Janet Constantino is the author of the new novel Becoming Mariella. She is a psychotherapist, and she lives in Sonoma, California.
Q: What inspired you to write Becoming Mariella, and how did you create your character Mariella?
A: When a friend asked me, "If you could write about anything you wanted to write about, what would it be?" I immediately thought of Italy, my pull to everything Italian, and my Sicilian relatives.
When I was a young adult, I stayed with relatives in Siracusa, and visited my grandmother's birthplace, Carlentini, and visited relatives in Catania, where the first and last parts of the novel take place.
Also, one of my cousins in my family, with whom I stayed, is named Mariella. So I immediately thought of her, and her beautiful name.
Q: The novel is set in Sicily and San Francisco--how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: Both Catania (Sicily) and San Francisco have the feel of characters in the novel. Almost as if the story couldn't be located anywhere else. The setting is deliberate and essential because of the personalities of the cities, the proximity to the sea, and the hilly parts, along with San Francisco's North Beach Italian community, and is heavily influenced by Italian culture.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I knew the last line of the story right away, but I didn't know how I would get there until I'd written the whole novel. There were hundreds of changes along the way, along with new character introductions and eliminations.
Q: How was the novel's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: As I mentioned, I took the name of Mariella from a cousin. The Becoming part (suggested by my publisher) points to Mariella's developing sense of self and to following her own path in life, which is a deeply held value for me, not only for Mariella in the novel but also for my psychotherapy clients.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I've started a sequel to Becoming Mariella. I don't yet have a title, and I have no idea how it will end. Also, I'm revisiting some earlier work: a novel with lots of Latin dancing, and some earlier short stories.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: My work as a psychotherapist has heavily influenced my writing. Not directly, because I don't write about clients, nor with psychotherapeutic jargon.
But my work has deepened my empathy and understanding of human nature and behavior, so hopefully, that understanding gets reflected in a genuine sense of how characters think, act, and develop.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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