they bicker and they fight and they cry and mourn together - like a real family of sisters. I think I was about 11 or so the first time I read it, but I might have been even younger. As a kid I found bigger books a delightful challenge.

 

Liz: I think everyone came see themselves in at least one of the characters, which is why it continues to be a favorite. I read it for the first time shortly before writing Meg’s story, which gave me the ability to see it through a critical eye and not just the rose-tinted glasses of childhood. I am now fully a Little Women fangirl.

 

Linda: It’s an interesting question. I think for a long time it was the only book that centered girls and the messiness of sibling relationships. I read it so many times when I was a girl. I was pretty young when I read it the first time. Probably about 10 or 11. It almost felt like a different book when I went back and revisited it as an adult. 

 

Q: How would you describe the relationships among the March (and Alcott) sisters?

 

Ally: I think it’s like any group of sisters, like I mentioned before, they love each other, and they bicker and fight and cry and mourn together. From what I know of the Alcott sisters it was very much the same. Louisa certainly modeled her characters after her real life sisters.

 

Liz: In our take on those relationships, we have each sister discovering herself as a part of and separate from her family, and we explore those relationships through letters between them. We also have some interaction between Meg and Beth in Meg’s story where they really start to see each other as young women not just the sisters of their childhoods.

 

Linda: One of the big differences between the March and Alcott sisters is how Alcott portrays the relationship between Jo and Amy. I think Louisa and her sister May, who Amy is modeled after, was much closer than Amy and Jo’s. After Little Women was published and Louisa was making quite a bit of money from it, she financially supported May’s career as a painter in many ways. 

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

Ally: So The Other March Sisters is one of three (!!) books I have coming out this year so it’s been a very busy writing and editing time. I’m also drafting my next spooky middle grade book, this one about monsters.

 

Linda: I’m working on two things! One is historical and one is contemporary and they’re both too early in the process to say much more about.

 

Liz: I have another book coming out in October called Witches of Honeysuckle House, which is also a story about sisters! It explores themes of sisterhood, family, and the places we call home. And, of course, I have a few other ideas in the works.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: Kensington, our publisher, was kind enough to send us on a little book tour so if you’re in the New York/Boston area please come out and get a book signed! We’re also doing signed pre-orders through The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, New York, and we have a giveaway for an annotated copy if you submit proof of preorder.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Linda Epstein.