Established in 2018, TBR [to be read] is a semi-regular, invitation-only interview series with authors of newly released/forthcoming, interesting books.
Give us your elevator pitch: what’s your book about in 2-3 sentences?
It’s a compilation, an abridged body of work, mostly short
fiction—plus a few novel excerpts and a couple of essays. Subject matter ranges
from the absurdly comical to the dark and despairing, with hope woven
throughout. The publisher moved fast to get it out ahead of the February 2025 Truman Capote prize.
Which story did you most enjoy creating? Why? And, which story
gave you the most trouble, and why?
“The Fall of the Nixon Administration” is the story I had
the most fun writing, because the characters are so outrageous, eccentric and
self-deluded. One in particular has the filthiest mouth and says over-the-top nasty,
perverted things, purely for shock value. It’s liberating to write what you’d
not dare to actually say out loud. Or would I? That story was so much bawdy fun
that it grew into a comic novel (of the same title). Note: it’s about a crazy dysfunctional
family, not literally about Nixon, but set in 1974.
The most trouble? Well, since I dedicated the title story to
my late brother, Wilson, who died of acute myeloid leukemia soon after working
on beach cleanup after the Deep Water Horizon oil disaster, I needed the
character based on him, Gary, to be drawn with care. I wouldn’t say it was
“trouble” but I tried to be very mindful about it, and that was emotionally
hard for me.
Tell us a bit about the highs and lows of your book’s
road to publication.
Because I was informed about being the recipient of the
Capote prize in November of 2024, and the award was to be presented to me at
the end of February of 2025, the window for production was ridiculously small,
requiring something like a miracle to get ‘er done. Since all of the work was
previously published, editing wasn’t an issue (with a few exceptions), but
design and all of the complexities related to that was . . . a challenge. The
award itself was the high throughout the process. Those editorial exceptions—stories
written back in the 1970s—were the lows, as looking at older work can
be—was—mortifying and had to be carved up some—um, a lot. My Lord, the adverbs!
What’s your favorite piece of writing advice?
I’ve gotta go with that tired old saw, “write what you
know.” And to steal from my husband, Joe Formichella, “If you can quit writing,
do so.” A true writer can’t NOT write.
My favorite writing advice is “write until something
surprises you.” What surprised you in the writing of this book?
How bad some of those old stories were! I hadn’t looked at
them in ages, was in my 20s when I wrote them. I was surprised that I was glad
I stepped away from writing for around 25 years (until 1999), because I was in
dire need of life experience in order to have something to say.
What’s something about your book that you want readers to
know?
I never hesitate to let readers know that my stuff ain’t for
everybody. It’s pitch dark, with cockroaches skittering around the underbelly,
mostly about folks living in the margins. It deals with domestic violence, depression,
addiction, molestation, racism, all that mess that festers under the scab of
southern culture. But I have fun, too! And I hope the funny comes across, even
in the form of LOL.
*****
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PUBLISHER:
http://livingstonpress.uwa.edu/
BUY THIS BOOK FOR YOUR OWN TBR STACK:
https://livingstonpress.uwa.edu/Deep%20Water.htm
