Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Susan Walerstein author of Dancing Above the Waves.
Good day Susan and thanks for participating in our interview.
Norm:
Please tell our readers something about yourself and how you got started in writing?
Susan:
First of all, Norm, thank you for giving me a forum to discuss my novel Dancing Above the Waves.
While this is my first book, I feel as if I've been writing my entire life. As a child I kept a diary, wrote poetry and worked on school newspapers. I majored in journalism in college, and my first job was as a staff writer on an environmental magazine. Through the years I've had other magazine jobs and also worked as an advertising copywriter. I've always loved to read and dreamed of writing a novel one day.
Norm:
Could you give us a brief resumé of Dancing Above the Waves?
Susan:
Wealthy Bostonian Jack "Scooter" McCalister has it all – money, charm and the devotion of two different women: Sherry, his high-society wife and Erica, his island-born mistress. But while driving recklessly to catch a ferry one rainy morning, Jack strikes a young girl and leaves the scene of the accident, not even bothering to find out if she is alive or dead. With this one fateful decision, Jack's perfect world shatters.
Norm:
How did you get the inspiration for this book?
Susan:
The premise of this novel first came to me while I was driving along the coast in
New London, Connecticut where I was born. I thought more about the story when my family and I were traveling from Boston to catch the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. Both of these locales inspired the mythical Cape Cod island, Clary's Cove, where Jack races to catch the ferry.
Norm:
Why did you entitle your book Dancing Above the Waves?
Susan:
I felt that the novel's protagonist, Jack McCalister, was always "dancing above the waves" to save himself from the destruction of his career, his marriage even his life.
Norm:
Did you have a difficult time initially in fleshing out characters?
Susan:
The novel's two main characters, Jack McCalister and Erica Agnelli came to me rather easily because I worked on character sketches about them before I wrote the full story. Jack is the scion of a privileged Boston family while Erica was raised by a single mother on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. I enjoyed writing about the juxtaposition of their opposite life styles, and seeing how their lives eventually intersected. All along I was cognizant of not allowing any of the characters in the novel to become stereotypes.
Norm:
What do you believe is the secret in keeping the intensity of a plot throughout the narrative? How is it applicable to your novel?
Susan:
I think it is essential to write, re-write, edit and then edit again. This is especially true for Dancing Above the Waves because it is a suspense novel. I felt I had to keep several steps ahead of my readers. I wanted them to guess right up to the end who the blackmailer was. Several bloggers mentioned to me they had narrowed it down to several characters, but never got any closer. This was just what I was hoping for.
Norm:
What was your main focus when you created your protagonist?
Susan:
My goal was to create a realistic protagonist. One who possessed both good and bad attributes. I believe characters should have original personalities, idiosyncrasies and should be complex. It is essential for writers to understand their characters fully to know what motivates them, what gets them through the day, what troubles them and what brings them joy. I think heroes should have flaws and villains should have a few good traits to be believable.
Norm:
How do you approach the work of writing?
Susan:
I think it's important to write on a regular basis, but to realize there will be good and bad days. Some times the words flow and I can't keep up with the pace of my ideas. Other times, I'm lucky to manage a few sentences or paragraphs. I try to think of what Winston Churchill said, "Never ever, ever give up." He was referring to war, but I think what he said holds true of writing as well.
Norm:
Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice?
Susan:
I met a wonderful group of writers through a class on writing at UCLA Extension. We formed a writers group that met while I was writing my novel. I found it helpful to read my chapters aloud to them. It was fun to have an audience for my work, but also a little intimidating to hear critiques from a jury of my peers.
Norm:
Has your environment and/or upbringing influenced your writing?
Susan:
My father loved to read. I always picture him reading newspapers and books. He passed on his love of reading to me.
Norm:
Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?
Susan:
I feel that writers owe their readers a good story; one that starts with a strong idea. A good novel should be honed over time, researched and professionally edited. I dislike finding typos and inconsistencies in books. Good writing transports readers to another place in time, but errors jolt readers out of a transparent experience.
Norm:
Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)
Susan:
I have started my next novel, but since it's another suspense story that's all I can tell you at this time. (I don't want to spoil the surprises for you.)
Norm:
Where can our readers find out more about you and is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?
Susan: You can find out more about me by clicking on my WEBSITE
Again, Norm, thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you about Dancing Above the Waves.
Your questions were excellent. I think we've covered it all.
Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors. |
