Q&A with Mary Vensel White

 

 

Mary Vensel White is the author of the new story collection Resonant Blue. Her other books include the young adult novel Things to See in Arizona. Also an English and writing professor, she lives in California.

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in Resonant Blue?

A: These stories were written over several years, throughout some difficult periods when I would escape for an occasional, private, weekend writing retreat. Each story existed so solidly in its own world, and it was incredibly liberating to jump into each one.

 

Writing short fiction can be quite a different experience from writing a novel. Both are equally immersive, but a story can be a shorter burst of energy and time. At the time, my real world was tumultuous and stormy, and writing these stories gave me footholds of calm.
 
Q: How was the book’s title (also the title of one of the stories) chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: The title came from a paint color! According to Sherwin Williams, Resonant Blue is “a medium dark shade of cyan.”

 

I spent a lot of time looking at the names of paint colors and thinking about the way a certain shade can affect our impressions, our moods, and our decisions. We use red to show anger, blue is considered peaceful, and yellow cheerful.

 

And whoever is in charge of naming some of those paints deserves recognition—there are so many beautiful, evocative, imaginative names…for house paint! Obviously, these colorful musings made their way into stories like “Cadmium,” too.

 

Q: The writer Cherie Kephart said that your writing “shines light on the ways we imprison and ultimately release ourselves through the strength of our yearnings.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Cherie is a friend of mine and one of the most insightful people I know. I think she means that ultimately, we are responsible for our lives: our thoughts, our feelings, our destinies. We can make a prison of our minds, limiting ourselves, or we can answer the call to move beyond ourselves and our experience.

 

Heady stuff, but honestly, it’s so appropriate for this collection. It wasn’t these stories started to pile up that I realized each was about characters facing turning points, whether it be an insufferable marriage, the loss of a loved one, or a reforged relationship, each character confronts a moment that calls for some kind of decision.

 

Sometimes what’s been holding them back are their own perceptions, but sometimes the rumblings of change start under our feet before we even realize it. Definitely, that was my experience during the period when I wrote these stories—my world was changing irrevocably, and I subconsciously sensed it before I knew it for certain.

 

Q: How did you decide on the order in which the stories would appear in the collection?

 

A: There was no great method or science to it! I always knew that “What You Know” would come last, as it’s a nod (and maybe a wink) to writers and the practice of creative writing. And I knew that “Griffin” would come first, for personal reasons.

 

And then it was just finding what felt like a rhythm, and occasionally, a purposeful juxtaposition, such as putting “Dear Rebecca” next to “The Love of Your Life Show”—two stories in vastly different styles that are—even so—about the same thing.
 
Q: What are you working on now?

A: I have been working, on and off (mostly off), on a novel that’s an homage to the movie Moonstruck. I think that film is like a perfectly formed puzzle, with everything in its place and working towards the whole.

 

That’s the thing I want to emulate or achieve; also, my favorite stories in the world are about two damaged people trying to connect. So, my novel is about a woman in Pittsburgh named Odessa, who, now that I think of it, is living in a prison of her mind. And what she needs is to look up, to look out, so she can see what’s right in front of her.
 
Q: Anything else we should know?

A: Storytelling is one of the best gifts we have as humans. Where would we be without it? Support artists! Leave reviews for the books you read, buy paintings and photography, go to concerts and plays and art festivals and dance performances!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb