TBR [to be read] is a semi-regular, invitation-only interview series with authors of newly released/forthcoming, interesting books who will tell us about their new work as well as offer tips on writing, stories about the publishing biz, and from time to time, a recipe.
Give us your elevator pitch: what’s your book about in 2-3 sentences?
Ships in the Desert is a series of linked essays based
on my four years of living along the Great Silk Road in Central Asia. Centered
around a personal trip I took to the dying Aral Sea as well as my time as an
educator in Kazakhstan, the book explores issues of environmental degradation
and religious intolerance, presents some of the fabulous history of the region
and its people, and reflects on personal and social change once I return to the
States.
Which essay did you most enjoy writing? Why? And, which
essay gave you the most trouble, and why?
My favorite to write was the title essay, “Ships in the
Desert.” It started as a travel narrative of the trip I took to see the dying
Aral Sea in person, but as it progressed, I began seeing connections to water
issues around the globe, particularly in the U.S. The more research I did, the
more I was pulled into the story of corruption, greed, and environmental
mismanagement behind the Aral’s demise. It’s utterly tragic and also
fascinating in the way tragedies can be, for they not only show us the darker
side of ourselves, they allow opportunities for us to respond with the better
parts of ourselves. I didn’t enjoy writing the essay so much as I felt
compelled to write it because while, yes, it can paint a bleak picture of the
climate predicament we’re in right now, it also makes it clear there are
options we can choose to help make things better.
This was also the essay that gave me the most trouble! It’s
a very long essay—more than 15,000 words long—and intricate, with a lot of
moving parts. Piecing it all together was fun, and yet it was also a huge challenge.
Not surprisingly, it took the longest for me to write of all the essays in the
book. I was updating it right up until before it went to press because I wanted
it to include the very latest information I could find.
Tell us a bit about the highs and lows of your book’s
road to publication.
I can’t say this was a low really, but it was a challenge I
think a lot of writers face: I had a book I felt was topical and really
believed in, but it took time to find a publisher—it was four years exactly to
the day from when I first sent it out to when I sent it to the publisher who
accepted it, the Santa Fe Writers Project. In between, it received a lot of
positive comments from editors at some really good presses, which kept me going
and kept me aiming high. But everything comes in its own time, and as it turns
out, it was a blessing it was picked up when it was. Had it been accepted
earlier, it might have been released during the first two years of the pandemic
when pretty much everything was shut down. Coming out in 2022 proved perfect,
because I’ve been able to do a lot more events of the kind that just weren’t
being done a year or two ago.
As to a high, that’s easy: I’m thrilled my book was picked
up by the SFWP, whom I love working with! I’ve learned so much about the publishing
biz from them, it’s been like taking a master class. Not only that, there’s
such a sense of energy and positivity that emanates from them. They think big,
too, and I like that. And they’ve got your back. You know that if they publish
your book, it’s because they believe in it as much as you do.
What’s your favorite piece of writing advice?
This isn’t something I’ve read or heard a single person say
but rather is a combination of several different pieces of advice I see as
acting together: Don’t overthink when you write. Try as much as possible to
write from a deep inner place of spontaneous imagination. Don’t edit yourself,
not at this stage. Just keep digging and try to get at the hot, honest
emotional core of whatever you’re writing about. You can iron out the rough
edges and make changes later. That’s what the editing stage is for. But a
writer’s initial job is to dive below the surface of things, and that means quieting
the mental chatter and writing from the center—from the heart, yes, but also
from the gut.
My favorite writing advice is “write until something
surprises you.” What surprised you in the writing of this book?
As much as I knew about the Aral Sea disaster before
beginning the book, it was still a surprise for me to learn just how extensive
the disaster was, and to learn exactly the reasons for it. I could have just
tried to encapsulate all that into a manageable bit of background and kept on
with the travel narrative I had begun. But instead, I took that surprise and
expanded on it. There was a ton of scientific research on the Aral, and many
short articles on the subject, but surprisingly little of length written in a
more accessible format. I decided to take time to gather many disparate pieces
of information together and stitch them into a cohesive whole that would not
only tell a story but also relate the science behind it and ultimately show why
it matters.
How do you approach revision?
While, for me, producing a lively, spontaneous first draft is
the heart of the writing process, revision is the blood that feeds the heart. If
all goes well, you’ll have a wildly beating organ clamoring for life, and revision
is how you keep that life going while also shaping it into something viable. It’s
not a process to be rushed. I spend significantly more time revising than
anything else in the writing process. I’m very methodical about it, in stark
contrast to how I draft. Perhaps this strikes a yin and yang kind of balance
and that’s why it works, at least for me. After typing a first draft on the
computer, I print it for revision—I have to see it on the physical page. I’ll
go through it page by page, marking it up as I go. When I’m in this stage, I
usually think about it all the time, and so I’ll keep revisiting the
manuscript, adding new edits that occur to me throughout the day—long walks and
hot showers seem to be especially conducive to producing good ideas. When the
entire manuscript is marked up to the point where it’s beginning to get a
little messy, I type my changes into the computer, making sure to number that
version as the latest draft. Then I print it and go through the process again.
And again. As many times as is necessary to get it right.
Inquiring foodies and hungry book clubs want to know: Any
food/s associated with your book? Any recipes I might share?
Food culture is an inextricable part of life in Central
Asia! So even though my book is about very different topics, food inevitably
makes a few appearances. While I don’t specifically mention this, one of my
favorite dishes is selyodka pod shuboy, which translates as “herring under a
fur coat.” My wife learned how to make it from her grandmother in Kazakhstan, though
it’s popular all throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union. I’ll
provide a link to a recipe in a minute, but first I want to make a comment on the
fish portion of this dish: In Kazakhstan, the pickled herring used is salty. I
never heard of anyone pickling fish with sugar, as is common here in the
States. So if you want an authentic taste, try to find the salty kind if you
can. It might be hard if you don’t live in a big city with a good European or
Asian market. Don’t use the herring in jars that you see in grocery stores,
especially the herring in cream sauce—those are loaded with sugar! In a pinch,
we’ve used herring filets in oil in a tin. I often smoke my own fish, too,
usually salmon, which makes a wonderful substitute.
With that said, the recipe I want to pass along comes from a
favorite restaurant near us, Kachka in Portland, Oregon. They use a ring mold
to shape it, but my wife and I like this dish so much, we triple the portions
and make it in a large glass baking dish! Anything to help build up the layers
and keep everything together will work.
Here’s the link: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/herring-under-fur-coat
*****
READ MORE ABOUT THIS AUTHOR: https://www.jeff-fearnside.com/
ORDER THIS BOOK FOR YOUR OWN TBR STACK: https://www.amazon.com/Ships-Desert-SFWP-Literary-Awards/dp/1951631153/
READ AN ESSAY, “After Us, Even Flood”: https://www.terrain.org/2022/nonfiction/after-us-even-flood/