Saturday Extra: Ann Tatlock Interview Part 2

How important is setting in a novel? In your opinion, do you think a publisher would turn down a well-researched and well-written novel simply because it's set in a time period that many others have been written in (such as the Civil War, the mid-1880’s Prairie...)?

Since I'm not in the book publisher's chair but have always been on the other side of the desk, it's hard for me to say. My guess would be yes, a book might be turned down because the setting has been overused. Then again, if there’s something about the novel that really makes it unique, it may well have a good chance of being picked up. I think freshness--in writing, plot, and character--might weigh more heavily than setting when it comes to accepting or rejecting a novel.

Do you have any tips on organizing research? What works for you?

I keep large notebooks of information I've gathered for a particular novel, whether it's something I've run off the Internet or photocopied from a book. I three-hole punch everything and put it in the notebook, along with a tag (made from a Post-It sticker) telling me what it is. Sounds old-fashioned but it works for me.

What is your opinion on the old writing adage: "Write what you know?"

If that were true, I'm not sure I'd have much to write about. Oh dear, that doesn’t sound quite right, does it? But this adage, as I understand it, means to write from your own experience and as author Reynolds Price has said, "Most productive writers live calmer lives than winkles." It's true. And who wants to write about the doings of a sea snail, much less read about it? So of course, we have to write about what we don't know, by first finding out about it and making it something we do know. That's why research is so important.

Although all your books are not classified as historical fiction, you do write in historical eras. How did you choose the time periods your books are set in?

Twentieth-century America offers a varied and exciting array of backdrops for the novelist. Think of it: World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Right era, Vietnam, terrorism. I've either used or alluded to all of these eras, because the true stories that come out of them are stories of struggle, perseverance and genuine faith. What we've been through--and survived--as a nation fascinates me.

Booklist wrote this about your second novel: "In A Place Called Morning, Tatlock once more avoids the formulaic conventions so common to Christian fiction to tell the story of Mae Demaray, a widow in her late sixties overcome with grief and guilt for her negligence the day her young grandson was killed." What do you think the reviewer meant by "the formulaic conventions common to Christian fiction?" Was this something you consciously tried to avoid?

Since I wasn't aware of these formulaic conventions at the time I was writing "A Place Called Morning" (and I still don't know what they are), it's safe to say I wasn't consciously trying to avoid them. This seems like a left-handed compliment, doesn't it, because the reviewer praised my work by negating the work of others, and I've never liked that. A novel should simply stand or fall of its own merit and not be compared to others.

Speaking of reviews, you have had some wonderful ones. How important are reviews to a novelist's career?

I honestly don't know. Judging from my own experience, good reviews don't seem to help a person reach best-seller status. As far as my personal take on reviews, my motto is: "Don't let the good ones go to your head, and don't let the bad ones go to your heart." Either way, you just keep writing and doing what God has called you to do.

You won a Christy Award for All the Way Home. What was that like?

When I received the Christy Award, of course I was honored, thrilled, humbled, surprised. But to tell you the truth, when I learned I was a finalist, I didn't even know for certain what a Christy was. Only afterward did I realize that in Christian publishing, it's viewed as something of a prestigious award. I guess I'm kind of oblivious to those things because, for me, the joy of writing is a huge thrill and an end in itself. I'm tickled to death just knowing God called me to serve Him this way.

What project are you working on that you’d like to tell us about?

For the very first time I'm writing "what I know." My current WIP (writer-talk for Work In Progress) takes place in Delaware, where I grew up. The setting is the campus of a preparatory school that I attended as a day student. While the story line is completely fictional, the school actually exists (under a different name) and some of the smaller events in the book come out of my own experience. It's kind of fun!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers of PASTimes?

I'd just like to mention the importance of keeping the past alive. We're probably all familiar with the words of philosopher George Santayana: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." If we can even begin to learn the lessons from the thousands of lives already lived, we will ourselves be so much wiser and our own lives so much richer. Historical novels, if they accurately portray another era, play a great part in making sure history doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of the present and in the press toward the future. Best to be forward-looking while maintaining that valuable 20/20 hindsight!

Thank you, Ann, for sharing your wisdom with us today!