Wroblewski continued

LR: Many writers wish to become published authors. Being one who has achieved this lofty goal, can you describe something of how it feels?

DW: It feels like a natural outgrowth of the work, to be honest. I'm very proud of my experience in making software -- thirty years or so – which can be every bit as creative as writing a novel or making a photograph. You learn from those disciplines how arbitrary such boundaries are, between the work-in-progress and the work that is "done". It's never done. You could always do more. But nevertheless, you're finished with it, and it becomes this beautiful, foreign artifact that looks nothing like the stack of laser printer paper you've lived with for so long. Just when it becomes perfectly real to everyone else, it looks least like what you've known it to be as the writer.

I remember calling one of my writing teachers, Joan Silber, and asking how I would know when I was done with this book. I thought maybe I WAS done, I told her, but the result was by no means perfect. She said that perfection wasn't something to strive for, or even possible, in a novel. Maybe a short story, but not a novel. I've always been glad I made that phone call. I surely take comfort in that idea right now.

More Words with David Wroblewski

LR: Can you describe the contrast between the solitary work of writing and the work of promoting the book: shaking hands, signing books, smiling, posing for photos, giving interviews?

DW: As much as possible, I'm trying to approach all those activities as a wide-eyed first-timer. I don't think a person stops learning from a novel just because it is printed and on the shelves; in fact, it seems like that's when all sorts of new, interesting feedback should begin to come in. The trick, I think, is to let it accumulate before trying to make sense of it, rather than jumping on each comment as it arrives.

The question I want to answer for myself is, what is there to be learned from these things? The interviews have been great fun, by and large -- it's mainly a function of how well prepared the interviewer is, and the majority have been thoughtful and interesting. But oftentimes only 2% of what was discussed winds up in print, and the reduction can be disappointing, even when it is done well. The signings are enjoyable, but the chance to talk to people is all too brief.

We'll see. Shut up and watch, I tell myself. The received attitude from some writers is that these things are a pain in the backside. And yes, they fragment your time terribly, and take you away from your family and your routine. Unless you are that rare person who can write amidst chaos, they are hell on your writing. But they feel like a privilege to me, most especially the chance to talk with readers at bookstores.

Here's David!

Well, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle continues to be lauded as the "must read" book of the summer, and to receive more good press. Hurrah!

Here's a piece from today's Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121383011826886483.html?mod=2_1167_1

And here’s some Q&A with the author, a wonderful guy who really cares what readers think about his work:

LR: Dolly Parton has a comment I read somewhere about it taking her years to become an overnight sensation. I feel like something of that applies to the situation you’re in now. Here you are with your first novel being published. You are in a fortunate situation, your publisher has done much to support you and promote your book, and signs are beginning to look like this is going to go well.

From a certain outside perspective, it all looks quite effortless. And yet, you spent ten years writing your book. That means, to those who aren’t writers and haven’t had this experience, ten years of countless hours alone in a room with a computer, ten years of rewrites, ten years of new directions, despair, and renewed hope.

How does it feel to be on the verge of publication after all the work you put into crafting The Story of Edgar Sawtelle?

DW: I alternate between wistful, excited, nerve-wracked, and busy as hell these days, and at any given time I'm feeling several contradictory emotions. I'm relieved to be done; I want to take Edgar back and do one more draft; I can't wait to get started on the next book. But this is typical, for me, at the end of a long project -- I resist letting go even long after it's out of my hands. A person gets familiar with their particular hunk of clay, and it's comforting andfamiliar to keep working it.
[more tomorrow…]

Rave Reviews

David Wroblewski will be visiting soon to blogalogue with me, but he’s a little too busy now being chased by the media. There’s a great review in today’s New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/books/13book.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin

Of course, I already knew that it’s a great book. I was lucky enough to read a pre-publication edition of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and I loved it right away. I taught the book last term in my Temple U “Sneak Peek” course, and all the students thought it was terrific. I’ve since been recommending it to anyone who will listen, and everyone who reads it loves it. You should read it too!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

There was an author reading last night at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver. The Tattered Cover (www.tatteredcover.com), if you don’t already know, is one of the finest and most interesting independent bookstores in the US. You can truly get lost there, and spend a whole day browsing in glorious racks and rows of books. You won’t get hungry either, because they have a really good restaurant on site.

Anyway, readings at the Tattered Cover happen all the time, but I’d particularly like to mention last night’s, which was by first-time novelist David Wroblewski. I wasn’t there, but I have read his book and interviewed the author, and it’s a really great new book. Yesterday was book’s official publication date. It has already received some great press, and I’m sure the great reviews are going to keep rolling in.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is, according to the author, “a boy and his dog” story for grown-ups. It takes place on a farm in rural Wisconsin in the 1970s, where the Sawtelle family raise a special breed of dogs. Edgar is their mute 14-year old son who has a very special relationship with the dogs, particularly one dog named Almondine.

Over the next few days I’ll be talking more about this book and interviewing the author. For now, take a look at one recent review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060504378.html

Final Q&A (for now) with Lauren Groff

LR: How did you undertake your research? What were some of your best sources?

LG: My research was intense--I spent a long time in the New York State Historical library in Cooperstown, looking at old Freeman's Journals, theses on Cooperstown, boxes of clippings and other stuff. I read as much James Fenimore Cooper as I could and was lucky to have read this incredible book on William Cooper (James Fenimore Cooper's father), called William Cooper's Town (heartily recommended). And then, when I assembled everything, I began to twist facts this way and that, and my characters came alive, and twisted them some more.

Thanks for Lauren Groff for her great new book and for taking the time to answer my questions!
LR

Monsters and Ghosts in Templeton

more Q&A with Lauren Groff. . .

LR: Do you have an interest in the supernatural?

LG: I think the supernatural has an interest in me, sadly. That, or I had far too intense an imagination and far too terrible eyesight to NOT see ghosts beside my childhood bed. And I have a great story about how this novel came to be--I was in the middle of swimming Cooperstown's lake when I saw something below me...something enormous and very thrilling...and wanted to give voice to the mystery there. But I never actually intended to write about supernatural elements, because I feared that people wouldn't take the book seriously. That said, I had to--the story forced these elements on me and wouldn't let go until I wrote them.

More Monsters Q&A

Many of the chapters in The Monsters of Templeton include some great photographs that really add to the book. So we asked:
Q: Did you find the photos before or after the text? How/where did you find them?

A: Some photos I found before I wrote the text, and formed the characters based on their images--others I found afterwards. I spent some glorious months and years in antique stores, flea markets and on eBay to find the right images. Some were mine to begin with (my mother is Vi as an adorable child); some were given to me (Vi as an adult is actually the photo of someone who is integral to my book, but who probably doesn't want me to tell on her); some, I searched and despaired until I found them. Marmaduke is this enormous 17-th century Dutch oil that's hanging somewhat gloomily over my fireplace in Florida--freaking out all of my dinner guests (he's frowning down pretty judgmentally), but he's also a fabulous conversational piece.

Apologies!!

Hi,
Sorry - I promised you Q&A from Lauren Groff, author of The Monsters of Templeton, and then I disappeared. I actually went to LA for the annual book industry trade show, called Book Expo. More on that later. First, here's question & answer #1 from Lauren:

Q: How long did the book take to write?

A: From the first sentence of the first draft to when I gave it to my agent, it took about three-and-a-half years to write Monsters...add in another year for editing (and ongoing edits that I wish I could make every time I read it...but can't!), and you have a good part of my adult life. In a real sense, though, I have been working on this book my whole life--I've been storing up stories and tall-tales and characters since I first started writing seriously (every day) when I was fourteen. But it wasn't until I was living in California, very hungry for my hometown, that I sat down (after having written two very massively failed previous novels) to write about Cooperstown.