Jenny Milchman is the author of the new novel The Second Mother. Her other books include Cover of Snow and Wicked River. She is the founder of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Second Mother,
and for your character Julie?
A: I vacationed in Maine as a child. It’s not as glamorous
as it sounds—every couple of years we’d save up and rent a house. When I graduated
from college, and was supposed to start grad school, there was a notice for a
teacher in a one-room schoolhouse [in the area] where I’d been.
My husband and I said, Just throw it all aside and do
something different! I never did it, but the idea stayed with me.
In Cover of Snow, my first novel, there was a police
captain, and he had a niece. That was Julie. She had a reason to flee.
Q: The novel takes place on an island in Maine—how important
is setting to you in your writing?
A: I always think of setting and premise as the central
things in the story. The setting dominates the writing process for me. If
anything, I have to curb it back. I like to immerse myself in the character’s
setting. There’s the fictional town in the Adirondacks—my novels have a
connection to it.
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 always know that my books will end on a note of
justice. There are no animals or children harmed in the making of a Jenny
Milchman novel, my publisher said.
Of all my published novels, The Second Mother went through
the most changes. I don’t know why, precisely. I needed several drafts for
Peter to come into his own. I hadn’t written a novel where a character doesn’t
have a solid relationship. It took a lot of working around.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what do you think
the book says about the idea of motherhood?
A: The book had a totally different title. It was first
named for the island [where it takes place]—Mercy Island.
My editor and I had a fascinating conversation. She said:
Setting and nature are really important to you. I can see why it makes sense,
but there is real psychology in your books too. What if the title focused on that
element?
I said it would have to do with motherhood. Motherhood in
all its forms—gone wrong, lost, taking time to get there. I was the one who
came up with The Second Mother—I don’t know how.
Then, some early reviewers said there’s a term in the adoption
community, “second mother,” which honors the fact that there is a birth mother.
Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book?
A: Somebody needed to do research! I hate research and I’m
really bad at it.
This book needed a great deal of research. I wanted the
island to feel authentic, and for the [lobster] industry to get its due.
I relied on my secret weapon, my 14-year-old son. He’s a
really good student with a mind like a trap for details. He found a guy with a
YouTube series about being on a lobster boat. He found a scholar who had
written about the lobster industry.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I just ran out from the converted old shed I write in—I’m
days away from finishing my next book. It’s a Wedeskyull novel, the fictional
town all my books are connected to. It’s a departure, with multiple points of
view.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: People can feel free to get in touch with me. In these
crazy times, it’s all more virtual than it was before.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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