Author Interviews Archives - Page 19 of 36

May 13, 2015May 12, 2015

Q&A with Tara Ison, author of REELING THROUGH LIFE

I went away, to have adventures; I’d lived a sheltered, landlocked life, too, and maybe I needed that shock and grope we experience when stripped of our context. What the hell had I experienced? What real experience had I even seen?
~ from REELING THROUGH LIFE: HOW I LEARNED TO LIVE, LOVE AND DIE AT THE MOVIES

It’s the rush of A/C when you walk through the door, the expanse of the screen as it comes into view. Buttered popcorn, the angled seat, the thrill when the lights dim, the images and surround sound that immerse you in the lessons on life–real or imagined. The cinema. Where a great movie will tap into your fears, your hopes, your dreams, and leave you changed. Or, at least entertained.

In REELING THROUGH LIFE: HOW I LEARNED TO LIVE, LOVE, AND DIE AT THE MOVIES, Tara Ison explains that for her, though, movies represent much more than entertainment. Baptized in motion pictures at an early age, she began a relationship with movies that, as she says in her new memoir, “taught me how to light Sabbath candles, how to seduce someone with strawberries. Bulldoze my way past writer’s block. Go a little crazy.”

For Tara Ison, “the movie theatre has been a classroom.”

I’m thrilled to host Tara Ison today, as she talks about her memoir, movies, and writing.

There’s also a giveaway! Drop your name in the comments by Tuesday, May 19th, for a chance to win a copy of REELING THROUGH LIFE, where you’ll read (among other topics) about romance, religion, and Mrs. Robinson.

CC: Your parents began taking you to movies at a very young age. And, not just Disney or G-rated shows, but movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Taxi Driver (at twelve!). I saw Clockwork Orange at the naive age of sixteen and–holy cow–that was of my own accord (and I wasn’t remotely prepared). Was there ever a conversation with your parents later on about growing up under the glow of mature cinema?

TI: Funny you mention A Clockwork Orange – a recent episode of Louie had Louis CK very upset when he found out his teen daughter had watched that at a sleepover! And he tries to explain to his daughter why he feels it was inappropriate at her age, and she just laughs it off.

When I was young my parents didn’t really “debrief” with me after watching these movies – and I wish they had. I think some discussion about my experience of such films – was I confused? frightened? disturbed? – would have helped me process my feelings, given me more context, allowed me to work through and express my thoughts. I asked my father about a year ago, while I was working on this book, if he and my mother ever worried or wondered about the effect on me of such “mature cinema,” as you say, and he was quite surprised by the question – he said No, it never occurred to either of them to wonder about that.

I do think some of their attitude had to do with the times. We’re talking about the late 60s and early 70s, and my parents were part of a far more permissive culture – no rules, no boundaries (or very few!). I’m sure they just thought they were being wonderfully open-minded – and hey, it was also a stunning and revolutionary era of cinema. They probably felt they were exposing me to an important art form….

And I also have to say that I’m glad they erred on the side of “exposing” me to film, books, art, culture – they took me to the theatre, to concerts, encouraged my reading anything I wanted. I do believe that was far more valuable for me than if they had limited my experience – in hindsight, I’m very grateful to them.

CC: In your book, you talk about your experience with movies in the same way other people might discuss religion–as a means to measure ourselves, our success, our level of “normalcy.” Now that you’ve written this book on how art and life come together with such effect, do you still view movies with the same intensity or need?

TI: I do feel the same need, the same desire to immerse myself in story – to escape, be entertained, be illuminated, be able to see myself and my own experience reflected back to me. That need is part of our DNA as humans, and I don’t ever want to lose the joy or richness of that experience.

But I also think – or I’d like to think – I’m a little more aware of the effect, or possible influence, at this point in my life. Especially having written the book – I have more context now for those “life lessons” (how to be a Jew, a drunk, a writer, how to die with style or deal with illness, how to go crazy, how to love, how to have sex…), and I can reflect upon the images or models we’re given with the benefit of actual life experience. I’m more able to sort through where/when I’m measuring myself against a cultural or cinematic “model” vs. what actually feels authentic.

CC: What is your all-time favorite movie that you would watch again and again and why?

TI: I don’t know if this my “all-time favorite” (I don’t think I have one – there are far too many to appreciate…), but I do wish I’d spent some time discussing Paper Moon – that film had a huge impact on me, and I’ll never tire of watching it. It could have fit very nicely in the “How to be Lolita” chapter – I’m the exact same age as Tatum O’Neal, and here is a little girl who has no interest in being pretty or cute or precociously/flirtatiously bratty, she isn’t sexualized at all, she’s smart and independent, and relies on her wits and her own judgment. I can’t think of another little girl character who is granted such agency, is allowed to self-determine and self-define herself with as much equity as the grownup characters surrounding her. Sure, yes, she’s a con artist…but that character is quite a role model, in many ways!

CC: What are you reading these days?

TI: A lot of student work! I’m just finishing up the spring semester, so looking forward to making progress on my summer reading list – looking forward to: Life Drawing, by Robin Black, Gangsterland, by Tod Goldberg, A Solemn Pleasure, by Melissa Pritchard, Scrapper, by Matt Bell, The Daughters, by Adrienne Celt, just to name a few.

CC: As a writer, what piece of advice you turn to often?

TI: Well, to quote from the movies…from the film Julia, when Julia says to childhood friend Lillian Hellman:

Julia: Work hard. Take chances. Be very bold.

I should probably have that tattooed on myself somewhere…

And also from Julia – when Lillian Hellman is complaining about how hard it is to write, and her lover Dashiell Hammet says to her:

Dashiell: Well, if you really can’t write, maybe you should go find a job. Be a waitress. Nobody’ll miss you. If you’re going to cry about it, go stand on a rock. Don’t do it around me. If you can’t write here, go someplace else. Give it up. Work in a drugstore. Be a coalminer. Only just don’t cry about it.

Which I love. Basically: So, it’s hard, yeah. Get over it. Nobody cares. Stop whining. Give it up, or get back to work!

Tara Ison is author of the novels The List (Scribner), A Child out of Alcatraz (Faber & Faber, Inc.), a Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Rockaway (Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press), which was featured as one of the “Best Books of Summer” in O, The Oprah Magazine, July 2013. Ball, a short story collection will be released this Fall from Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press. More detail can be found at www.taraison.com and www.softskullpress.com.

REMEMBER: leave your name in the comments for a chance to win a copy of REELING THROUGH LIFE!

April 8, 2015April 7, 2015

Q&A and Giveaway with Heather Webb, author of Rodin’s Lover

“Camille dropped to her knees in the mud. Her skirts absorbed last night’s rain and the scent of sodden earth. She plunged a trowel, stolen from her neighbor’s garden, into the red clay and dug furiously, stopping only to slop hunks of art into a wooden trough. She needed one more load to mold the portrait of Eugénie. The maid would sit for her again, regardless of her protestations.” ~ from Rodin’s Lover

With those first words of Rodin’s Lover, author Heather Webb paints a stark image of Camille Claudel: a young 19th century sculptor driven by her art and determined to succeed, regardless.

Camille Claudel will need every bit of that determination, too. In her time, a woman was encouraged to dress well and marry soon; any dabbling in art was viewed more as a hobby. But Camille pushes against social mores. She pursues her passion and earns the attention of her fellow artists, especially that of the great Auguste Rodin.

What unfolds in Rodin’s Lover is the tragedy of Camille’s life: of a female artist’s plight in the 19th century and her spiral into the dark unraveling of her mind.

I’m honored to host Heather Webb today to talk about her novel. There’s also a book giveaway: simply leave a comment, even just your name, and you’re entered to win a copy. Now, welcome Heather Webb!

CC: What initially drew you to Camille Claudel’s story and inspired you to write Rodin’s Lover?

HW: I fell in love with Camille while in my French film class in college. The film, simply called Camille Claudel, was multiple award-winning in Europe and the U.S. with stars Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu playing the roles of Camille and Rodin. Their tragic love story gripped me and I swooned at the beauty they created both together and separately. After the film, I became rather obsessed with sculpture in general. Many years later, I had not forgotten Camille, and knew I wanted to delve more into her life. It has been an incredible experience spending time exploring her brilliant mind, and ultimately sharing her story.

CC: Monsieur Jacques, Camille’s teacher at Académie Colarossi, tells her at one point, “To advance, you must take risks.” Both Auguste Rodin and Camille take risks in his pursuit of a relationship with her beyond that of a tutor and in her surrender to her desires for him, sealing a connection between them that is both passionate and bittersweet. What risks did you take in writing this book or in building these characters?

HW: I took plenty of risks. For one, my first novel is much more of a classic marquee figure in historical fiction that centers on Josephine Bonaparte and Napoleon’s empire during the French Revolution. With RODIN’S LOVER, I skipped ahead one hundred years and had to learn about a whole new era, its inventions, conventions, and fashion, how women were viewed, and what was happening in the art world. Choosing a little-known artist in a new era was risky for sure!

Also, I wrote about a character who isn’t always likable—sympathetic, yes—but likable, no. Camille Claudel was brash, outspoken, and had a violent temper. But also, she had a great sense of humor, was loving, passionate, and created such beautiful pieces, how could one not at least pause to honor her memory upon viewing them? Her story compelled me. Even if some readers don’t fall for her, others will and have, so to me, it has been worth it. Her work has been revived again and that feels a bit like giving back to not only women, but women artists, who struggled in history.

The other risk I faced was confronting the Camille Claudel enthusiasts that despise Rodin and saw him as nothing but a womanizer who took advantage of her. That simply isn’t true. Yes, he loved women, but take advantage of her he did not. I think society loves a victim and she is painted in that light in regards to her tutor. All the research shows that Rodin was obsessively in love with her. Not only did he teach her all he knew, he helped support her, even after she was committed to the asylum. In death, they share museum space together because of the will he left behind. She would have been forgotten, otherwise, which is sad, but true. I painted him in the novel, I feel, as he was—a man who struggled to do the right thing, who was torn by loving more than one woman, and whose passion for his art mattered above all else.

CC: Rodin’s Lover is not only about the relationship between Camille and Rodin; it also gives testament to the life of the artist during that time—the struggle to create the work they were inspired to do even if it went against political and moral grade. I imagine you spent quite a bit of time doing research (and it pays off!). When researching, was there anything you discovered that surprised you or turned the story in a new direction?

HW: I researched like crazy, and not just because I wanted to get things right. I mean, yes, I wanted to get things right, of course, but also I was utterly fascinated by the art politics of the day, how they meshed with common politics, women’s issues, the creative rights of artists. The Belle Époque gripped me in so many ways! It was a time of invention, expansion of the middle class, and the champion of the common man. It was a time of the early civil rights movement. This all was happening not just in France, but all over western Europe and the U.S. as well during that time. A fascinating era!

In terms of what surprised me, I would have to say the most shocking thing I learned was that Camille’s beloved brother Paul visited her only a handful of times in the thirty long years after she was committed to the asylum. That broke my heart for her just a little more.

CC: What are you reading these days?

HW: I’m reading Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. I also have several nonfiction books kicking around for research. I read widely and across genres so I tend to read a few at once.

CC: What piece of writing advice do you turn to most?

HW: I think what I “need to hear” varies depending on what I’m going through at the time and the story I’m working on. A few pieces of wisdom I live by include:

“Get it down on paper and don’t fret. You’ll edit later.”

“Don’t compare your success to others. We each have a unique journey that’s beautiful. Revel in it.”

And recently, the best advice I’ve received that I’ve clung to is:

“Quantity doesn’t matter, consistency does.”

I beat myself up sometimes when I see how quickly other writers rack up their word counts and crank out novels. Even one per year is almost too fast for me. I need time to research and think and ruminate and craft lovely sentences. When I was lamenting how I’d spent several hours and only written 500 words one day, a writer friend of mine said those wise words above and they stuck. I’ve been carrying them around with me since. Keep plugging away, one word at a time, and you’ll get there.

Heather Webb writes historical novels for Penguin and HarperCollins, which have been translated to three languages and have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, France Magazine, Reuters News, and the Huffington Post, as well as received national starred reviews. Heather is also a freelance editor and contributor to award-winning writing sites WriterUnboxed.com, Writers in the Storm, and RomanceUniversity.org. Find out more at: www.HeatherWebb.net & @msheatherwebb on Twitter.

The GIVEAWAY: Drop your name in the comments for a chance to win a copy of Rodin’s Lover. The contest is open until noon on Tuesday, April 14th.

February 25, 2015February 23, 2015

Q&A with Judy Strick, Author of Kingdom Come, CA

A powdery pink glow infused the garage, and the door to the house closed behind me. To my utter astonishment, all the things I thought had been shipped off to the Salvation Army shimmered before me, resurrected from my past. the room was filled with quivering echoes of my childhood…. ~ from KINGDOM COME, CA

Judy Strick’s debut novel, KINGDOM COME, CA is a story about uncovering a past thought to be carefully stowed away, in both the literal and figurative sense.

When a new family moves into an old abandoned house near recluse, Ruby Wellman, Ruby isn’t pleased. And when the neighbor’s son makes a strange connection with her, one that pulls at her memories, she is even more unsettled. Set in Southern California, KINGDOM COME, CA is steeped in landscape and mysticism and speaks to what happens when we finally let go of the past that grips us.

I’m honored to host Judy Strick today to talk about her book. And, there’s a book giveaway! Drop your name in the comments at the end of the post for a chance to win.

CC: On your website, you write that inspiration for Kingdom Come, Ca arose out of an incident with a “wandering print” (a cool story in itself, by the way). How did you decide on the story’s setting?

JS: I have a thing for small towns. I lived in Rapid City SD when I was very young. I harbor vividly strong memories of small town life, although perhaps it was not even a small town in those days. But that’s the way I remember it. Memory is slippery. As a child I visited Kanab Utah, and recalled it as the perfect archetypal small town until I went back as an adult to find it nothing at all like I remembered: what I found was a non-descript stuccoed town of very little charm; Perhaps at this moment in time it’s changed and is charming. Who knows?

CC: The strange connection between the protagonist, Ruby Wellman, and six-year old Finn is immediate, intense, and unmistakeable. And, it opens the story up to two plot lines–that of Ruby as she wrestles with her past and of Finn as he struggles with his own secrets. When you set out to write the novel, who came to you first, Ruby or Finn?

JS: Ruby was there first. She lived in Van Nuys, Ca and like the current Ruby, was scarred in an accident. Ruby #1 was so badly damaged that she wore a burkah- Finn was in my mind, somewhere. When Ruby #2 moved to Kingdom Come, Finn showed up, of his own accord, with his sea-glass green eyes.

CC: Your creative career has passed through several mediums: from art, children’s books, and screenwriting to novels and short stories. Do you still dabble in art or other genres?

JS: I tend to be somewhat obsessive-compulsive about what I’m working on. When I stopped being an artist I walked away cold. I never even doodle any more. I wish I had walked away as easily from lousy relationships, as I do from work that no longer works.

CC: What are you reading these days?

JS: I’m almost finished with Rick Bragg’s biography Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story. It’s wonderfully written, and a fascinating study of “The Killer,” and even more so of the Southern roots of rock ‘n roll.

CC: What piece of writing advice do you turn to most?

JS: To just keep doing it and doing it and doing it until you finally figure out what the hell it is you’re doing. I worked on KINGDOM COME, CA, for four years. It taught me so much, to keep pushing, and going for perfection, as you define it.

Judy Strick is a native of Southern California. She holds an MFA from Otis Art Institute, and in a former lifetime was a fine artist and then a toy designer. She studied screenwriting at AFI and fiction writing at UCLA, and has spent the last 10 years honing her novelistic skills. Kingdom Come, CA is her debut novel. She lives in Los Angeles with her 2.5 dogs.

Visit www.judystrick.com, where you can download (for free) her new short story series Living on the Fault Line: Tales from L. A.

Don’t forget: drop your name in the comments by noon on Tuesday, March 3rd, for a chance to win a copy of KINGDOM COME, CA, courtesy of Darlene Chan PR.