Gail, welcome to Writers on Reading! With
your debut novel, In This Together
releasing two days ago, I’m curious to know what you read. So… Do you find one theme more repeatedly snags your attention as a read? Is there something special you seek when selecting your next reading adventure?
Thank you
for having me, Deirdre. My answers are yes and yes. Historical examples of
triumph over major obstacles attract me. For example, Disney’s many rejections,
Thomas Edison’s two thousand failures, or Eleanor Roosevelt’s struggle to find
her niche in life intrigue me. What was it about these people, and many other
historical figures, that kept them focused on their goals? I suppose that
outdated word, “pluck” is at play, but I never tire at seeing how this
characteristic worked in their lives.
So I seek
stories about such characters—whether memoir, biography, or fiction. The
heroine in True Grit is one example.
Aha, Maddie Ross. Mother always
compared me to her. Don’t feel like her anymore though.… Excellent examples of
what you seek, Gail! As a writer, you should know better, but as a reader, you
know we all do it…so tell us, when did you last “judge a book by the cover”?
How did it work out?
Hum...good
question. I think it was a book I read just before my current one. I loved the
characters, the plot held my interest, but the many grammatical errors drove me
to distraction. I’m a natural proofreader and do some fiction editing, so when
the errors begin to mount, so does my frustration.
Makes sense. Your debut book released
just two days ago. Did you find time to read during the months you spend
writing this book or with deadlines ahead, is it either/or for you? If so, what
did you read while working on your last book? If not, what did you read when
you finished this one?
Absolutely
not either/or. I always find time to read. I read The Beautiful Mystery during the edits of In This Together, reread The
Four Agreements, a book on Arizona history, because I was also editing
another ms at the time, and Anne Lamott’s Small
Victories. I also tried to read a little in Spanish every day, because I’m
learning that language.
Nothing
more fun than learning another language. What was the last book you absolutely
couldn't put down? Why?
The Beautiful Mystery. And Five
Quarters of an Orange. In both, I got so involved with the main character’s
quest, I just HAD to know what would happen.
That’s
so fun! Great recommends there! Did a book recently make you laugh/cry/sigh/shiver?
As I
research my WWII novels, several books have caused these reactions. How can one
read about the Waffen SS atrocities without shivering/crying/descending into
periods of gloom? The book Village of
Secrets and other texts about the occurrences along the SS’s path through
southern France hold me in what I’ll call a dark fascination. How could humans
carry out these horrible acts? And the survivors—yes, they were the “Greatest
Generation,” yet human like you and me. Still, I always find hope in the
participants’ personal stories. The depth of human depravity often reveals
the strength of the human spirit.
Well
said, Gail! Were you the kind of kid/teen who loved reading? Which novel do you
first remember reading?
That was me,
thick glasses and morose expression included. I read anywhere and everywhere.
When I didn’t “get” algebra right away, I pulled out Gone With the Wind. Seriously. Not a good idea for my grade—lol.
Early on, To Kill a Mockingbird stunned
me into rapt adoration for the heroine and her father.
I’m gonna have to ask if you’ve read
the sequel and how you feel about her very different rendition of Atticus
Finch? When did you know you wanted to write? Did any or multiple books
influence this desire?
In junior
high. I think it was seventh grade. I started writing poetry then, and knew I needed and wanted to write. Scads of
books—basically every biography and fiction in our school library, plus
everything our little town library offered—influenced me. I was starving—they
were food. But it took decades to develop the confidence to follow my passion.
Has any book stuck with you recently?
What created the lasting impressions?
Where Treasure Hides—Johnnie Alexander’s many plot convolutions stick
with me, maybe because they match the willy-nilly nature of World War II in
occupied nations. You never know what to expect, you see characters doing
u-turns, finding victory over fears, lapsing back, taking enormous leaps of
faith, moving to safety, then back again into danger, etc. Kind of like the
Allied forces.
Sounds like a book worth adding to our reading lists! With a cozy winter well upon us, what
is on your to-read list? And what is your ideal cozy reading experience?
Peggy
Trotter’s Year of Jubilee, Sandi
Rogg’s Out of the Ashes, and a
possible read through Roseanna White’s latest (unpublished) creation. And I’m
looking forward to reading The Art of
Memoir, because I facilitate a little writing class and workshops, and
there’s always more to learn about memoir.
My ideal
autumn reading experience ... ah, for a fireplace and a mountain stream outside
the window. We have a corn/wood stove, but it makes entirely too much noise.
Is
there a book you are looking forward to rereading?
Now that To Kill A Mockingbird has a companion
novel, I think I’ll probably read To Kill
again. Not sure about its companion—I don’t want to mess with my romantic
notions about this amazing author. Also, I always look forward to another read
of Emily Dickinson’s poetry. ALWAYS—so many untold tales there!
If
Dottie, the main character in In This
Together were to pick a book from today’s shelves, what do you think it
would be?
I think Julie and Julia, because Dottie’s all
about cooking nutritious meals for the male boarders at her place of
employment. Either that, or Dottie, a practical, down-to-earth woman of the
mid-40’s, would reach for a cookbook.
How fun. Thanks so much for visiting
and letting us get to know you better as a reader, Gail!
And thank
you, Deirdre. This has been such a fun interview, all about my friends
throughout the years, books!
Folks, you
can continue to connect with Gail—and find out more about In This Together or her memoir, Catching Up with
Daylight: A Journey to Wholeness
—at
the links below.
