Q&A with J.F. Riordan

J.F. Riordan is the author of the new novel A Small Earnest Question. It's the fourth in her North of the Tension Line series, which also includes Robert's Rules and The Audacity of Goats. She lives in Wisconsin.

Q: This is the fourth book in your North of the Tension Line series--did you know from the start that you'd be writing a series?

A: When I first started writing about Fiona and friends, I didn’t quite realize that it would become a novel—much less a series. But once I got clear that it was a book I needed to write, I knew that the story would continue, because when I’m in need of distraction or comfort, I usually turn to series. I love reading a book whose characters feel like people I know and enjoy hanging out with.

In fact, when I’m not writing my books, I start to miss the characters. They are real to me, and I look forward to going back and finding out what they’ve been up to. That’s the impetus that gets me back to writing again.

Q: The book takes place on an island in the Great Lakes. How important is setting to you in your writing?

A: Washington Island—which is a real place—is very much one of the characters in the story.

Although the story lines have universal themes, the island itself—and Fiona’s relationship to it—are key elements in all the books. The lake, the seasons, the northern lights…all reflect the mood of the characters and give them chances to react and engage with the world around them. Without that setting, the books would be very different.

Q: How do you think your characters have changed in the course of the series?

A: Most of them—the ones we like—have grown in one way or another.

Fiona faces her demons and makes decisions that one by one change the course of her life; Roger, the social misfit, is learning to give more and more of himself and to be thoughtful of other people, although he doesn’t quite understand them; Oliver starts to see that his loneliness is of his own making.

Even Pete, whose life is a bit of a mystery, comes to realize that he has some decisions to make.

The only characters who don’t seem to change or grow are Stella, the neighbor from Hell, and Rocco, the empathetic German Shepherd. But Rocco—like all dogs—is perfect as he is, so that’s okay.

Q: How was the book's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

A: The series name comes from the title of the first book. “North of the Tension Line” is how Washington Islanders describe the peculiar sense of relaxation people experience when they take the ferry crossing to the Island.

In the context of the story, however, there is a certain irony in the phrase, since there is a fair amount of small-town conflict, and however hard Fiona tries to find inner peace,  it is always somewhat elusive.  I confess that when I chose the title I was a little concerned that the Islanders would be annoyed, and maybe they are.

As for the title of this novel, the fourth in the series, there’s a bit of a story.

My copy editor is a good friend and former colleague, and one day we were invited to participate in a meeting highly fraught with office politics. After we had been told about a controversial new policy, she raised her hand and said, in an uncharacteristically hesitant voice: “I have a small, earnest question.” I knew instantly that that would be the title of my next book.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am in the process of developing two very different novels. I’m not sure which one is going to take precedence, but one way or another I’ll probably end up writing them both.

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I guess I should say that we will meet Fiona again. Probably sooner rather than later.

--Interview with Deborah Kalb