Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry

Sara J. Henry’s debut suspense novel, Learning to Swim (Crown, Feb. 22, 2011), been called “emotional, intense, and engrossing” by Lisa Unger and an “auspicious debut” by Daniel Woodrell. In her previous lives Sara has been a soil scientist, sports writer, newspaper editor, correspondence writing school instructor, book editor, bicycle mechanic, copyeditor, and webmaster. She’s from Tennessee and now calls southern Vermont home. Her website is SaraJHenry.com.  Here's a link to the first chapter of LEARNING TO SWIM.

LEARNING TO SWIM

by Sara J. Henry

Yes, it’s an exciting (and busy) time with my first novel about to come out, and finishing up the sequel. For this post I’ve chosen some of my favorite questions from a round of interviews (picture me sitting around with all these people asking me questions – no, of course, these were all emailed exchanges ... but it’s a nice image.) And thanks to Kaye for hosting me here, and to the interviewers.

Learning to Swim opens with a disturbing scene, that of a young child being thrown off a ferry into Lake Champlain. What was the inspiration for that scene? And was that one scene the inspiration for the entire book itself? – Adam Purple

I was driving along Lake Champlain in upstate New York on an overcast day and just imagined that scene: a woman on one ferry seeing the child going overboard from the ferry going the opposite direction and in a split second making the decision to dive into the lake after him. It stuck with me, and when I finally sat down to write a novel, that was the first chapter. And yes, it was the inspiration for the whole book, and I can tell you, it was a challenge coming up with a plot that fit that little boy and that woman: how they ended up on those passing ferries and how their lives intertwined.

So, it was killing me as I read – how much of the protagonist Troy Chance is you, or should I say how much of you is in her? – Joanna McNeal

If I say she’s a lot like me, it seems I don’t have enough imagination to create a main character out of thin air. But if I say she isn’t at all like me – I’m lying. I think many first-time novelists use a lot of themselves in their first-person main character. Mine lives in the house where I used to live in Lake Placid and worked at the newspaper where I used to work, and many of her experiences and feelings are mine. We both like bicycles and computers and dogs and kids. And when I write her, I am her.

Before it was sold, how long did it take you to write Learning to Swim? – Reed Farrel Coleman

The first draft appeared over a decade ago – I churned it out in less than eight months, largely because I was meeting with another writer who expected me to hand over chapters every week and I didn’t want to show up empty-handed (thank you, Mac Clayton). Unfortunately the middle of the book was a complete muddle and I had no idea how to rewrite, so it went in a drawer for a very long time.

I’d take it out and stare at it occasionally, and poke at it, like prodding a sleeping tiger, then put it away again. Then I broke my foot, had surgery and went off to Australia on crutches for a five-week house swap. There I learned to rewrite and earned the nickname “Boot Girl” from Michael Robotham, who I’d met briefly at a Bouchercon – and who told me I had to change the original title of the book because it sounded like a Bobbsey Twins book.

Was it difficult to get an agent and publisher interested? – Adam Purple

No. I know that sounds cheeky, but once the rewrite was done, it all happened very quickly. Mind you, I revised until I was literally wearing Band-aids on my fingers and I thought my brain would break. (And long ago a friend had offered the manuscript to half a dozen publishers, who said politely: Er, the middle needs work. Then another friend's agent took a look and said, My, you certainly can write, which translated to But you can't plot worth a damn.) But once the rewrite was done I sent out queries and my first chapter, and requests came rolling in. It was surreal. Like winning a lottery you didn't know you'd entered.

In general, what kind of books do you best like to read? Favorite authors? – Deb Boyken

I like books with realistic inner dialogue and strong characterization, and I tend to lean toward somewhat quirky books. Two favorites this past year, Innocent Monster and Please Ignore Vera Dietz are by personal friends, Reed Farrel Coleman and A.S. King. I adored The Memory Of Running by Ron McLarty; I recently read and loved Falling Under by Danielle Younge-Ullman; I’m mad about the new series by Jodi Compton, who shares an agent with me (clearly my agent has wonderful taste) and a book called Benighted by Kit Whitfield, and I read everything by my Aussie friend Michael Robotham. Oh, and Daniel Woodrell, who is simply brilliant. Start with Winter’s Bone, and don’t stop.

I know you have ties to the south. Why New York and Vermont? Isn't it cold there? It seems like such a foreign place to a southerner like myself. – Joanna McNeal

I was born and grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and lived for years in Nashville. My first full-time job was in Adirondacks in upstate New York, as the sports editor on the daily newspaper there, and I nearly froze my tail off before I learned how to dress warmly enough (layers, lots of layers, and Sorel boots with thick wool liners). Later, at a crossroads in life, a friend who lived in Vermont said, “Why don’t you come up here and work at the bicycle shop?” and so I did – I’m glad no one suggested going to work on a freighter or moving to Antarctica. But in many ways Vermont suits me – I can run to the grocery store or post office in ripped painting overalls and no one gives me a second look.

Are you going to haunt your local bookstore on publication day? (Feb. 22) – Deb Boyken

Nope, I’m going to be in New York, getting ready to launch at Partners & Crime in Greenwich Village at 7 pm, Wednesday, Feb. 23. Anyone in New York, come on down.

Is there anything else you'd like us to know about you and/or your book? – Margo Kelly

I can beat Scott Phillips at arm wrestling. Or almost, anyway. And the sequel to this book will be out next year.

An Interview with Reed Farrel Coleman by Sara J. Henry

Reed Farrel Coleman has published eleven novels—two under his pen name Tony Spinosa—in three series, and the stand-alone Tower co-written with award-winning Irish author Ken Bruen. He’s won the Shamus Award for Best Novel of the Year three times, won the Barry and Anthony, and twice been nominated for the Edgar. He is a co-editor of The Lineup and was the editor of the anthology Hard Boiled Brooklyn. You can reach Reed on his website, Facebook, or Twitter. 

Innocent Monster (Tyrus Books, Oct. 5, 2010) delves into the art world and the life of a young artist “wunderkind” – what took you down this path and what type of research did you do?

I think child prodigies are a fascinating subject. As crazy and dysfunctional as my childhood was, at least I had one. What if you were never allowed to have a childhood? Worse, what if you were your family’s sole source of income? Talk about the child being father to the man. I also saw a documentary on a childhood prodigy artist. It was very well done and Innocent Monster deals, in a fictional way, with many of the questions raised during the documentary. Lastly, my son is an artist and, when he gets out of college, this is the world he’ll be stepping into.  

With this book, you came up with the title first, and built the book around it. Has that happened before, or do you usually come up with your titles later?

I always have a title for my novels before I write them, but I have never had a title so completely influence the book itself. I was just playing with words one day and the two words innocent and monster appeared in my head in juxtaposition. Wow! I was like, now there’s a title I can do something with. I didn’t know then that the title would do something with me.

Why is your main character, Moe Prager, such a terrible swimmer?

Because I’m a terrible swimmer. Moe and I have that in common. I didn’t swim at all until I had kids. Then I learned enough to swim if I had to.

Your five other Moe Prager novels are now available in reprint paperback editions, eBooks, and recorded books through Audible.com. How important are these publication options?

I wish they weren’t important, but they are, especially to younger readers and people who travel a lot. To deny their increasing relevance is to deny the obvious truth of things. I do, however, believe that paper books aren’t going anywhere just yet and that they shall always be a part of the market.  

Some of the characters in Innocent Monster – including a dog – are named after friends of yours. How do they react to this?

The dogs or my friends? :-) My friends think it’s a great honor. It’s also a way for me to pay back some folks in the industry who have been kind to me along the way.

All your Moe books now have been recorded – tell us what that experience has been like.

Luckily, I’ve become pretty friendly with Andy Caploe, the gentleman who performs the Moe books for Audible.com. We spoke early on and he asked me to do something for him I had always previously resisted. He asked me to cast the books. I never tell people who would play Moe in a movie or who would play Mr. Roth or Katy. I want readers to see who they see, not who I see. But Andy explained that it makes it easier for him if he has a particular actor in mind when he voice books. So I gave Andy a cast for each book. The funny thing was his asking me to cast characters I’d forgotten about. Andy would send me an email asking about so and so and there I’d be, sitting at my desk, looking feverishly through my books for that character.

Describe Moe’s perfect meal – what and where. And maybe with whom.

That’s a funny question because I don’t think of Moe in terms of food. I know kosher deli would be his comfort food. But his perfect meal … Thai crispy duck in tamarind sauce comes to mind. A mixed green salad with peanut dressing. Mango ice cream. A nice Santa Barbara Pinot Noir to start. A French cabernet with the duck. Perrier Jouet Champagne with dessert. He would choose to have his meal with Katy, the Katy he fell in love with just after they met.  

You shocked some of your fellow writers recently when you signed onto Twitter – why were they so surprised, and why did you finally take the plunge?

Because I’m a Luddite at heart and I have always felt that my energies should be put into the writing and not the marketing.

When and where will we see Moe again?

Hopefully next year in Moe #7, Hurt Machine

Have you ever considered spinning off some of your characters into their own books, as Michael Robotham has done?

Yes, actually I have. I have toyed with spinning off Carmella Melendez, but I’m not sure there’s any demand for it. I already have a million books in my head to write.

What other projects are on the horizon?

I’m considering doing a few collaborations. I have a short story anthology project about the Holocaust that’s been in the works for years with Busted Flush.And there are several stand-alones I want to write. And I think maybe I’ve got an eighth Moe book in me.

To close, a Reed Farrel Coleman poem:

The Dying Man

His chest heaves.

He shudders.

There’s a red dot,

a dime-sized hole in

the belly of

the dying man.

The dying man has a name

but I don’t know it.

No one helps the dying man.

We want him to ask for help.

We wait for permission.

Simon says help the dying man.

The ambulance comes.

Men poke at the dying man.

The dying man’s chest

does not heave.

His fat body does not shudder.

The dying man stops dying.

He’s the dead man now.

He’s the murdered man now, forever.

The murdered man had a name.

I will never know it.

Reed Farrel Coleman

(originally published in The Lineup, Issue 2)

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Interviewer Sara J. Henry’s first novel, Learning to Swim, will be available from Crown in February 2011. Visit her at www.sarajhenry.com.