Q&A with Jill McCroskey Coupe

 

 

 

Jill McCroskey Coupe is the author of the new novel Gemma Sommerset. Her other books include Beginning with Cannonballs. She lives in Vermont. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Gemma Sommerset, and how did you create your character Gemma?

 

A: I began writing Gemma Sommerset late in 2018, hoping to have a draft in good enough shape to take to John Dufresne’s workshop in Taos the following summer.

 

In that early, rather hurried, version, Gemma, who’s in her late 70s, is in a nursing home in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where she’s recuperating from a bad fall at her house in Lexington. She spends her days in a wheelchair, looking out her window at the mountains she loves while reminiscing about her life.

 

In addition to the fairly negative responses I received in Taos, I soon gave up on that early version for other reasons. During the Covid pandemic, a nursing home was not the best place for Gemma; I wasn’t ready yet for her to die. Also, I quickly realized that relating Gemma’s life in hindsight was not the best approach.

 

So I began with Gemma as a young girl at summer camp, imagining the accomplished woman she hoped to become. Lost in her dreams, Gemma’s not yet aware of the huge role her parents (and society at large) will play in shaping her life. She never discusses her hopes for the future, not even with her beloved younger brother, Nat.

 

Gemma’s story then became whether or not she would (or could) succeed. I give her a B+. She did her best.

 

Q: The writer Louella Bryant said of the book, “Jill McCroskey Coupe depicts a Virginia woman who's true to herself and to her daughters as she seeks what we all seek in life: fulfilment and a happy ending.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I agree with most of Louella Bryant’s description of my novel and was very grateful for her blurb. Gemma is trying, throughout the novel, to be true to herself; I see that as one of my major themes. However, while Gemma is hopeful, I think she’s enough of a realist not to expect a happy ending every time.

 

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

 

A: In my very first (pre-pandemic) version, Gemma had experienced a bad fall at her house in Lexington. Should I keep some of those details? I wondered. Maybe. But with a little magical realism mixed in.

 

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

 

A: I do hope readers will realize that Gemma is struggling to break free from the expectations for women of her generation. I consider Gemma Sommerset to be a feminist novel.

 

I’ve realized since its publication (and even during the editing process) that readers in Gemma’s daughters’ generation tend to think Gemma doesn’t try hard enough.

 

Perhaps I should’ve placed even more emphasis on the expectations Gemma was facing: that she should be happy as a wife and mother and not even try for anything else. Housewife. Homemaker. Those should’ve been her only goals.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now, I have no plans for another novel. I was never any good at short stories, so I doubt that will happen either.

 

I’ve joined a wonderful poetry group here in Poultney, Vermont, which meets twice a month – once to discuss a famous poet’s work, and a second meeting to discuss their own poems. I’ve been avoiding those second meetings, because I know nothing about writing poetry. Will that change? Stay tuned…               

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Jill McCroskey Coupe.