Interview with Stephanie Gertler

Stephanie Gertler writes a monthly lifestyles column called "These Days" for two Connecticut newspapers, The Advocate and Greenwich Time.  She lives in New York.  Her first two novels are Jimmy's Girl and The Puzzle Bark Tree.  Drifting (Signet, 2004) is her third.

Where did the idea for Drifting originate?

The book never stems from one idea. They seem to end up in a composite of what's driving my life at the time. My daughter left for college as the story of Drifting began to jell in my mind. Although my oldest son had already been at college for a year, somehow my daughter's leaving home was quite different. My oldest seemed more prepared to go, for one thing, and for another, when my oldest went off, my daughter and youngest son were still at home and the household was still busy. My three kids are less than four years apart and having two-thirds of them living away was so strange-- for my youngest as well. I began to think about what it would be like when my youngest went off... and my mind raced ahead... and there was Claire in her empty nest.

In addition, a few years before, I had done a magazine piece on family abduction that hit me very hard-- even just as the writer. Additionally, I knew a woman who had forsaken her child at a young age....

It all came together in an embroidery that became Drifting.

What was your motivation behind making Kayla blind? Why blindness as opposed to another impairment?

Children with illness, disability, or impairment are labeled "endangered missing" by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other child find organizations -- a definition that further compounds the peril and fear experienced with any missing child. I wanted to point out the selfishness and cruelty of the parent who kidnaps his or her child, and wanted to drive the point home by making Kayla a child who is not only wrenched from her home, but one who is even further compromised by her physical needs. 

As for the blindness: blindness is one of my own fears. Sometimes addressing one's fears, even through fiction, helps to overcome them. I did a great deal of reading about blindness and spent a couple of days with a little boy (same age as Kayla) who was born without eyes. He is the most spirited, courageous, and delightful child...one would never think he suffered the lack of sight. As his mother and father say (and after spending just a few days with him, I felt the same way), they have seen more through his eyes than anyone else's.      

Did you have to do a lot of research into child abduction and blindness? If so, did you discover anything that truly surprised you?

I did a great deal of research on family abduction and blindness. Read tons of books and autobiographies about blindness. As for abduction, one woman whose child was abducted by his noncustodial father was particularly helpful (her son was, thankfully, recovered after nine agonizing months). I also spoke to law enforcement, and agencies and individuals involved with children and their families after the children are recovered. There were no surprises, but I still cannot get over the fact that so many people feel that kidnapping doesn't apply when a child is abducted by a parent. Kidnapping is kidnapping: one parent has no right to take his or her child from the other parent. It also continues to astound me that the legal repercussions suffered by the kidnapper-parent are not nearly strong enough.

The characters of Claire, Eli, Nicholas and Kayla are each very different. Was one character more difficult to write about than another?

Eli was the most difficult to write. I wanted him to be a wonderful husband and friend, yet I also wanted him to be flawed -- because we are all flawed. I had an epiphany when a psychologist told me to write Eli the way I might write myself as a wife -- just write him that same way as a husband and transcend gender. In other words, write him from my own heart. That advice worked. Claire was easy to write -- she was so much me! Writing Nicholas as a villain was such fun, not to mention that writing villains is always most cathartic. As for Kayla, she is the embodiment of all my children... and also very much the little blind boy I spent time with as I wrote the book. 

Do you have a favorite character?

I really didn't have a favorite character as I wrote the book. Writing Sulie was most challenging for me -- and even though she wasn't the most likable character in the book, she was my favorite to write because of her complexity.

As a mother yourself, did you find yourself relating to Claire? If so how?

Oh, yes! I felt every moment of Claire. Every tear she shed. Every memory she had. Claire and I were bonded from the start!

When writing, do you write by a set schedule? Do you edit as you go along?

I write from the time I awaken until the time my youngest gets home from school or it's time to put up dinner -- whichever comes first. As for editing as I go along, I give myself a few days in between -- write a few chapters and then read them over and edit... otherwise, I'd spend most of the time ripping my words apart and not get anywhere!

When you’re not writing, what do you enjoy doing?

I dance. I take three to four jazz classes a week. And I love to cook and play my guitar and sing (something I just started doing again after twenty years). Most of all, I love spending time with my kids -- they're my favorite people on earth. And I enjoy sitting on my front porch with good friends and listening to music and having heart-to-hearts. Oh, and of course, I love to read. Oddly enough, I also love to write in my "spare time" -- my non-book-writing-time. Writing for me is such self-expression. It helps me to organize my thoughts and see things in a clearer way.

Do you have any upcoming projects? Can you tell us a little about them?

The Windmill, my fourth novel, is coming out in November. It's the story of Olivia and Carl's marriage -- and the secrets we may keep in a marriage and those we need to share. I also have a nonfiction book coming out in February 2005 -- To Love, Honor, and Betray: The Secret Life of Suburban Wives. It's 26 interviews with women across the country who have either had an affair, are having an affair, or are considering...   

For more information, please visit Stephanie Gertler's Web site, www.stephaniegertler.com, or www.writtenvoices.com. 

Sponsored links

Ring binders

 

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer!

How to find a book publisher

Home

Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007 Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
Please contact the authors if you'd like to reprint articles on this site.  All copyrights are retained by original authors.  And plagiarizers will be rounded up, handcuffed, and stuck into a very small and humid room wherein they must listen to Barney sing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song over and over again.

writers writing software