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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What made you write the story?
It actually just “happened” to me. I’d wanted
to start another major writing project for some time and had toyed with the subject
of the heredity of family dysfunction, but had decided to wait for the Christmas
holidays to begin. This novel had other plans! I was sitting around my apartment
one afternoon in late October when Shayla’s little face popped into my mind, followed
closely by a vague idea of Shelby’s heritage and her journey to BFA. I tried to
talk myself into waiting until December to launch into writing, but the story simply
would not rest. The title came to me first, and after I typed the first line, “Shards
of Shell” began to write itself. I spent the better part of the following nine days
lying either on my couch or in my bed, staring at my computer screen, and watching
the first draft of the story emerge.
Do you outline the whole story before you
start to write?
Not at all. I wish I were the type of writer
who charts every plot element before beginning to type. It would make the whole
process much less daunting! But there is magic in letting myself be guided by the
characters—in watching them evolve as they suffer, dream, and overcome. Thus the
writing experience is a voyage of discovery, unplanned and often startling. I’m
more a witness of the journey than its rigid architect, and I can’t imagine a more
galvanizing adventure. The Huddle Hut, for instance, completely surprised me. It
came out of Shelby and Trey’s minds, not mine, but I fell instantly in love with
the safe place it represents. Trey himself was unplanned, yet he subtly wove his
way into the fabric of the narrative. Interestingly, he started out as “Kerr,” but
my fingers kept substituting “Trey” as I typed, so I gave in to the story’s wishes
and dutifully made the change. Even now, with the novel approaching publication,
I feel it as a creation that breathes in spite of me, and the process that “birthed”
it remains in great part a mystery.
Is Shelby a fictional version of you?
She and I are alike in some ways. We share
cheesecake cravings, chin obsessions, and a tendency to leave people bewildered.
The first play I directed at BFA was “Shadowlands”—which also links me to her character.
But we’re not carbon copies of each other. I don’t have major hair issues—no more
than the average woman does! And I do exercise a lot more than Shelby, but I think
that has more to do with a looming midlife crisis than with any athletic ambitions!
The fragile part of Shelby is one I’ve intimately known. I lived many years among
the walking wounded before finding redemption for my scars. And as with Shelby,
God used patient pursuit and the love of others to bring me to this point. More
than anything, I want Shelby to be a reflection of all women whose various struggles
represent a much greater malaise: dissatisfaction with ourselves, with the expectations
of others and with the often maiming vagaries of life. To me, Shelby symbolizes
hope—a woman who has suffered, survived, and grown to thrive.
Are any of the characters real people?
Yes—though some of them are amalgams. Seth
is based on Aaron, the astonishing and captivating actor who played C.S. Lewis when
I directed “Shalowlands.” Meagan was in the first English class I taught and still
holds a special place in my heart. Shelby’s lunch companions are five seniors who
graduated in ‘06 and virtually lived in my apartment during their senior year. I
miss them dearly. Simon, Thomas, Ahram, Alyssa…and so many others. They’re all luminous
gems in my memory’s treasure-trove. Bev reminds me of a dear Texan friend called
Jane, and Trey bears strong similarities to my old buddy Grayson. As for Scott,
everybody’s number one concern, he’s entirely a figment of my imagination. It’s
called “fiction” after all!
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