Hey Tweeple! You're in for a treat today. My good friend Micol Ostow, author of over 40 books and super talented writer extraordinaire, is stopping by the blog today to answer the normal Tuesday questions as well as a few extras about her recent release family, which I blogged about several weeks ago.
Okay Micol, starting off easy:
Me: What's your favorite book? I'm talking all time here.
Micol: I definitely don't have one favorite, but "The Shining" by Stephen King is probably up there.
Me: I'm visiting your hometown today, one day only. What can't I miss?
Micol: My hometown (South Orange, NJ) is so suburban! But I guess one thing that's unique or fun is the South Mountain Arena (actually in West Orange, where I was born), which is an ice rink where the NJ Devils practice. The Turtle Back Zoo is located behind the arena, and I personally LOVE the zoo. If it's nice out, you can go for a picnic in the South Mountain Reservation afterward.
Me: Who are you following on Twitter right now that would surprise your friends?
Micol: Probably my reality tv guilty pleasures -- Real Housewives and etc. Though, I don't know if that would surprise my friends so much. My readers, maybe!
And now... extended Tuesday Tweeps edition...
A little bit about the novel:
"Told in episodic verse family is a YA novel that is a fictionalized exploration of cult dynamics, loosely based on the Manson Family murders of 1969. It is an unflinching look at people who are born broken, and the myriad of ways in which they try, over and over, to make themselves whole again."
Me: When writing family, how did you weave it together? There are so many short pieces that could almost stand alone as poems. Did they flow chronologically like following an outline in your other novels or did you write them individually and piece them together like a puzzle afterward?
Micol: I didn't outline, but I had a sense of the story's arc, and I wrote as chronologically as I could. Obviously the vignettes also jump back and forth in time, and so 'chronologically' maybe be a the wrong term, but for the most part, I wrote the vignettes in the order in which they appear in the book. There was a little bit of shifting around during the revision stage, but more than that, I was adding new pieces to help flesh certain characters and plot points out.
Me: Henry's name is the only one capitalized throughout, as well as any pronouns referring to "Him." This is similar of many translations of the New Testament Bible when Jesus speaks. Was this on purpose as a reflection of Henry being the family's savior?
Micol: I wasn't thinking specifically of the New Testament, but I was definitely trying to communicate that Mel perceived Henry differently than anything or anyone she had ever known. When I first began writing, I thought there might be other phrases or words that would be capitalized, but as moved forward, that turned out not to feel right for the character. I think you never really know until you're in the thick of the writing how these things are going to work themselves out.
Me: The book takes place in San Francisco and the description of the family compound is quite vivid. Did you visit California? Is the compound imagined or based on research from the Manson murders?
Micol: I appreciate your saying that, because I feel personally like a lot of the descriptions in the book are fairly hazy! But then, Mel's state of mind is generally pretty hazy, so that makes sense somewhat. I've been to California a few times, but only to LA and San Diego, never San Francisco. That said, I'd read a lot about the Manson murders by the time I sat down to write my book, and I had seen many pictures of the Spahn Movie Ranch, so I suppose I did have a fairly vivid sense of the source material in my head as I worked.
Me: The main character Mel is broken, but by the end, we discover that she's not completely shattered. Can you talk about the last moments and what led you to your ending?
Micol: I don't like to talk about the ending because of spoilers! Sorry to be a party pooper! But I will say that the ending is the one part of the book that changed the most drastically in the revision process -- I wrote three completely different versions. The first version felt too ambiguous, and the second version felt too bleak. I think this one works!
Okay, I get it, no spoilers. We'll discuss that one next time I see you. Thanks so much for doing the interview. I must admit that I, too, am following a select few "Housewives" on Twitter and I, too, love the zoo.
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