"The story will be satisfying for those who
believe true love never dies, that people can change, and that
underneath a cold exterior lies a soul worthy of forgiveness and
happiness." - Foreward Reviews
Wealthy Anne Bennett is left widowed and penniless after her husband's
firm is involved in financial fraud. In shock and forced to leave her
home, she has few friends to turn to and few options for financial
security. Estranged from her two adult daughters, she nevertheless
accepts an invitation, or perhaps a challenge, to stay with her younger
daughter, Sylvia, in Michigan. While helping Sylvia renovate an old
house, Anne finds new friends and a new life, but with guilt, grief and
the ghost of tragedy shadowing her every step, she must come to terms
with her past in order to navigate her future.
Sequel to THE WORLD UNDONE.
Q&A with Mary Driver-Thiel
What
type of hero do you like best?
My favorite heroes are those wonderful
characters who combine a sense of humor with courage. No matter what awful
circumstances their authors throw at them, these characters always find a way
to beat the odds and thrive. I like happy endings. Life is tough, and a good
story should be an escape from one’s own troubles, but the best stories show us
characters with perseverance and backbone who win in the end.
Bitches—especially those with a snarky sense of humor—make excellent characters
because they elicit strong reactions, and they really need to change their
despicable ways. But before they come to terms with their vileness, it’s fun to
give them free rein to act in ways (most of) the rest of us would never
consider.
What
is the hardest part about writing?
The hardest part of writing for me is
always that first major revision. I usually don’t have trouble with the first
draft (I hope I’m not jinxing myself here). A first draft is fun because there
are no limits. Write whatever seems to work and worry about problems later.
Maybe that’s why I struggle so much with the second draft. I find things are
out of order, transitions are missing, the gun on the mantle hasn’t been fired,
and the ending is usually a mess. Fixing all those things is like a Chinese puzzle:
once you change one part, everything else needs changing, and before you know
it, you might as well be starting from scratch. I have to remind myself to take
things one step at a time, that the next draft will be easier, the one after
that easier still, and so on, until I get to a point where I feel the
manuscript is acceptable.
What
is your favorite motivational phrase?
I have a one-word motivational phrase:
Onward. That encompasses everything I need to focus on, especially when the
going gets tough. As Winston Churchill said, “When you’re going through hell,
keep going.” And when everything is rosy, don’t stop too long to smell those
roses. There is always another story that needs to be told, always another goal
that needs to be set and met. My ex-husband once accused me of never being
satisfied. I prefer to think of that as a positive trait. I’m always looking
ahead. Onward.
How
much research do you do?
I never realized how much research goes
into fiction until I started writing. Not everything I learn ends up on the
page, but knowing the background information helps me create a better story.
Even a very short story requires delving into details, for which research is
often required. For instance, this week I spent an inordinate amount of time learning
the names and types of ice cream treats that Dairy Queen offered in 1975. Most
of what I discovered won’t be in the story, but I’ve learned that immersing
myself in information helps me imagine more deeply, just as a salient detail
sprinkled here and there draws the reader in more deeply. Conversely, errors in
details will destroy the reader’s trust.
I’m rather proud of something that
happened with my newest novel, Twelve Thousand Mornings. After my
agent read the manuscript, one of her comments was, “I didn’t know you have had
so much experience renovating old houses.”
Actually, I’ve had zero experience. I did
a lot of research. In addition to the obvious online explorations, I
interviewed people who do have experience, and I hovered over workmen who came
to my house to replace the hot water heater, re-tile the bathroom, and refinish
the kitchen floor. Details from each of those three projects wound up in my
book. The amazing thing about research is that in addition to learning the
details, I’m often inspired to go in a new direction and/or discover new treasures to add to my story.
What
else have you written?
In addition to my two published novels, The
World Undone and Twelve Thousand Mornings, I’ve
written a number of short stories. Several have been published in various
online and print magazines, including Midwest
Prairie Review, Half-way Down the
Stairs, Danse Macabre, and Epiphany. My work has also appeared in Alfie Dog, an online British journal.
Occasionally, I write poetry. I find it
recharges my fascination with the sound and rhythm of words, an essential
element in all good writing. One of my poems won an honorable mention in the
Writer’s Digest competition some years ago, and a short prose poem won first
place in a Gotham Writers’ competition.
I have a blog on which I post something
at least once a month. Contrary to all good advice, my blog is a random
collection of photos and short essays about things that catch my writerly eye.
The blog is called Liminalesque—yes, I know it’s a terrible name. Too hard to
spell and no one knows what it means. But I like it, and I think a blog should
be a place where one can write what one likes. There is a link to it from my
website, so theoretically, it’s easy to find. Please come visit through
www.marydriverthiel.com.
Meet the Author
Mary Driver-Thiel holds a B.A. in Fine Art and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Her short stories have been published in various literary magazines, most recently Alfie Dog (alfiedog.com), Epiphany (epiphmag.com), and Halfway Down the Stairs (halfwaydownthestairs.net). She is a member of Off Campus Writers Workshop and The Writers of Glencoe, and she is founder and facilitator of Forest Writers' Group in Lake Forest.
The World Undone was short-listed for Chicago Writers' Association Book of the Year in
2013 and was in the top 10 for the Illinois Author Project 2013.
Driver-Thiel lives in the
Chicago area with her husband, Jerry, and Woki, the Wonder Dog.
http://www.marydriverthiel.com
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