TBR [to be read] is a semi-regular, invitation-only
interview series with authors of newly released/forthcoming, interesting books
who will tell us about their new work as well as offer tips on writing, stories
about the publishing biz, and from time to time, a recipe!
Give us your elevator
pitch: what’s your book about in 2-3 sentences?
Woman 99 is a
historical thriller about a young woman whose attempts to rescue her sister
from a notorious insane asylum risk her sanity, her safety and her life. Once
Charlotte is inside Goldengrove Asylum, she finds that many of the women there
are more inconvenient than insane, and she discovers secrets that certain very
powerful people will do anything to keep.
Which character did
you most enjoy creating? Why? And, which character gave you the most trouble,
and why?
I really love Martha McCabe, one of the other inmates
Charlotte meets in the asylum, who sort of elbowed her way into the narrative.
She wasn’t even in my original synopsis, but once she showed up, she reshaped
the entire story. One of the ways institutions keep people in line is to
threaten and enforce consequences. Martha spits in the face of consequences.
That attitude changes everything.
Charlotte herself, the book’s protagonist and narrator, gave
me the most trouble. She’s been pampered and sheltered most of her life, and
though her heart is in the right place with her plan to rescue her sister, her
plan is a painfully naïve one. We know it won’t work, but she doesn’t. She has
to learn and grow at the same time as she’s solving the puzzle of how to save
her sister. She has to redefine her place in the world.
Tell us a bit about
the highs and lows of your book’s road to publication.
This is my third book with Sourcebooks (after The Magician’s Lie and Girl in Disguise) and I had both the
luxury and pressure of writing Woman 99
under contract. Early on, there’s the blissful feeling of knowing that the book
has a home, even while you’re writing it; but late in the game, when you’re not
sure the book’s going to come together, there’s an extra level of worry about
letting everyone down. But it all came together in this case. Phew!
What’s your favorite
piece of writing advice?
Steer clear of any writing advice that contains the words
“always” or “never.”
My favorite writing
advice is “write until something surprises you.” What surprised you in the
writing of this book?
How many characters, how many stories within the story,
demanded to be heard. Charlotte is our way in, but there were so many other
stories I wanted to tell within that framework, it really turned out to be more
of an ensemble piece. The book wouldn’t hold together in the same way without
Nora, without Martha, without Jubilee. I really wanted to do justice to all of
them. There was a line in the Publishers
Weekly review that so perfectly captured what I was trying to do, it blew
me away: “Though Charlotte narrates, Macallister also gives voice to a motley
crew of women who, at the mercy of male whims, hide multitudes.”
Who is your ideal
reader?
I’d love people who don’t think of themselves as historical
fiction readers to pick this one up. Historical fiction is never really just
about the past. Although Woman 99 is
set in 1888, it’s basically about a group of angry women banding together
against a rigged system put together by men who are afraid of them. I think
many readers will find, let’s say, contemporary resonance.
Inquiring foodies and
hungry book clubs want to know: Any food/s associated with your book?
I have been asking myself this same question! The food in
the asylum, as you might imagine, is profoundly unappetizing. I would urge book
clubs who want to “cook the book”, as mine enjoys doing, to focus on the
delicious sweets for the Smith household San Francisco: rich egg bread braided
with almond paste and currants, buttery financiers, madeleines, and brioche
rolls stuffed with farmer’s cheese.
***
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AUTHOR: www.greermacallister.com
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