Joseph Bauer is the author of the the new novel Sailing for Grace. His other novels include The Accidental Patriot. He is based in Charleston, South Carolina, and Cleveland, Ohio.
Q: What inspired you to write Sailing for Grace, and how did you create your character Will Goodbow?
A: Following publication of my first three novels, I wanted to write about a socially relevant issue, built around themes of love, loyalty, friendship and risk. I had been to Newport many years ago and was struck by the large ocean sailing vessels. I imagined that only a wealthy person could own such a boat and the story line just came to me.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: It is the first of my books in which the title was in my mind immediately, naturally on account of the dying wife’s name and the importance that I knew the sailboat would have.
The character Grace remains involved throughout the book, despite her death in the first chapter. The name Grace is emotive and I loved using it in developing Will’s character, and also Sister Hope Annie and Father Lopez.
Q: Especially given the current focus on immigration, what do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: That at its core, immigration is central to the human condition, not a “problem.” The human species, like wildlife, adapts by moving, moving for survival and an improved environment.
In our American society, we accept that our ancestors were all immigrants, but we drop the subject at that point. We don’t take the time to understand the real facts and too easily accept myths. A damaging myth is that asylum seekers who enter the country without an invitation are “illegal.” They are not.
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 always write the ending of my novel first. I work from a sparse outline, but I write the final chapters first. When I then go to the beginning, I know I can let my imagination take me anywhere, so long as I get back to the highway that will take me to my ending.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am polishing a historical novel about FDR and people close to him that have been largely (or totally) overlooked in the many histories and biographies of him and Eleanor.
I agree with Frances Perkins, the first woman in a presidential Cabinet, who famously wrote that FDR was “the most complicated person imaginable.” My working title is Arsenal of Secrecy, the FDR Years, A Novel.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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