Q&A with Bryan Gruley

 

 

 

Bryan Gruley is the author of the new novel Bitterfrost. His other books include Starvation Lake. He lives in Michigan.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Bitterfrost, and how did you create your cast of characters? 

 

A: Bitterfrost was inspired initially by something that happened in the National Hockey League more than 20 years ago. Two players engaged in an especially violent fight. One was hurt so badly that he never played hockey again. The other went through litigation hell but eventually resumed his career.

 

It left me to wonder how one handles the idea that he or she might have ruined someone else’s life. That was the inspiration for the protagonist, Jimmy Baker.

 

Devyn was born in a previous, unpublished novel in which she defended a mixed-race hockey player against rape charges. I liked Devyn’s toughness and sense of humor in that book—which no one will ever read—and brought her into Bitterfrost with a family and a strong hockey connection.

 

Klimmek, the detective, was initially just a necessity, but he grew as I wrote him, and about halfway through, I decided he would be faced with perhaps the most difficult decision of any character in the book. I liked him a great deal and thought his wife, Kris, was an able foil, challenging Klimmek to have faith in his instincts and act accordingly.

 

Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the novel says, “Gruley buttresses the book's sleek procedural elements with a textured, lived-in setting, granting even minor characters a surprising amount of dimension.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: It’s always good when a reviewer appreciates what you’re trying to do, so I was happy to read it, especially the bit about minor characters such as Kris Klimmek.

 

I try to give every character in my books more than one defining characteristic because even a little complexity helps bring them to life on the page, while at the same time helping to bring more major characters alive as well.

 

In Bitterfrost, I hope readers will see this in the interplay between Devyn and her wayward client Jordan Fawcett. Jordan was great fun to write, as was her mother, Shirlee. Shirlee has her own peccadilloes but she also turns out to be pretty important to the story’s denouement.

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way? 

 

A: I usually have little to no idea how one of my books will end, and Bitterfrost was no exception. I had a vague idea that one or two things would transpire, but I didn’t know how, and only by pushing forward with the narrative was I able to learn how things would play out in the final chapters.

 

I make many changes as I go, often printing out chapters and marking them up with a pencil (and then changing the penciled changes as I tap them into my laptop). When I complete the first full draft, I have it bound and printed so I can go through every word of it.

 

With Bitterfrost, a friend who read an early draft mentioned something about Devyn’s relationship to Jimmy that prompted me to go back and rewrite the last few pages. I love the very last sentence or two.

 

Q: Did you need to do any research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you? 

 

A: I read a little about that NHL episode, but not much, because I wanted to create my own situation with my own emotional truth. I also read an excellent nonfiction book, Darker Than Night, by Detroit journalist Tom Henderson, that inspired some of the elements of the crime described in Bitterfrost.

 

I drove around the northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan looking for details that would help me bring the fictional town of Bitterfrost alive. And I consulted with northern Michigan defense attorney Ron Varga on legal and courtroom matters. He was a huge help—and I named a character after him.

 

Q: This is the first in a series--can you tell us what's next? 

 

A: The sequel, which includes Devyn, Klimmek, a member of the Dulaney family, and a character who first appeared in my novel Starvation Lake, is about the drowning of twin infants in the river that bisects Bitterfrost. Accident or homicide? Working title: River Deep.

 

Q: Anything else we should know? 

 

A: Sharp readers of the Starvation Lake trilogy might notice that an important character from those books plays a crucial role as a judge in Bitterfrost.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Kathleen Somers

 

 

 

Kathleen Somers is the author of the new memoir Barely Visible: Mothering a Son Through His Misunderstood Asperger Syndrome. She is a freelance graphic designer and copywriter, and she lives in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

 

Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir?

 

A: My primary reason for wanting to write this memoir is to raise awareness, not simply about autism—there’s already plenty of that—but about the unique difficulties that accompany the varying degrees and subtleties of it.

 

When my son Jack was formally diagnosed in 2007, he was diagnosed with what was then called Asperger syndrome, but today is considered high functioning autism. Because he is high functioning, he gives off the appearance of being able to navigate the ups and downs of daily life.

 

And to a large degree, he can. He just recently earned a college degree. He drives a car, has a job, and is even beginning to make his way in the competitive world of modeling. He appears like every other young adult starting their journey toward independence.

 

But we all know that appearances can be deceiving. Jack appears one way on the surface, yet beneath it, he is a completely different person that operates in ways that are foreign to most of us. In any given moment, it’s difficult to pinpoint and define what makes him different, or to make sense of a situation gone wrong.

 

Because Jack appears like everyone else, it’s hard to believe that he’s not. His limitations can all be felt. It’s the tension at a restaurant table when his food is not what he expected, envisioned, or ordered, and he refuses to eat it.

 

It’s the irritability he experiences when the car is too hot or the sun too strong. It’s the embarrassment I feel when he comes off as being rude or disruptive.

 

It can be heard in the endless strings of babble that pour from his mouth, or the complete lack of expression in every awkward “thank you,” because that’s the only social rule that ever stuck.

 

But rarely can it be seen.

 

Jack is trapped halfway between assisted and accomplished. No one offers him the assistance he needs because no one can see that he needs it, and no one understands why he can’t accomplish more because they can’t see that he’s trapped in place by something he can’t control.

 

It’s an unfair gray space that creates a unique set of problems whose answers aren’t always easily found, and the impact of that extends beyond just the world’s perception of Jack.

 

It also impacts his perception of himself. He carries a label around with him that he struggles to accept because it implies that he is less than or limited, and that, of course, is incredibly destructive to his self-esteem and confidence.

 

My parenting journey with Jack from toddler to adolescent to young man has been filled with struggles and questioning.

 

How do you convince others to “cut your child some slack” when the kid they see looks like every other kid they know? How do you explain away behavior that, at face value, looks like the result of bad parenting? How do you prevent others from discriminating against your child once you do disclose their disability?

 

And how on earth do you do any or all of that while your marriage is falling apart, and the rest of life is swirling around you?!

 

I have been walking a very fine line for the last 17 years because of it, trying to balance all the unknowns, and making every mistake possible. I feel an obligation to share that with other parents that are on the same path we’ve already traveled.

 

Yes, there are far more resources available to parents today, but medical and educational resources aren’t always enough. There is immense value in connecting with someone else who has been in your shoes, feeling their support, and knowing that you are not alone.

 

My hope is that writing this book will help parents of children with high functioning autism to understand not only their child but also their own feelings and to maintain their sanity.

 

I’m hoping it will provide necessary perspective—that high functioning autism isn’t necessarily better or easier. It comes with its own set of challenges that can be just as difficult to surmount.

 

By sharing my mistakes, maybe a parent will be empowered to get vocal about their child’s behavior, encouraged to swallow the embarrassment and stop apologizing to the world, and recognize that a path forward is possible.

 

Secondarily, I have never had interest in social media, and finding ways to advocate and create change does not come easily to me. Having written this book is my way of contributing to the conversation and trying to make sense of it all.

Q: What do you see as some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about Asperger syndrome?

 

A: People with Asperger syndrome are often perceived as being “odd” and a bit detached from reality. Because their interpretation of the world is so literal, there response is as well.

 

The rest of us have learned the subtle dance of social interaction which involves a bit of role playing and pretense. To the neurotypical, having to don that mask every day is a given.

 

It’s the complete opposite for the person with Asperger’s. Their inability to go along with the act is why others see them as odd. In truth, the authenticity of the Aspie’s response to life and manner of navigating it is far more worthy of admiration. It’s 100 percent authentic.

 

I think the biggest misconception is that people with Asperger syndrome are hidden geniuses. That’s not true. Asperger syndrome is a brain difference, meaning the way in which information is processed is different than the neurotypical way.

 

That manner of processing has its biggest impact on social interaction and communication and isn’t any indication of intelligence. People with Asperger’s exhibit a range of intelligence, from average IQ to highly intelligent.

 

Aspies often focus intensely on one particular interest because it provides routine and a sense of comfort, helping to reduce anxiety. Because they get hyper-focused, they often come off as having deep knowledge or expertise in that particular area, leading others to believe that they are more intelligent.

 

Q: The writer Diana Kupershmit called the book a “moving, beautifully rendered account of a mother’s journey accepting her son’s disability, and the ultimate triumph of the heart, where love wins and letting go begins.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love Diana’s choice of words, and I think her description is spot on. Every parent knows that, at some point, we need to let our children go. We need to allow them the freedom to fail, so they can learn, grow and hopefully succeed on their own.

 

When your child is disabled though, the idea of letting them go is unthinkable. You’ve devoted your entire self to their protection and the thought of forcing them to face this unforgiving world on their own is unacceptable. It brings on an overwhelming sense that you’re abandoning them.

 

But allowing Jack the opportunity to make the most of his abilities is essential to his development. As painful as it is, I need to step back and allow him to figure the world out on his own, try his hand at different things, make mistakes, and yes, fall hard.

 

I also need to stop being the buffer between him and the rest of the world. He will never develop an understanding of how to react to various situations and interact properly with others if I’m always stepping in to mitigate situations gone wrong.

 

Not only am I letting go of him but I’m also letting go of my years of embarrassment, my explaining away of every bad behavior, and my constant need to apologize to the world. I’ve stopped beating myself up for all the mistakes I’ve made—every parent makes them—and I’ve learned to love not just Jack, but myself in the process.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: The idea of writing this book about my only child and our discovery of his disability was daunting. I remember thinking that I was writing aimlessly with no forward path. I often questioned why I was doing it and whether I was wasting my time.

 

I’m not an authority; I’m anything but. I’ve made every mistake possible and I’m still making them.

 

But every time I’ve reflected on all that Jack has experienced, all that we’ve been through as a family, and the uniquely incredible person he has become, I’ve realized that telling our story wasn’t something I needed to do for myself, but for all those other families dealing with similar circumstances who don’t know what to expect or how to handle it.

 

The book was not written in any linear fashion. Nothing about Jack’s growth and development has ever been linear. Just when I’m able to connect all the dots and finally make sense of a given moment in time, he does something to remind me that there are still loose ends and unresolved issues from some earlier chapter of his life.

 

I had made countless strings of notes along the way, a piece here, a thought there. Each note I made seemed to make perfect sense at the time, but when I would return to them later, they all appeared as senseless as Jack’s behavior.

 

Needing to organize them in some logical fashion forced me to articulate Jack in his entirety. It forced me to chew, swallow, and digest all of life with Jack, and that was downright nauseating at times. But it was necessary.

 

I have spent years working on this book, not continuously, but if I wasn’t writing, it was still top of mind. That means I’ve spent years living in the past, trying to conjure up memories, and I question if that’s been harmful.

 

By living in the past, has my perspective on Jack as a young adult been skewed? Have I put too much emphasis on “what was” when “what is” is now different? His disability remains—it won’t ever disappear—but the way in which he handles things has changed.

 

Or has that past perspective been helpful? Delving deeply into Jack’s childhood, dissecting all his responses, and questioning why he behaved the ways he did may have enabled me to see the adult Jack more clearly and better guide him.

 

It may seem cliché, but I hope the takeaway is that we are ALL human—parents and children, neurodivergents and neurotypicals alike.

 

No matter how much you love your child, it’s okay to not like them at times, regardless of their disability. It’s okay to want to run and hide and hope it all just disappears. Sometimes it’s necessary to give in to the pressure so you can start fresh and regain the strength to go another day. And for god’s sake, have a sense of humor about it all. It helps!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I always have several novel ideas in the works, but I have struggled to fully commit to any of them. Self-doubt always gets in the way, and there are so many amazing books out there bringing such clever ideas to life, that it’s intimidating. I’m a perfectionist, so of course I want to write something that stands out, and I won’t except anything less from myself.

 

The old adage, “write what you know,” though, has been helpful in getting me further with one idea than any other. What I know best is life with my son, so I’ve decided to focus on a story that has evolved from experiences with him, but is, of course, completely fictional.

 

I am still in the very early stages. At this point it is nothing more than a developing outline and a growing pile of notes. I’m hoping I’ll have more time to bring it to life once my memoir is released and life begins to settle down a bit.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: People believe that Asperger syndrome is an obsolete diagnosis. Yes, it’s true that in 2013, with the publication of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, use of the term was abandoned, and the symptoms are now included within autism spectrum disorder.

 

But the severity and presentation of autistic symptoms can vary widely from person to person. A young adult like Jack, who has a college degree, a job, and drives a car, is significantly different than the child who is non-verbal and requires life-long assistance.

 

Yet he is not quite the same as a neurotypical 24-year-old. He interprets and responds to the world differently, many times in ways that are difficult to understand and embrace.

 

A term like Asperger syndrome is still needed—a phrase to define the gray space between being visibly autistic and being completely neurotypical—one that creates a degree of separation from autism spectrum disorder. In a perfect world though, the lines would be blurred completely, and labels would disappear altogether.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Martha Seif Simpson

 

Photo by Carter Hasegawa

 

 

Martha Seif Simpson is the author of the new children's picture book A Ring for a King: A Tale of King Solomon. Her other books include Esther's Gragger. She is also a librarian.

 

Q: What inspired you to write A Ring for a King?

 

A: I started writing this story in 2020, during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, when we had to isolate and wear masks. No one understood how the disease spread or how long the pandemic was going to last.

 

While I was at home, I happened to look through an anthology of folktales from around the world and found a tale I had heard years ago in a rabbi’s sermon.

 

I don’t want to say the title because that phrase is the punchline of my story, but it was about King Solomon who was looking for the right words to make a sad person happy and a happy person sad. The gist of the story is that nothing lasts forever and bad times will eventually end.

 

I was inspired to retell the story for a younger audience because it’s a positive message and I wanted to share that optimism with readers of all ages.

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I searched for references to the phrase online and found several versions of the tale. Most of them involved King Solomon, who ruled in Israel from around 970 to 931 BCE.

 

But I was surprised to find that the phrase was also common in Persian culture and was popularized by a 13th century Persian Sufi poet named Farid Al-din Attar of Nishapu.

 

Over the years, the tale spread around the world, and rings, amulets, and even tattoos have been discovered engraved with that phrase. And Abraham Lincoln referred to it in a campaign speech in 1859!

 

Another thing I found was that all the versions featured men as the characters, whether or not the story included King Solomon. I knew that I wanted to retell the story as a picture book because I thought the theme of hope was important to convey to children. So I decided to make the main character a child, and tell my story from the perspective of a young servant boy.

 

Q: What do you think D. Yael Bernhard’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: I’m so glad you asked that question!

 

A Ring for a King is my third book with Wisdom Tales. Yael also illustrated the first two - The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin: A Toyshop Taleof Hanukkah and Esther’s Gragger: A Toyshop Tale of Purim – and I knew she would be perfect for this book.

 

For one thing, she does her research in order to get the setting and the characters just right. In her artist’s note at the back of the book, she explains that her illustrations were inspired by ancient sculptures, pottery, and other artifacts she found in the Old City of Jerusalem. You can see that reflected in the costumes, architecture, and the things the characters carry.

 

Our other books also have central objects – a dreidel and graggers – and Yael brought them to life with her beautiful, intricate designs. I knew she would bring the same artistic magic to her illustrations of the ring.

 

I also love the colorful borders and patterns that adorn the cover and several pages of the book. Special touches like those enhance the mood of time and place in the story.

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?

 

A: Even though the worst of the pandemic is over, life is full of ups and downs and uncertainty. Kids may face challenges at home, in school, or with another part of their lives. Or maybe everything is going great and they’re one of the popular kids.

 

I would like kids to read this book and see that if times are tough, they can get through it. Or if they’re one of the lucky ones, don’t take it for granted.

 

I also want readers to know that words have power. King Solomon and Ezrah are searching for the right words to promote comfort and wisdom. But words like those the cook shouts at Ezrah can also hurt. So be careful how you use them. It’s always better to spread hope and reassurance instead of anger or negativity.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I have several picture books that I’m trying to get ready to submit. Every time I think a manuscript is ready, my critique partners find things I need to change. Sometimes I can make revisions right away, and other times I have to let the story sit for a while before I go back to it.

 

I signed a contract for a new book recently, but I can’t announce it just yet. This one is a humorous story and I’m looking forward to seeing what the illustrator does with it.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I have a website that has information about my books, along with activities and discussion questions. The website also has my monthly newsletter, The Simpsonian Muse, which includes book recommendations and photos from my travels around the world. You can find it at https://www.martha-seif-simpson.com.

 

I’m also on Facebook: Martha Kidlit Author, Bluesky: @marthakidlitauthor.bsky.social, and Instagram: martha_kidlit_author. And if you’ve enjoyed any of my books, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon.

 

Thank you, Deborah, for including me in your Book Q&As blog. It’s such an honor for me to be among so many wonderful authors and illustrators!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

Q&A with Susan Shapiro Barash

 

 

 

Susan Shapiro Barash is the author of the new book Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships Are Mended or Ended. Her many other books include Tripping the Prom Queen. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Estranged?

 

A: I began researching this book six years ago, and felt it was an important topic that had not been addressed. I kept hearing stories about women - of all ages - struggling with their friends, sisters who no longer got along and had become estranged. And how disturbing this was and how it felt like failure.

 

I wanted to interview a diverse group of women from across the country to hear their experiences and as a way to let other women know they were not alone.

 

Q: You write, “What is notable is how women of all ages are cutting their losses—and this is a departure from the recent past. Rather than avoid the decline of an important friendship, they are facing it and acting on it. They are assessing the pros and cons of what it would be like to never see the friend again. Even if it is their only recourse, there is a sense of liberation.” Can you say more about that? What accounts for this change?  

 

A: As women have more power, live longer, reinvent themselves, and become more self-aware, their ability to leave a suboptimal friendship or sisterhood is a choice. This is about waking up and owning our decisions and seeking healthy friendships.

 

Q: What would you say to women who, rather than feeling liberated, mourn the loss of important friendships?

 

A: There is definitely loss associated with a break-up with an important friend. But there is also honesty and self-actualization. Some interviewees spoke of their grief and loss but also realized how much better off they would be without this unhappy connection. It is a process to move on, no question about that. 

 

Q: What impact do you see the pandemic having on female friendships and estrangements?

 

A: The pandemic was a wake-up call; people reassessed their lives and their choices. This included their friendships. And so it had an effect indeed.

 

There were also issues -- did you and your friend agree on vaxxing, on masks, did you and your friend want the same thing after the pandemic -- or had such a profound experience changed each person and they were no longer in two step?

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on my next novel. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: The experience of researching, interviewing, and writing Estranged was very meaningful to me personally. 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

April 2

 

 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
April 2, 1805: Hans Christian Andersen born.

Q&A with Jennifer Chiaverini

 

 

 

Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of the new novel The World's Fair Quilt, the latest in her Elm Creek Quilts series. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The World’s Fair Quilt?

 

A: In my previous novel, The Museum of Lost Quilts, the Elm Creek Quilters encounter unexpected financial difficulties that put the future of their beloved business in doubt. (Who could’ve foreseen that running the nation’s most renowned quilters’ retreat at a 19th-century manor in rural central Pennsylvania would be so wildly expensive?)

 

I knew my readers would worry about the fate of their beloved favorite characters if I didn’t resolve those issues promptly, so I decided that my next book would feature Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, octogenarian quilter and cofounder of Elm Creek Quilts, as she enlists the help of her friends to confront the calamity.

 

Sylvia often finds courage in lessons from history, so I began by sifting through her past, hoping to rediscover a significant event that might influence her newly uncertain present.

 

That’s when I remembered an incident I had included in the sixth Elm Creek Quilts novel, The Master Quilter.

 

When Sylvia’s friend and colleague, Gwen, a professor of American Studies, struggled to find a new research topic that would unite her twin passions of women’s history and quilting, Sylvia reminisced about a time decades before when she and her elder sister participated in the Sears National Quilt Contest for the 1933 Century of Progress Exhibition.

 

Intrigued, Gwen plunged into historical research, and what she discovered convinced her that the extraordinary quilt contest should be the subject of her next book.

 

Although I shared Gwen’s fascination, the Sears National Quilt Contest appeared only briefly in The Master Quilter—but it definitely made an impression.

 

Wherever I traveled on book tour, curious readers would ask me whether the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair really had hosted such a magnificent quilt exhibit, or if I’d simply made it up. It was always very clear from their expressions that they hoped it was historical fact and not mere fiction.

 

One evening, at a library event in Wisconsin, a reader in the signing line passed me her copy of The Master Quilter and regarded me speculatively. “Gwen believes that there’s a whole book to be written about the Sears National Quilt Contest,” she remarked. “I hope you agree.”

 

I laughed and replied that I hoped it was true, for Gwen’s sake, and that seemed to satisfy the reader. Yet her comment lingered in my imagination ever after.

 

Perhaps I should write a novel focused on the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair quilt contest. Its cultural significance definitely merited a fuller depiction than the few pages I’d devoted to it in The Master Quilter.

 

The Bergstrom sisters had perfected the art of sibling rivalry, so it would be fun to show them overcoming their differences, or persevering in spite of them, as they collaborate on a quilt.

 

And since the contest had taken place during the Great Depression, an older, wiser Sylvia could draw courage and resilience from memories of that earlier time when the residents of Elm Creek Manor had come together to overcome uncertainty and financial hardship.

 

I’m so happy that all these years later, I’ve been able to weave the loose threads from an earlier novel into the continuing story of the Elm Creek Quilters—thanks to a timely observation from a clever reader.

 

Q: You’ve said that you do extensive research for your novels—can you say more about that, and about what you learned that especially surprised you?

 

A: I usually turn to primary sources such as memoirs, letters, newspapers, and government documents, as well as secondary sources such as biographies and historical accounts.

 

For The World’s Fair Quilt, newspaper articles about the Sears National Quilt Contest and the Chicago World’s Fair were absolutely essential.

 

As for secondary sources, the book Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair by Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman was very helpful, and I highly recommend it for readers who want to learn more about the contest.

 

When I’m preparing to write an Elm Creek Quilts novel, I refer to my master timeline for the series to remind myself about important, fixed events in the lives of the established characters.

 

Often I’ll reread entire novels to make sure I haven’t overlooked anything that didn’t seem significant enough to add to my master timeline at the time, but might be rather important for the new story I want to tell.

 

For a historical Elm Creek Quilts novel like The World’s Fair Quilt, I need to do all of the above!

 

My historical research for The World’s Fair Quilt unearthed many details that surprised and impressed me.

 

The first was the astonishing size and breadth of the quilt contest itself. 25,000 quilters—roughly one of every 2,000 American women given the population at the time—submitted their finest handiwork to their local Sears, Roebuck and Company stores, where the top finishers advanced to regional competitions and then onto the finals in Chicago.

 

The tantalizing $1,200 grand prize was an enormous sum in those days, more than the average per capita income.

 

In honor of Chicago’s centennial, the theme of the World’s Fair was “A Century of Progress”; many savvy participants made sure to incorporate this theme into their designs, forever capturing their understanding of “progress” during the Great Depression and reflecting the nation’s mood during an extremely challenging era.

 

I was also surprised to learn that the grand prize-winning quilt, “Star of the Blue Grass,” was presented to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt a few days before Christmas 1933. It was kept at the White House for a time, but at some point it was moved, lost, or stolen. Nothing in the historical record remains to explain what became of it. That’s a mystery I’d love for someone to solve.

 

Q: The Library Journal review of the novel says, “It’s been 25 years since Chiaverini introduced readers to the Elm Creek Quilts series, and she shows no signs of slowing down, deftly stitching two storylines together in this offering…” What do you think of that description?

 

A: That’s very gratifying to hear. I must be doing something right if it all seems so swift and effortless! I still love writing as much as I did when my first novel, The Quilter’s Apprentice, was published in 1999, and I hope to continue writing as long as readers still want to hear from me.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I hope that readers will be inspired to emulate Sylvia when they face difficult times, that they’ll find strength in community and in remembering the many courageous people who overcame great challenges in the past. Find your community, take heart, and be undaunted.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: My next novel, The Patchwork Players, stars a favorite character first introduced in my third novel, The Cross-Country Quilters—Julia Merchaud, an acclaimed, Emmy-winning actress and star of the enormously popular historical drama series A Patchwork Life.

 

When several members of the cast decide not to return for a seventh season, Julia concocts a brilliant scheme to convince them to stay.

 

Five years before, her visit to Elm Creek Quilt Camp had been a truly life-changing experience. Not only had she learned to quilt, but she’d also formed profound, lasting friendships with several of her fellow campers.

 

She’s absolutely certain that if her castmates can share a similar bonding experience, they’ll happily abandon their other plans and remain with the series indefinitely. Unfortunately, Julia’s scheme is not quite as brilliant as she thinks it is, and things go badly awry.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Since I’m so fascinated by historical events and courageous historical figures, sometimes readers ask me why I write historical fiction rather than biography or another form of nonfiction. If knowing our history is so important, shouldn’t we rely upon historic fact as recorded in memoirs, biographies, official records, and history textbooks?

 

Certainly these are valuable resources—I use them myself—but I believe that works of fiction, poetry, and drama are also essential for all that they offer the reader.

 

Historical fiction in particular engages the imagination in a way that a list of facts and dates does not. It allows us to immerse ourselves in a character’s perspective, making their experiences more immediate and real and relatable.

 

Historical fiction perhaps more than any other genre evokes the reader’s empathy for people quite different from themselves, developing an emotional intelligence that ideally extends beyond the printed page into the reader’s own life.

 

The practice of seeing the world from someone else’s perspective develops one’s empathy. In learning to understand fictional characters, their richly complex lives, their times, and the challenges they faced, we learn to understand real people better. I believe—I hope—that this can lead to a more peaceful, more just world.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Jennifer Chiaverini.

Q&A with Elise Hooper

 

Photo by Chris Landry Photography

 

 

Elise Hooper is the author of the new novel The Library of Lost Dollhouses. Her other books include Angels of the Pacific. Also an educator, she lives in Seattle.

 

Q: You write in your new novel’s Author’s Note that the idea came from your own family dollhouse. Can you say more about that?

 

A: When I was 7, I received a dollhouse for Christmas that had been built in the late 1800s for my great-grandmother and passed down to my grandmother, then my mother, then me.

 

As a girl, I played with that dollhouse for hours and learned many creative skills—like sewing, knitting, painting, and basic woodworking—to make tiny furnishings for the dollhouse. It taught me to view at the world as a place of possibility, where anything could be adapted for the dollhouse.

 

During that time I spent playing, I also learned how to tell stories, and this turned out to be a skill that shaped my interest in writing.

 

Decades later when I finished my fourth novel and was considering what to write next, I thought about how much my old dollhouse charted the course for my creative life and decided to write about it.

 

But the dollhouse was a mess. Peeling and stained wallpaper, broken pieces, decrepit furniture—everything needed help, so as I brought it back to life, I developed ideas for my book’s characters and plot.

 

Q: How did you create your character Tildy, and how did you choose the historical figures to include in the novel?

 

A: For Tildy, I knew I wanted a character whose life had grown very small. I imagined a woman who had experienced loss and grown isolated. Her work at the library would be her only outlet to a wider world, but discovering a hidden pair of dollhouses would disrupt this narrow existence and set her on a journey to rediscover herself and create new relationships.

 

As for the historical figures, I’ve always been interested in Isabella Stewart Gardner and her museum, so I imagined a Californian version of her, complete with library. The other real-life women crept into the story organically as my dollhouse maker found new clients.

Q: The novel covers a lengthy period of time--how did you research it, and what did you learn that especially intrigued you?

 

A: Of all my books, this one required the least amount of “traditional” historical research, meaning I didn’t need to sit down and read big books about world wars, the Great Depression, and other heavy topics, because world events remain in the background of this novel.

 

I already knew most of what I needed from those periods, although I did search out very specific aspects of how illusions have been used in wars—that’s how I uncovered the history of Fake Paris during World War I and Boeing’s Wonderland during World War II.

 

Instead, I focused most of my research on the history of dollhouses and the miniaturists who crafted them. I learned how women throughout Europe used dollhouses as status symbols to show off their wealth, and in Germany, young women used dollhouses to learn how to run a home. It wasn’t until mass manufacturing after World War II that dollhouses as toys became widespread.

 

After I discovered Frances Glessner Lee (1978-1962), a woman who built tiny dioramas of crime scenes to help train law enforcement agents, I knew the dollhouses in my story would also hold clues that would reveal the hidden truths about the women who had once owned them.

 

I was also fascinated by how Walt Disney initially envisioned Disneyland as a traveling miniatures show and knew he’d need to be a figure in the book.

 

As I delved deeper and deeper into the history of dollhouses, I noticed that miniatures tend to grow in popularity during difficult times.

 

For example, at the end of World War I Queen Mary commissioned a grand dollhouse from England’s leading artisans as a way of lifting the nation’s spirits. After the dollhouse was finished, over a million and half people showed up to see it exhibited.

 

In the United States, the Art Institute of Chicago’s well-known Thorne Rooms and Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle were created and exhibited during the Great Depression to raise money for charitable causes.

 

And then in 2020, while people were stuck in their homes during the pandemic, another flourishing of modern miniatures took hold once again and captured people’s imaginations on social media. I love this proof of how art plays an important and positive role in our lives.

 

Q: The writer Marie Benedict said of the book, “As Tildy solves the dollhouses' mysteries, she also answers long-standing questions about herself in this compelling tale.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it! I believe good art challenges us to be more reflective and thoughtful about ourselves and the world around us, so it’s my hope that Tildy grows and changes as she spends more and more time with the dollhouses.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m currently at work on a novel set in 1950s Seattle, which is fun because this is the first time I’ve written about where I live. At the moment, that’s all I can say!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: If you want more adventures in dollhousing, follow me on Instagram at @elisehooper. In June I’ll be heading to a week-long school on the coast of Maine run by the International Guild of Miniaturist Artisans to learn more about making miniatures. I can’t wait!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Elise Hooper.