Isabel Gillies promoting her book, Starry Night, as a guest entry writer and doing Q&A for bloggers
Fiction Folio; August 26, 2014- Q&A
Q: Where did you get the idea for Starry Night? Is the story inspired by a personal experience?
A: Starry Night has had a long and twisty road — but a fun one. I was inspired by love, teenagers, family, friends, school, walks in Central Park, heartbreak. And yes, lots of it was inspired by my own experiences, how could it not be? But a ton of it is made up, too. I think of it like a blended soup. All the vegetables go into the pot looking like what they are: broccoli, potatoes, etc, but then you put an emersion blender in there, whiz it around, and it transforms into something entirely different in texture and shape, even the taste will change. So if there was anything “real” from my life at the start of the book, it’s been soup-i-fied.
Q: You’ve had two highly successful memoirs published in the past few years. What made you want to switch gears and write a young adult novel, and what was the hardest part about making the switch?
A: I needed a break from memoir. It’s sort of exhausting to reveal so much of yourself that is real real real, so real people can say, “I remember when that happened!” I knew that I wanted to try fiction and I adore teenagers. I have three tweens in the house and I am fascinated by them. It’s definitely the most fun I have had as a mother. I love their conversations, their points of view, their ideas. I even love the back-talk! It’s scary because they are on their own in many ways, and have to fall down so they will learn how to navigate their way in life, but it’s colorful and rich and exciting. I LOVED being a teenager. The highs and lows are extremely clear, the feelings are big, bold, and so much happens. I fell in love for the first time as a teenager and it blew my socks off! I couldn’t get over how intense and incredible it was. It made sense to try my hand at fiction and have the main characters be teenagers. But it’s HARD! Writing fiction is so hard I had no idea. It took me three entire 400 page drafts just to get something that didn’t stink. I love this book for a couple different reasons, but one big one is that I did it at all!
Q: Can you share a phrase from Starry Night that you’re most proud of?
A: Well, the parts that keep popping to the top of my head are all the conversations Wren has with her parents Nan and David. I wanted to make the parents and secondary characters feel real and flushed out. In my first draft I neglected to do that. I didn’t mean to leave them out but I was so focused on Wren and Nolan I sort of spaced out on everyone else. My editor alerted me to this mistake and so I spent the rest of my time writing the book thinking hard about everyone who surrounds Nolan and Wren. Wren’s little sister Dinah says funny stuff — I dig her. Actually one thing Dinah says is, “Your ass is grass.” Anytime I think of her saying that in the book I smile.
Q: What are some of your favorite YA books? Did any inspire your writing in Starry Night?
A: Oh I love Judy Blume. I loved her when I was a teenager and I loved reading her The Pain & The Great One series to my kids not so long ago. She is awesome. I loved Wonder, The Catcher In The Rye, The Outsiders, The Fault in Our Stars, and Every Day by David Levithan. I love watching my kids read so many great looking books that I wish I could read, but end up not reading because I fall asleep too fast at night. I love and am inspired by John Hughes movies, and I know they are not books, but who cares if the work stays with you, feels true and real and inspires you all over the place.
Q: If you could meet one author, living or dead, who would it be and why?
A: This answer could go a million ways, but today, I think I would like to meet J.K Rowling. My kids are reading The Harry Potter series for the second time and they are OBSESSED — again! They all talk and talk and talk about Harry and Hogwarts, etc etc until the light goes out and they fall asleep. Those books melted in to all three of my children and I would love to go on a long walk with the author just to feel her vibe.
The Compulsive Reader; August 27, 2014- Guest Blogger
New York just by itself is romantic -- It has a heart beat. I’m not kidding. All you have to do (and I urge you to do it one day, if not today) is walk by yourself for three blocks and pay attention. It doesn’t matter where you are in the city. Midtown, The East Village, Chelsea, Harlem, SOHO – doesn’t matter, you just need to be able to absorb it. Take a deep breath, open your eyes and ears and start walking. At first it may be overwhelming (kind of like love), you may feel too much. So many people, so many noises, smells, voices, it can take your breath away, but stay with it. In about a block, you get your pace. You begin to be in step with the people around you, you start to grove a little. And very soon after, you can feel the heart beat. It definitely comes from below and I’m pretty sure the subways racing below you add to it. It’s extremely cool and pretty sexy. Anyway, I fell in love with my first boyfriend in NYC and my last, that last one is now my husband. It’s an awesome place to fall in love.
Here are some places:
Central Park is an obvious place to start. Actually, lets bust it open to all parks in NYC. There are quite a few romantic movies that have Central Park in them. Enchanted, When Harry Met Sally, Hair, to name a few. But the reason I think it’s romantic is because you can walk there. Walk and walk and walk. People fall in love when they walk and talk. Maybe it has something to do with the blood flow? You can hold hands, you can comment on all the great things happening around you, like a beautiful tree or bridge. Or you might walk next to kids playing and that might trigger some kind of maybe-we-will-be-married-one-day feeling? There are ice cream carts here and there, so there might be an opportunity to share an ice cream sandwich? And you can feel far away from life in Central Park – it’s an escape. I have DEFINITELY been in love in that park. That park pulses with romance.
Okay, I think that Washington Square Park is exceedingly romantic. And I mean right under the Arch. I was given a pretty great kiss under that Arch when I was at New York University, so maybe that is why I think it’s romantic, but it is in general. There are all these fantastic NYU students swarming around, and I find learning and college life a turn on. There is also almost always someone playing music, or drums, and that is exhilarating. You are in the heart of Greenwich Village, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t think that is really fun. All of those elements make that spot extremely romantic.
Coffee Shops. Yup. Just you plain old coffee shop. I think it’s because of the French fries. Any opportunity to share creates romance, and French Fries are a great way to start. Two milk shakes and a plate of fries in a booth = romance.
MOVIE THEATERS! Okay, I know there are movie theaters everywhere, and I one hundred percent believe that going to the movies ANYWERE is romantic, but I will go out on a limb and say that going to the movies in NYC is one of the greatest romantic things to do on this earth. Better than a sunset. Here’s why: It’s a mini adventure. There is the arrangement to meet in front of the theater, and that is so fun and lovely. Maybe it’s the most romantic part? How I am picturing it is, one person is walking towards the theater having just come from the subway (another romantic spot believe it or not), and the other person is waiting – maybe reading a magazine or a book, and then there is the moment when you both look up and see each other. It’s SUCH A GREAT MOMENT! Big smiles, big expectations for the adventure. Romance.
The Met! Of course a lot of Starry Night takes place in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and that is because it is (in my opinion) one of the romantic bulls’ eyes in all of the world. I think it’s those steps that do it. Even when the museum is closed those steps are magical. I think millions of people have fallen in love on those steps -- and that is part of the magic. Not only do you feel the weight and power of centuries of art, but you feel love. I know someone once fell in love with me just BECAUSE I took him to sit on the steps.
If you can get on a rooftop, that is always good for romance. I think the Staten Island Ferry is extremely romantic. Looking at the Hudson River is romantic. The seedy bars of East Village are romantic. The cherry blossoms in the West Village are wonderfully romantic, if you can be in NYC in April…
Let’s face it, almost anywhere in NYC is down right romantic."
Green Bean Teen Queen; August 28, 2014- Q&A
Q: What inspired you to write for teens?
I ADORE teenagers! No joke. First of all, I loved being a teenager. It's so big. The highs and lows are clearly defined, but at the same time life is bewildering. All the unbelievable growing invigorated me. I fell in love for the first time, followed the grateful dead, did badly in school and then got my act together and did well, I got myself in to messes and got out of them (thankfully), made big decisions, went on adventures (in my mind sometimes), etc. It's an explosive time and I remember liking it even when it was happening to me. Second of all, I have three tweens in my house and I really love it. So far it's the best time I have ever had as a parent. They are interesting and funny and infuriating all in good ways. So I wanted to write about it.
Q: You've previously written a memoir. Was it different to write a novel? Was it harder or easier?
A: HARDER! I wanted to try it, and I want to try it again, but man was it hard. It took me three 400+ page drafts and the first two stank pretty badly. I learned a ton. Everyday there was a new challenge that I had never met before. And the thing is, I am not a trained writer! I mean, my teachers in high school did the best they could, but I was a trained actress and never took a writing class. So I was in the dark for a lot of this process. But sometimes while I was writing, I felt swept away by the story and the emotions in the book. And the characters, I sort of fell in love with them. That stuff is magical. I adore writing memoir because it's all about getting what is inside out so someone else can feel it and hopefully identify, and there is a natural structure. You have to make your own structure in a novel and that is HARD. But it's fun.
Q: What were some of your favorite books as a teen?
A: Well here is the deal with that. I was not a "reader". I was so dyslexic that I was traumatized by books until I was in my early twenties. I was not one of those kids that loved to curl up with a book. Infact that was my idea of cruel toucher. But one book I read in school really stuck with me and is popping into my head now. It's called Go Down Moses by William Faulkner. That book hit me like a ton of bricks. At it's core it's about a family, but it's also about slavery, and getting through hard times. It's not a light read by any means, and maybe it's good to read it in English class like I did -- but it's awesome. I might even read it again.
Paper Cuts; August 29, 2014- Guest Blogger
First Love?
I was going to write about first love for this piece, but two days ago I heard about something so upsetting I must write about it because it’s haunting me, and in my mind the very opposite of what I think falling in love for the first time is. A friend who has a teenage daughter told me about a trend (I guess trend is the correct word, maybe behavior) that has swept the nation, or at least some high schools she knew of. Here is how it goes: A kid in her child’s school, a girl, will get a text from a boy, it could be a boy she knows -- or one she only knows of. This text will give a location within the school, like “the downstairs utility closet” or “The equipment shed” that serves as the meeting place, and there will be an appointed time. Then the two kids meet and without speaking, a sexual act is performed. Apparently it’s typically the girl who performs this act, again without speaking, and when it’s done, they leave each other. Again, without speaking. At this particular school it’s called, “scorning”.
Saddened and in disbelief, I have spoken to a number of other mothers-of-teens I know about this phenomenon, hoping that it was a one off, that it wasn’t true. They all knew of it –some of the mothers believed that their daughters may have already done this thing, so it must be true, at least in these parts.
Maybe I am naïve, but the alarm I feel about this is so real, I have tears in my eyes at as I write this. What has happened? Where did we go so off track that the uniquely slow, gentle, childlike and beautiful act of falling in love as a young person is in jeopardy? Are kids not writing each other love notes and shoving them in lockers? Have adolescent hearts stopped beating out of their chests at just the thought that they might hold hands with their crush at the football game? Are communications of love not being passed along by friends? What has happened to the sentence (said with excitement and anticipation), “Molly/Mark/Susan/Joe, is sweet on you.”
Is it the smart phone and texting that have endangered the natural and wonderful progression of two people falling for each other, talking all night, kissing at the door after a date -- writing love letters? Because if it has, I beg the companies to stop making those horrible devices. I pray for time to stop so we can look at this blight and arrest it. I call to the schools to assemble and bust this open, and urge students to read Romeo & Juliet, or watch Sixteen Candles by John Hughes.
I am not going to get into the perplexing idea that the feminist movement has had no bearing on these young people, someone smarter than I can handle that. What I am undone by, is that if this is true, that it could be the end of something I have always treasured, romance.
My friend said that sometimes relationships can come out of these silent, and in my opinion degrading hook ups. But I have to ask what chance does this “relationship” have if it started in such an unceremonious way? What kind of relationship starts like that? I don’t want to sound condescending, but before it does become normal to get so intimate with a boy without speaking to him at great length first, can I protest? Can I raise my hand high and yell stop? I cannot imagine how both children must feel afterwards – it must be excruciatingly lonely. Do these kids want something else? Do they long to be courted, asked out respectfully and with reverence and then appreciated for who they are? Do they even know there is another way? Do they know about romance? It seemed like when I was a teenager all we thought about was romance, and there was romance to be had! But if I wasn’t surrounded by it, and if I was in the same position as these young girls seem to be in, would I do the same? I bet I would.
My fear is that it’s gone. That technology has finally gotten the best of us, and our beloved children who can’t or won’t speak to each other, will miss out on the most beautiful of processes. Falling in love for the first time involves intangible magic, but it also involves diligence, work, and effort. And it requires romance.
If what I am hearing is true, I resolve right now to talk to my burgeoning tweens openly and frankly to warn them that there is a dangerous pitfall waiting for them that they must try with all their might to avoid. If I don’t and they miss out all the blissful, sometimes painful steps you take in falling in love for the first time, I will never forgive myself.
Love Is Not a Triangle; August 30, 2014- Q&A
Q: Would you explain Starry Night to us in one 140 character tweet?
A: A love story. New York. Teenagers. Family. Friends. School. Falling in love for the first time. Growing up.
Q: You have themes of friendship, first love, following your dreams, and heartbreak in your story, is there anything you wish you could tell your 15 year old self through Wren’s journey in this book?
A: What I didn't know when I was 15 is that failing, making mistakes and getting it wrong are all GOOD things. I spent a lot of time in my life getting it wrong and it ends up being worth it. You learn tremendous amounts from failing.
Q: If you could use one word to describe your heroine Wren at the beginning of this story and then one word for the end, what would you pick?
A: Love this question -- But I'm having a hard time answering! Okay, what changes, and it's a huge change, is that she goes from someone who has never been in love to someone who has. Is there a word for that? Wren is transformed by falling in love. Falling in love is like someone smacking you in the face, there is no question that it has happened to you. You might as well turn a different color once you have fallen in love. So maybe Wren is yellow at the start and blue at the end.
Q: Wren is an artist who is inspired by Vincent Van Gough and especially his painting Starry Night, is there a piece of art or artist who inspires you?
A: The Unfinished Pieta by Michael Angelo. I saw that sculpture when I was 14 in Italy and it moved me to tears. As it's unfinished you can see the raw stone and the figures that he had begun to sculpt, so it's like life being born out of the rock. It's The Virgin Mary holding her dead son after he had been taken off the cross. I am not particularly religious, what you feel in this sculpture is humanity. A mother mourning her child. It kills you -- even at 14 I got it.
Q: Have you ever experienced any crazy weather events that made you think something was about to happen – like the wind that sweeps through the city when Wren meets Nolan?
A: For my entire life! Almost every year, or a few times a year, the wind -- or a storm brewing makes me think and feel that something big will happen. And lots of times it does. Think of thunder, so romantic with it's rolling, strong voice, but also ominous. I bet a thunder has sent many a couple in to a great kiss or break up. Weather is close to us and it's extremely powerful, it changes our days and bosses us around. In my first book (which was a memoir), there were low, dramatic clouds in the place that I lived. I always thought those clouds meant something, and it turned out they did, at least to me! I always take note of the weather.
Thank you so much for talking to me today!
Gone With the Words; August 31, 2014- Guest Blogger
The Meeting
I know I am supposed to be writing about love and paintings in the days just before my book about love and paintings comes out, but what’s on my mind are meetings. And I mean like seemingly boring, wonky meetings – like PTA meetings. I have heard my whole life that you should write about what interests you. It’s not that love doesn’t interest me, quite the opposite, I’m obsessed and have been since I slept with the Sean Cassidy record under my pillow, it’s just that I have something else on my brain today.
This summer I have been involved with a number of issues in my community. One of them is ticks. On the island in Maine where my parents live all year, and I live in the summer, we are having a health crisis of sorts. It’s happening all over the country. People are getting Lyme Disease, and other tick-born illnesses from these darn ticks that use deer as breeding grounds. IT’S A MASSIVE PROBLEM! I will not go into it because it’s so big, and complex and if you are not as deep-in as I am, I guess it’s sort of inside baseball, but I will say everyone is having a hard time figuring out what to do – and we have a lot of meetings about it, and they are sooo interesting. It’s not what we are talking about that is so fascinating, it’s what happens with the people.
Here’s why I am now crazy in love with meetings: Communication! I am in awe of what gets done when people gather around a table and talk and listen. We think, or maybe I think, because we have worlds of information at our fingertips with the internet, and because we can reach someone in seconds with a text, that we are all set, no need to actually see each other to get to the bottom of a problem. It’s my experience this summer that all that is hooey! We must gather, face to face and hash out the idea and concerns of the day.
I would love to know if there is any science behind the meeting. If you think of ancient history, people gathered around the fire to figure out how to get the illusive buffalo, or solve a crisis because of drought, right? It’s King Arthur and the Round Table. That table is where they planed the battles. I’m certainly not the first person to say it’s important to assemble, it’s just that since I don’t work in an office and I haven’t been in school in a while, I have forgotten how amazing it is to be a part of a group trying to come to a solution or brain storm. It’s like watching growth. You start with a problem. People think, throw out ideas – time passes – the idea goes away, and then magically turns up again, but maybe this time a different person puts it forward, it’s slightly changed, better maybe, eye brows raise, people say, “Hey – that could be really cool and might work!” And before you know it everyone has agreed and is high five-ing and feeling satisfied that whatever needed to get done, will.
I am leaving these meetings feeling kind of in love. I think the reason for that is, at its essence, being in love is the communication of feelings. Two people bouncing off each other, mingling and connecting. Now, I don’t want to hold hands and make out in the movie theater with the people I’m in the meeting with, but I do feel close to them, closer than before we met. That is community man, and I dig it.
Jenuine Cupcakes; September 2, 2014- Q&A
Q: I'm sure you get asked this question a lot, but, what inspired you to write STARRY NIGHT-girl inside us. "Loving you is red." Do you get what that means on very basic level? I do, and I think for Wren, loving Nolan is red.
Q: Do you have a favorite Artist?
A: I have MANY!! Van Gogh, John Singer Sargent, John Hughes, Tom Petty, Natalie Merchant, Whoever created Bobs Burgers, Yo Yo Ma, George Balanchine, so many actors hard to list, James Taylor, Winslow Homer, my kids -- there are millions.
Q: What was the last book you read and loved?
A: The Goldfinch. That was a good ride. Donna Tart is so detailed and she is so spot on it makes you want to weep. Something is awesome about reading a 900 page book too. Fun.
Q: What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever been given?
A: Write every day. (Stephen King said that in his memoir On Writing.)
Q: I ask all my visitors to the blog a dessert related question... Brownies, cupcakes or ice cream?
A: Oh brownies, fo' shizz! BROWNIES!!!! I want one
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