Interview with Jacquelyn Mitchard

Everyone has a dream. It may be something simple like relaxing on a deserted beach with Tim McGraw or even Mike the plumber from Desperate Housewives while sipping on a frozen strawberry daiquiri as he rubs sunscreen all over your back. (Okay, maybe that's just my dream! C'mon, now! Play along with me here!) Then again, if you are a writer your dream may be a tad different. If I had to guess, I think it might involve some magical fairy dust sprinkled upon the novel you put all your blood, sweat, and tears into writing from the one and only Ms. Oprah Winfrey. Anything Oprah even remotely is associated with soars. You don't need me to tell you that! It's a given.

This month's jewel, Jacquelyn Mitchard, has been blessed with a once in a lifetime experience that seems too truly remarkable to even describe. Her novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was chosen as Oprah's FIRST book club selection. (I don't know what I would do if Oprah gave me a little ring-ding-ding and said, "Hey, Jen! That column of yours is a winner. How about if we add it to my magazine?") Can you imagine the impact it must have had on Jacquelyn's career? More importantly, how about the pressure to exceed its greatness in her next book? As you will read, her life was changed forever, in some good ways and unfortunately in some not so good ways. With fame comes a price. What one thing I know for sure is that Jacquelyn's latest release, Still Summer, is an absolute must-read novel. I was lucky enough to have landed an advance copy and I am still talking about this book to anyone who will listen. Being able to interview her, though, was even better. What follows is the conversation we had about her amazing career and all of her numerous writings. She is such an extraordinary person with a story of her own to tell. As part of this interview, five lucky readers will win a copy so don't forget to look for the trivia question at the end of the column.

Go grab some iced tea and get to know the sensational and prolific Jacquelyn Mitchard!

Jen: I read on Wikipedia that your writing career began with you as a newspaper reporter back in 1976 and now you are a syndicated columnist with Tribune Media. So that my readers can get a glimpse into your career path and how it all evolved, please tell us a little bit about your educational and professional background.

Jacquelyn: 1976? It's interesting to know that I began my professional career so early! Actually, it was 1979; but I've found so many ages and descriptions for my background (including that I'm one of three sisters, although I have only one brother) that it's exciting to learn something new about myself. I got out of college early, after only three years, and lied about my age to get my first job. There were no computers then; they couldn't check. I decided a couple of years ago, you know, I'd like my five years back; so off to the DMV I went with my birth certificate. And the woman there -- you can imagine her.... The kind of African-American woman who's seen it all five times, said, "Don't you know that anyone can make one of those things?" I was aghast. She meant my birth certificate! Who knew? I said, "But why wouldn't I make myself TEN years younger?" She just said, "Tell your story walking...." So I'm 54 on my medical and driving records and 49 in real life. I get lots of compliments on having such nice skin "for my age."

Jen: At what juncture in your life did you decide to write a book? And what was the defining moment that made you take the leap and finally just do it?

Jacquelyn: It was tragedy. My first husband died just after he'd turned 40. I was in my thirties. It was clear to me that everything I'd ever thought of as "someday" was right now. Dan's death was evident proof of that. I'd never even considered writing a novel seriously; but I had a story I'd told Dan about that came from a dream....and I found myself writing that story as though it happened to a large Italian family in the restaurant business, like my husband's. I realized that it was my mourning. It also showed my sons that tragedy gives you no permission to live small.

Jen: According to USA Today, your novel The Deep End of the Ocean was named one of the ten most influential novels in the past twenty-five years. What an accomplishment! Please tell us about your Oprah experience and how your novel being chosen as her first book club selection changed the path of your career forever.

Jacquelyn: It was second to the Harry Potter series, which is sort of like the Cubs being a great baseball team. But I'm a Cubs fan, and I'm gratified. I was only irritated when, after Oprah Winfrey recently chose Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" as one of her novels, one critic said now Ms. Winfrey was getting down to the real stuff, that she began her club with ‘inspirational fluff' such as "The Deep End of the Ocean" . Excuse me. Neither in my book nor "White Oleander" or "This Much I Know is True" is there a word of fluff, inspirational or not. That everyone didn't fall off a bridge and drown at the end is, I suppose, inspirational...anyhow, rant passed. It was a wonderful experience! I loved the people on the discussion group. I loved the baby carrots! I loved being the first anything (no one though the Oprah book club would succeed, because fiction had failed so miserably before on the show). I had NO IDEA it would become a bestseller... that is, a number one bestseller. It's given me the privilege to tell stories, though no other has sold nearly 4 million copies. But they've all been well-read and, with the exception of one, nicely reviewed (and that one REALLY deserved it). How has my life changed? I don't know. Some friends fell away. They didn't like how busy I'd become. That scored my heart. I have the same friends from long ago. I didn't change as a person in any sense. I learned I had enemies. Never knew that. I learned I was sought-after for things I couldn't do -- such as reviewing books. I'm still happiest being a mom, friend, wife and sister. My career is my job. It's a great job and I just love it and fall deeply into its web. But as a priority, it comes after the other things in my life that count.

Jen: You latest release, Still Summer, is similar to your previous work in the sense that it is so powerful, engrossing, and addictive. How did you arrive at the premise?

Jacquelyn: It was the only time I did the ‘What if?" exercise. I thought, what if four people who were friends for life found themselves in hell, but hell was paradise? What if they were women who had to save their own lives (hence the reason some people have called this a new genre, "chick noire,") but they were in circumstances that looked benign, but were as dangerous as Everest -- sun and salt water being as lethal as cold and wind at the end of that day. I wondered, what would that do to personalities, tear them apart? Build them up, both?

Jen: How much research went into the writing of this book? Are you an avid sailor?

Jacquelyn: Oh, sure, uh-huh. NO! We did go to the Virgin Islands to do research, for a long weekend -- my cousin Janis (who is referred to in the book as the cousin, Janis), my friend Karen (who is based on my pal Holly and on herself), my co-worked Pam English, who played the daughter part, and me....My friend Beth Gutcheon was to the yacht club born and helped me tinker with some terms; and my beloved friend and student Pat Kesling-Wood, whose new novel "Lottery" is just out, actually lives in Honolulu on a yacht called Orion. Her gang in the harbor all pulled together to make what went wrong on the Opus plausible. They helped so generously. The four of us who went to St. John's and took a four day sail on the real Opus -- which really is owned by two people called Lenny and Michelle -- except Micelle is a very pretty woman, not Michel, a French-Canadian man, got invaluable help. Lenny and Michelle let us tape hours of material about what things were called, how they stored food, how the motor worked, what could go wrong. Sailing is like flying. It's safe but not forgiving. If one thing goes wrong, so much else can go wrong in an instant. There's a tipping point... and it's amazing that more people don't have fatal accidents out there, especially what they call "bareboat" cruisers, who have a great deal of bravado and not much experience.

Jen: What part of STILL SUMMER was the most challenging to write and why?

Jacquelyn: There were two parts that were very hard to write. The part that involved the boarding of the ship by drug smugglers was difficult to create in a manner that involved dramatic tension, without making the two Hispanic smugglers into stereotypes. I mean, there weren't too many choices about how to create them, because "mules" who do the actually running of drugs from Third World countries where cocaine and heroin originate are not usually doing this because they're tired of working as investment bankers -- although investment bankers in the United States sometimes are the people who really profit from this, as from other nefarious kinds of behavior. The American kid who was introduced to the work and intended only to do it briefly was inspired by the true-life story ‘A Hole in My Life,' by Jack Gantos, who did almost exactly the same thing....In this situation, he could have done much to stop the encounter; but he also was afraid and was determined to do this in order to start his life over. The other part was the ending. It's called ‘Still Summer,' because so much had changed, for every one of the people, and it was still the same season: Only a few short weeks had passed. I wanted to create an ending that underlined the shock and ambivalence of that fact. It couldn't be a "happy" ending but there had to be some peace and resolution. I wrote an alternative ending, a sort of coda, and I may use it somewhere else.

Jen: Each of your lead characters in STILL SUMMER has a story to tell with plenty of baggage to tow. If you had to choose, who is your favorite character and why?

Jacquelyn: Well, I suppose it would be Holly Solvig. Holly was such a human being; and for her, the circumstances brought out a heroic character. Although she had so much to live for, she realized that her life's purpose had been saving lives, as a nurse; and that didn't change in crisis.

Jen: Not only have you written novels for adults, but also you have written children's books and now young adult. If you had to choose, which genre is the most rewarding to write and why?

Jacquelyn: Oh, I can't choose. I'm so new to writing young adult books that I'm all starry-eyed about it now and just LOVE it. You can take so many chances you can't necessarily take with a mainstream adult novel. I love the point of view of a teenage or young adult -- for whom every day is a lifetime and every incident is a universe. And of course, there are a hundred adult novels I want to write -- most notably a great ghost story. I won't live long enough to write all I want to write. The children's books are so incredibly moving to me. I'd love to write more... but I'd do middle-grade (third and fourth grade novels) because that's a fun time... reading it myself!

Jen: You stay quite busy writing books and a column, but you also contribute articles to many magazines. Please tell us how you manage to balance such a large family and a writing career. What does your typical work day look like?

Jacquelyn: Bedlam. I really can't make sugar-coat this. I have a hundred things going on at every moment, rocketing back and forth between the kids' needs and the needs of my work. My husband stays home, but unlike some writers' husbands who stay home, he doesn't really "take over." There are things I need and want to do and he has a great many interests and projects of his own. So, I'm torn. I work very long days because they're broken up into bits.

Jen: I have to admit that I was tickled when I read that your favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. (It is one of my all-time favorite books as well.) Besides that novel, what are some of your other favorite books? What are you reading now?

Jacquelyn: Some of my other all-time favorite books are The Child in Time, by Ian McEwan, everything by Brian Moore but especially The Great Victorian Collection and I Am Mary Dunne, Unless by Carol Shields, In the Gloaming by Alice Elliott Dark, Ordinary People by Judith Guest, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Pact by Jodi Picoult, The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian, Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman, More Than You Know by Beth Gutcheon, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty, The Great Gatsby by the Bard of Minnesota.... I could do this all day. You notice the absence of "real" novels, such as those by Thomas Pynchon and Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLilo and even Toni Morrison. I agree with B.R. Meyers, who wrote A Reader's Manifesto, about the pretentious and portentous quality of much modern literary fiction. I just don't have time to be bored by my leisure.

Jen: Please tell us about your website. (It's quite fabulous by the way. I love the graphics!) Do you have a newsletter? E-mail notification of new releases? Blog? Do you participate in author phone chats?

Jacquelyn: I am just starting a newsletter. The first one will go out in August. I do email notification of new releases and a multi-media presenter for each one. I write a blog and am learning to add photos to do. The website designer (Steve Bennett of AuthorBytes) is a stone genius at this stuff. I visit book clubs by phone almost every week and love it. And I have three lovely MySpace pages (oprah_author, deepend_author and stillsummerbook) that have some amazing graphics on them as well. It's like a second job (although I think I already have three or four). I like my website to be a clubhouse where people can come and hang out and read or listen to a couple of things at a time, not just read my (nicer) reviews or stories about me.

Jen: Are you currently working on a new project? If so, what can you tell us about it?

Jacquelyn: I've just finished a novel about two people who become, essentially, each other's life support -- who would never have met except for one critical factor in their lives, surrogate pregnancy. They never meet face-to-face and they may mean more to each other at some points than anyone else on earth. I'm just starting a novel about a mother who knows her son committed a kind of crime...and I'll soon be writing book two of my series of novels about psychics Mallory and Meredith Brynn, born one minute before and one minute after New Year's Eve, one who can see only the future and one who can see only the past. An incident on their thirteenth birthday (which isn't the same day, or even in the same year, but which they celebrate on New Year's Eve) changes them forever in that they can no longer see each other's dreams but begin dreaming of events -- not such great events but actually threatening events -- that will or have happened to people they know....

Jen: I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to be with my readers. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you. I wish you all the best!

Jacquelyn: I loved doing this. The questions were fun. Please encourage everyone to come to my website, www.jackiemitchard.com, listen to the podcasts, and ask me to visit their book clubs or leave a comment. The readers are what this is all about. A book isn't completed until the reader takes my hand, you know. It's a dance; and I'm not writing these for myself! Thank you for having me. I hope you enjoyed our chat and please check out her website. It's very impressive and it is chock full of interesting tidbits. Speaking of which, five people to anwer with Jackie's website address will win a copy of STILL SUMMER. Good luck!

In early September, I'll be interviewing Michael Gates Gill, author of How Starbucks Saved my Life. You won't want to miss it! Enjoy what's left of the summer!

Until next month...Jen