Books and
More > Meet the Author
Meet the Author: Kathleen McCleary
Interview by Jennifer Vido, creator of Jen's Jewels
July 1, 2008
|
 |
There's no place like home.
Dorothy knew what she was talking about, didn't she? I love the house I
live in now. About three years ago, we traded in, so to speak, our
two-story home for a one-story. Why we hadn't thought of it sooner, I'll
never know. Who needs steps with a hip replacement? Not me! That's for
sure. When we first found this house, I was immediately sold. It
backs up to natural preserves with every imaginable type of wildlife
living just a stone's throw away. And, what makes this house the perfect
home for me is a simple crabapple tree outside my kitchen window.
Every morning, I watch my favorite birds stop by to eat. Every season, I
marvel at its beauty. In some ways, that tree represents the seasons of my
life. |
But, imagine if you had to leave it all behind. Think of all the
memories your house holds. Your child's first steps. The holiday gatherings.
Heartache and happiness. If only these walls could speak. Well, that's exactly
what this month's Jens' Jewels did. In her debut novel entitled
House and Home, HGTV.com's Kathleen McCleary takes us on one
woman's journey to find peace with closing the door to her past. Beautifully
written, this story will pull at your heartstrings as you come to treasure the
simplicity of calling a place home.
| As part of this interview, Hyperion
Books has graciously donated five copies of
House and Home. So, don't forget to look for the trivia
question at the end of the column. Good luck! Go ahead and grab yourself
something cold to drink and get to know the gifted writer, Kathleen
McCleary.
Jen: Most Jen's Jewels have been authors
who have had the lifelong dream of writing a book and getting it
published. Your story is uniquely different because although this is your
debut novel, you have been in the publishing business for many years (and
with much success!) Please tell us a little bit about your educational and
professional experience that led to your career in publishing. |
Kathleen McCleary,
Photo by Matt Mendelsohn |
Kathleen: I walked a very convoluted path into writing fiction,
although, like your other authors, I always dreamed of writing and publishing
a novel. I was a comparative religion major in college, and then went on to
law school. After one semester, I knew I didn't want to be a lawyer and that I
wanted to do something more creative. So I went to vocational school to learn
how to type (believe it or not, I had managed to get through high school and
college without typing skills!) and then moved to New York, where I got an
entry-level job working for a health magazine. I went on to work as a writer
and editor on the staffs of several magazines, including USA Weekend, Money,
and Entrée, a trade magazine for the housewares industry. When my kids were
young I stopped working full time and started freelancing for a variety of
publications, including Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, More,
The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living and HGTV.com. But it
was all non-fiction. I always had in the back of my mind the idea that I'd
love to write a novel. But it wasn't until I moved across country four years
ago (my husband's job required a family move from Oregon to Virginia) that I
found a topic I cared about enough that I felt I just HAD to express it
through fiction. It still seems unreal to me that I'm publishing my first
novel at age 48!
Jen: Being a columnist on HGTV.com allowed you to spread your
wings as a journalist and explore a wide range of topics. Back in 2004, you
wrote a poignant article entitled "Can you have a love affair with a House?"
Is this the inspiration behind your writing HOUSE & HOME?
Kathleen: Yes. Right after I moved, the editor for HGTV.com asked me to
write a regular biweekly column about fixing up our fifty-year-old house. I
told him I was still grieving over leaving behind my house in Oregon, so he
asked me to write about that first. It was writing that column that made me
start to think about writing a novel about a woman who loved her house so much
that she literally couldn't give it up. Shortly after I filed the
column, I wrote the first paragraph of the novel. And that was all I had for a
very long time -- several months really. I just needed to let that simmer, and
then the rest of the story started to unfold.
Jen: Throughout the story, I empathized with Ellen, the lead character,
with her internal struggle of leaving behind a structure that holds such
meaning. I would feel the same way if I were forced to sell my home. Do you
feel that it would be less of an issue for a man to walk away from his house
rather than it appears to be for a woman? Or is this solely Ellen's obstacle
to overcome?
Kathleen: It's funny, as much as I have always believed that this kind
of house obsession is a female thing, I've been surprised at the number of men
who have read the book and said they could relate. When I was first writing
it, I took an online novel writing class through mediabistro.com. One of our
first assignments was to post a brief plot outline and synopsis. Several of
the men in the class read mine and just couldn't get it -- they couldn't
understand how anyone could feel so strongly about a house. But then I
started posting chapters and the guys really got in to the story. One of them
even said, "I think this is a ‘chick' book, so I don't know what it means that
I like it. I'm not sure where this story will end up taking me but I
absolutely love the place it has brought me to at this point." I think both
genders can relate to the idea of losing something you love, something that
represents safety and security and comfort.
Jen: In light of the seriousness behind the overall theme of the book,
you lighten it up with Ellen's harebrain schemes to essentially force a
take-over of her former house. What role does her sidekick, Joanna, play in
making her come to terms with the finality of it all?
Kathleen: Where would we be without our girlfriends? Joanna is kind of
a composite of two dear friends of mine, women I've known since high school.
She is Ellen's sounding board, her confidante, her cheerleader, her comic
relief and her reality check, which are all the roles that really good friends
play in our lives, don't you think?
Jen: In most books involving a potential divorce, the husband is made
out to be a cad, but not so in
House and Home. From his first scene to his last, I found Ellen's
husband Sam simply endearing. Why did you choose for him to be this way?
Kathleen: As anyone who's been in a relationship knows, people are
complicated and relationships are complicated, and it's rarely just black and
white. Any long-term relationship usually involves highs and lows, periods of
intense closeness and intimacy and periods of feeling distant or
underappreciated. Any two people have to negotiate and re-negotiate what
things you can tolerate, and what things are deal-breakers. Sam isn't a bad
guy, but he and Ellen are very different personalities and she has to figure
out what is important to her. I think it would have been difficult for Ellen
to grow as a person throughout the course of the novel if Sam had simply been
a cad. And he is endearing, but he's also exasperating. To me, that's what
makes him real.
Jen: A question I just have to ask...a hotdog diaper? Does it really
exist? Was it your idea? And if so, are you contemplating perhaps a patent
before your book hits the bestseller lists?
Kathleen: I completely made up the hotdog diaper, and I don't even eat
hotdogs! Actually, in the final version of the book the hotdog diaper has been
replaced by a slightly less repellent (but equally wacky) invention -- the
Baby Beeper, to help people find their lost babies. In the final analysis my
editors felt that a woman as smart and cautious and responsible as Ellen just
wouldn't mortgage her beloved house for a hotdog diaper, and I agreed. It
needed to be something that even careful Ellen felt was worth risking
everything for. You'll have to let me know what you think of the new
invention! I think it is more true to the passions that motivate the
characters. That said, my eleven-year-old daughter has been convinced from the
beginning that the hotdog diaper was the real stroke of genius in my
writing, and if I'd just pursued that instead of finishing the novel, I'd be
rich. I'm still hoping to prove her wrong!
Jen: To thicken the plot, you introduce a potential suitor for Ellen.
How does this temptation change the perception she has of herself? Does it
make her a stronger person or does it alternately bring to light how
vulnerable she can be?
Kathleen: I think it's only because Ellen feels vulnerable and lost --
grief-stricken, really -- that she is tempted by a relationship with Jeffrey.
Ellen is a pretty careful, responsible, moral person -- not the type to enter
casually into any relationship, let alone a relationship with a married man.
Losing the house, which to her represents stability and security and
happiness, unmoors her, sets her loose from everything she's held on to,
including her assumptions about who she is and what she is capable of.
Jen: Even the most seasoned writers sometimes struggle with perfecting
the art of their craft. In relation to House and Home, what part of the
book was the most difficult to write and why? The most enjoyable?
Kathleen: Great question! The scene with the fire at the end of the
book was very difficult to write. Believe me, I sobbed into my keyboard many
times as I worked on it. It was just very emotional for me. As a wife and
mother, I related so strongly to Ellen's terror for her family that it was
truly painful to write. Some of the most enjoyable scenes to write were the
scenes with Jo and Ellen. I loved their friendship and the dialogue came very
easily. The scene that was the biggest surprise to me was the one in which
Jordan shows up at the coffee shop and confronts Ellen about Jeffrey. I simply
had not known that was going to happen, and it stunned me even as I wrote it.
Jen: Choosing from the secondary characters in the story, who is your
favorite and why?
Kathleen: I love Cloud. He's a very grounded, self-aware, at-peace kind
of guy, and he's a wonderful counterpoint to and respite for Ellen during this
crazy, turbulent time of her life. Just being around Cloud is calming, and the
fact that he's always ready with clean floors, a fresh pot of tea and a big
smile doesn't hurt either. I'd love to have Cloud in my life.
Jen: Do you have a website? E-mail notification of upcoming releases?
Blog? Do you participate in author phone chats? And if so, how would my
readers go about arranging one? Is there a reading group guide available for
book clubs?
Kathleen: Yes to all of the above! My website,
www.kathleenmccleary.com, has lots of information on me and the
book, including a discussion guide for reading groups, a place to sign up for
my mailing list, and contact info to set up author phone chats or visits (I
travel back and forth between the east and west coast several times a year, so
if I'm in your area, I'm happy to stop by for a discussion). One of my
favorite features of the website is something called "Your House Stories."
It's a place for readers to share their own stories about houses they love.
When I first sent the book out to agents and then publishers, everyone seemed
to have a story about a house that was important in his or her life. I can't
wait to see what stories my readers have to share.
Jen: Are you currently at work on your next novel? If so, what can you
tell us about it?
Kathleen: I'm right in the middle of my second novel and just loving
it! I'm enjoying the process a little more this time, because I have more
confidence that my trust-your-gut method of writing might actually work. The
book is about a married woman with three school-aged children (13, 10 and 9)
who feels completely overwhelmed by what she sees as the negative cultural
influences assailing her kids on every side. The family lives in a lovely
suburb of Washington, D.C., and Susanna's life is the typical mad dash from
one activity to another. When her teen-age daughter starts to have problems,
Susanna decides to move the family to a remote island off the northwest coast
of Washington state, to live without cable TV or paved roads or shopping malls
for a year. Of course, nothing goes as anticipated....
Jen: Kathleen, my words can't do your book justice. Well done! I think
what makes this novel stand out from the crowd is that your theme (loving a
house more than a marriage) is not something readers come across every day.
You made me think...about my house, my family, my life. Thank you so much for
sharing this book with me. I wish you the best of luck!
Thank you so much! As a first-time novelist, I just love hearing from
people who have read the book. And I really enjoyed your questions -- they
made me think!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Kathleen. I highly recommend this
novel for your book club discussion. Most everyone can relate to the struggle
of sorting out the past while trying to move forward in life. Please visit
your local library or bookstore and pick up a copy today!
Okay, it's time for the trivia. Be one of the first five readers to e-mail
at jensjewels@bcpl.net with the
correct answer to the following question and you'll win!
Name the main character in
House and Home.
Later this month, I'll be bringing to you my interview with New York
Times Bestselling Author Linda Howard. You won't want to miss it! And,
don't forget to visit me on my website,
www.jennifervido.com, for my monthly
give-away contests.
Until next time...Jen J
Jennifer Vido is the Jen behind
Jen's Jewels.
Back to top
Baltimore County Public Library,
Towson Maryland USA
Last Revised:
02 July 2008
Feedback |
|