I think it would be fair to say that I’m not what you would call a history
buff. Quite honestly, the only time buff enters my vocabulary is at Visage
Salon when I’m getting my nails done. But all kidding aside, I have to
admit that the Civil War has always piqued my interest. On quite a few
occasions, my family has incorporated a side-trip to Richmond, Virginia on our
way to elsewhere in order to tour the Confederacy’s White House. Within those
walls lies the rich history that depicts the heroic battles of the Grey Coats.
If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. The artifacts on display are truly
fascinating.
When my colleague, Jessica Wiener from Hyperion Books, sent me SWEETSMOKE by David Fuller for
possible consideration, my radar went on high alert. How could I not read a
novel that dares to combine the struggles and heartache of the Confederacy with
a love story like none other? Rarely do I get so hyped up about a book that
doesn’t fall into my typical Jen’s Jewels category of selections. Without a doubt, this is THE
book for the fall. And after reading it, I am sure you will agree.
As part of this interview, Hyperion Books has graciously donated five
copies of SWEETSMOKE
for you, my readers, to win. So, don’t forget to look for the trivia question.
Good luck! In honor of the South, y’all grab a cold glass of iced tea and get
to know the amazing screenwriter turned novelist, David Fuller.
Jen: For the last twenty-five years, you have had much success as a
screenwriter. This month, your debut historical novel was released. So that my
readers may get a better sense of the man behind the book, please tell us a
little bit about your educational and professional background that led you to
where you are today.
David: Hello, Jen. It’s a great pleasure
for me to be able to join you
for this interview.
As a boy, I grew up, from age 7 to age 11, in Europe. That was an education in
itself. Through that time I thought I was an American kid. When I came back to
the States I found out how much I had changed. I went to college as a painter,
at the Rhode Island School of Design, but after a year, I realized I was
interested in other artistic pursuits. I transferred to Brown University and
graduated from there with an eclectic degree. I wanted to make movies and knew
that the only way to get into that field was to write. So I planted my butt in
a chair and wrote. And wrote. It took time to break into the movie business.
During that time, I worked for a game show company as an art director, where I
did everything from design elaborate network pitches for Dan Enright, to hand-
writing cue cards for Wink Martindale, Jack Barry and Bill Cullen.
As a screenwriter, I teamed up with the talented and clever Rick Natkin, and
together we had a nice run within the studio system. There was a stretch of
time when we sold everything we wrote. Our most commercial script was made into
a truly dreadful movie, and even though we were completely rewritten (and
despite the fact that the head of every studio had read our original script),
it was our fault when the movie failed. Naturally. Blame the writer.
Jen: SWEETSMOKE
is a beautifully written story that dares to change the way in which the reader
will view the role of slavery during the Civil War. How did you arrive at the
premise?
David: As a young man, I worked for an African American production
company, headed by a local Chicago celebrity and true Renaissance Man, Jim
Tilmon. I did illustrations for a multi-media presentation entitled WE ARE
BLACK, and learned about African American history. I carried this knowledge
with me into my later work, and it eventually led me to the premise of SWEETSMOKE in an unusual
way: My wife works at a movie studio, and her assistant, Susan, wanted to be a
producer. Susan would send me scripts she liked, and I would read them and tell
her why they would make crummy movies. In frustration one day, she said, ‘Okay,
so what should I be looking for?’ I said something off the top of my head,
like ‘Think about putting things together that don’t normally go together, like
a bookstore owner falling in love with a movie star, or a psychic dog, or a
slave detective…’ at which point I realized what I had said. ‘Wait. You can’t
have that. Pretend I never said that.’ At that moment, I understood the entire
story; I knew it would be set in Civil War Virginia, and that the slave would
be a carpenter, as carpenters had more freedom than most slaves. There would be
a murder, and the murdered woman would be a spy for the North.
Jen: SWEETSMOKE
would not ring true if the harsh reality of the lives of the slaves was not
accurately depicted throughout the book. How much research went into validating
the authenticity of the time period? What was the most fascinating piece of
information you discovered?
David: After eight years of research, I looked around and realized I
could easily spend twenty years more, and that I had to start writing. The
writing process took close to a year, and I continued researching throughout. I
want to emphasize the fact that I am not a historian. I’m a storyteller, and
the research I did was expressly aimed at supporting the story.
I came across many fascinating pieces of information. I learned that when
George Washington died, he had put into his will that, after his wife Martha
Custis Washington died, his slaves should be freed. Apparently, Martha spent a
year hiding out in her bedroom, afraid that his slaves would murder her in
order to achieve their freedom.
Another interesting piece of information I came across was that when slaves
from different plantations came together, rather than comparing notes as to the
brutality of their respective owners, they bragged about their plantations, as
if they were on different teams. That sort of unexpected, real human response
is why we have to tell stories.
Jen: The most difficult part for a debut novelist is quite simply
figuring out the best formula in which to make the story work. For example,
murder mysteries need a motive. Love stories need sexual tension. Historical
fiction needs facts in order to bring credibility to the plot. Quite
masterfully, you incorporated all three of these in your first novel, SWEETSMOKE. What was the
most challenging part of bringing your story to life in terms of balancing all
three of these aspects within the book’s framework? In what ways was it
different than crafting a script?
David: The most challenging part was incorporating the research. The
world of slavery and civil war had to be woven into the fabric of the story so
that it felt seamless. If it appeared to the reader that I was trying to show
off all the cool stuff I’d learned, then the book would be lousy. Cassius had
to be someone I could identify with and live with. I have never been good at
writing stories from the point of view of a victim, and although Cassius is
oppressed in his world, he is not a victim by personality.
The story then had a strong dynamic: I was excited to see how someone of his
intelligence and thought process would handle himself. He had to be creative,
and he came alive for me. The sexual tension in the story comes from his
personality, the fact that he is drawn to Quashee but is having trouble letting
go of his anger and his protective shell. He knows that to fall in love would
give too much power to the planters, as his vulnerable emotions would become
his Achilles’ heel that the whites could use against him. The murder mystery
plays off his personal history -- Emoline’s death carries his memory back to
the most horrible incident in his life. My hope was that if I could weave these
pieces together, the story would work.
Jen: What I liked best about your book was the way in which the reader
was able to sympathize with both Cassius, the slave, and Hoke Howard, the
plantation owner. Blame was not assigned. Fingers were not pointed. Each had
his own cross to bear. In a sense, you were able to tell two stories in one.
Was it always your intention to do it this way or is this simply how the story
unfolded during the writing process?
David: I had always planned to do it that way. If you tell a story with
obvious heroes and villains, you are writing melodrama. I hoped to show the
slaves as deeply human: smart, stupid, witty, dull, thoughtful, and
insensitive. The same with the planters. They are just as smart, stupid, witty,
dull, thoughtful and insensitive. There are great similarities in the
personalities of Ellen Howard and Emoline Justice. Both are strong, prickly
women, difficult and intelligent.
Jen: To move the story along, there must be strong secondary characters
whose threads are carefully woven throughout the book. Their ultimate purpose
is to add to the plot without taking the focus away from the main character.
Which storyline involving one of your secondary characters was your favorite
and why?
David: I have affection for so many characters in the novel. Thomas
Chavis and his wife, the owners of Weyman; Joseph and Andrew, Savilla and
Jenny; Mam Rosie and her dangerous connivances. The Angel Gabriel was great fun
to write. I find myself mentioning so many of them, as if to leave someone out
might hurt their feelings.
The subplot of Tempie Easter rings powerfully for me. She is not a likeable
person, but what happens to her is horrifying and reverberates through the
novel. You can make the case that she brings it on herself, as it is her own
plan that Cassius turns against her, but that just makes Cassius’s response to
it that much more meaningful. If she had been kind or decent, I don’t think her
story would have been nearly as effective.
Jen: Cassius was different than most slaves due to the amount of
liberties he was given by his owners. Why did he not choose to run away? What
made his loyalty to Hoke outweigh his desire for freedom?
David: Why Cassius did not choose to run away is a question that must be
seen within its historical context. Naturally, there was incredible danger for
a runaway. The law was fiercely set against them, both in the South as well as
the North with the Fugitive Slave Act. Patrollers were on the road, and a black
face was instantly assumed to be a slave. The whites planted fear in the slaves
in every possible way, including through their religious upbringing. For
Cassius personally, he did not know what lay beyond Sweetsmoke outside of
thirty miles, which would have made running away extremely daunting. The
liberties he enjoyed as a child and as a young man also would have contributed
to his staying in place. He certainly felt no loyalty to Hoke after the
incident with Marriah. But something in his anger and emotional coldness shut
him down so that he was unable or unwilling to reach for his freedom.
Jen: Who was the stronger character…Cassius or Hoke? How so?
David: In so many ways, Cassius is a much stronger character than Hoke.
Hoke is a rather weak man, indulgent of his own desires – he whimsically
purchases slaves and animals, and is forced to sell them when he is in
difficult financial straits – and he’s a vain man – this is particularly
obvious when he compares himself to Cassius’s physical strength. Cassius’s
weaknesses, which we see at the outset of the novel, are self imposed. His
distance, his rage, plays out as immobility and ennui. But when he starts to
act, after he learns of the death of Emoline Justice, his intelligence, his
cleverness, and his ability to think on his feet, take hold, and his strength
builds. Slaves needed to be wise readers of their owners, in order to not only
survive, but to evade punishment.
Jen: I was surprised by Hoke’s wife Ellen’s brutality towards the
slaves. Was it common for the plantation’s mistress to have much interaction
with the field hands as well as instill fear among them? During that time
period, was not the woman’s main role to run the household and the man’s to
take care of the business side of the plantation?
David: Wars always seem to change traditional roles, as we’ve seen
throughout history. Ellen has little interaction with the field hands, but she
of course has very close relationships with the house slaves. Her flogging of
Marriah emerged from her own private fury. Within the story, when Hoke is
incapacitated, Ellen takes over his books and the plantation business out of
necessity. She is forced to keep up the appearance of Hoke being in charge, but
at that point, she has found that she’s better at his job than he was.
Jen: Was it difficult to say good-bye to these characters when it was
all said and done?
David: Oh my yes. It was particularly difficult to say good bye to
Cassius. The moment I finished, I thought of what he might be doing next, but I
realized, as time passed, that this was the right way to say farewell.
Jen: Looking back, what do you think was your true motivation for
writing this book? Was it a professional hurdle that you have always wanted to
jump? Was it to bring a better understanding of slavery and plantation life
during the Civil War to light? Or could it simply have been to broaden your own
awareness of our country’s rich history and how it relates to your life?
David: To some degree, it was a combination of all three. But it was
also a desire to tell a good story. Here was fertile land upon which to build a
story, and a writer doesn’t often get the chance to live through a distinct
world with a character as interesting as Cassius. When he came into my head, I
knew I had to tell his story. Perhaps, in some odd way, he insisted upon it.
Jen: What has surprised you most about the book publishing industry?
David: Their kindness and generosity. Publishers seem to like writers. I
have loved working with Leslie Wells, my extraordinary editor. She
significantly improved the novel with her thoughtful notes and her careful
reading. Ellen Archer is a great publisher, a joy with whom to work, supportive
and enthusiastic. She even laughed at my jokes at the Librarian’s Dinner. I
would be remiss if I didn’t mention my extended Hyperion family, Will Balliett,
Allison McGeehon, Michael Rotondo, Maha Khalil, Jessica Wiener, Beth Gebhard,
Alexandra Ramstrum, Jill Sansone, Betsy Spigelman, Bijani Mizell and Chisomo
Kalinga. I adore them all.
Jen: Will you continue to pursue a career as a novelist or will you
return to screenwriting?
David: If there is a story that seems right for the screen, I will
consider pursuing it, but I am spoiled by the pleasure of writing prose. It
allows my actual words, good, bad or indifferent, to reach a public. The movies
provide the words only through proxy: actors, directors, rewriters.
Jen: Do you have a website? Will you be able to participate in author
phone chats? And if so, how would my readers go about scheduling one? (Me,
first!!)
David: I would be thrilled to participate in phone chats, and you will
indeed go first! There is contact information on my website: http://www.sweetsmokedavidfuller.com/
Jen: Thank you so much for being a part of Jen’s Jewels. I am truly in
awe of your novel. It’s so well-written, so moving, and truly an exceptional
piece of literature. Bravo. I wish you nothing but the best.
David: It was totally my pleasure. I am humbled by your kind words and I
deeply appreciate them. Thank you for letting me be a part of Jen’s Jewels.
I hope you have enjoyed this interview as much as I did. Please stop by your
favorite bookstore or local library today and pick up a copy of SWEETSMOKE.
Okay, it’s time for your favorite part of the column. The Contest! Win your
very own copy of SWEETSMOKE! Good luck!
What is
David’s website address?
Next month, I will be bringing to you my interview with New York Times
Bestselling Author Allison Brennan. You won’t want to miss it.
Until next time…Jen
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