Laura Wiess has created something really extraordinary with her novel Such A Pretty Girl (MTV books). This is an electrifying (and terrifying) look at a girl whose life has been torn apart by a sexual predator. When he is released early from jail, he moves right back into her life, and she must find the strength to protect herself and to survive.
Such a Pretty Girl is wrenching to read -- was it hard to write?
Character-wise, no. Meredith, her friends and family arrived almost fully-formed. That doesn’t usually happen for me, and it made Meredith’s nightmare very real, like her whole life was already in progress and she just reached outside of it, tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey, something bad is happening here, and you might want to pay attention because I really need help.”
Emotionally yes, it was very intense. (Understatement of the year.) I felt everything Meredith did – terror, desperation, betrayal, fear, triumph -- plus a totally separate, fierce, underlying fury at the adult world’s ongoing inability to save her.
At times I actually ran away from the computer, totally freaked and trying to shake off the darkness long enough to keep going. Those moments back in ‘real life’ were rough too, though, because while I was taking a break I knew that Meredith and all the other kids actually living the nightmare *couldn’t* just step out of the story, or shake it off. For them, it was a constant, real life misery.
What brought me back, over and over again, was not only Meredith’s strength and will to survive, but knowing that if I turned away from her, she would be alone all over again.
And that was not acceptable.
This is such a terribly important topic; how did you approach writing about it?
Passionately, with no forethought, planning or hesitation. I charged in all fired-up and wrote it from the heart, gut and viewpoint of one terrified, desperate girl. It’s Meredith’s story, and the betrayal she lives with is appallingly complete.
The more research I did and the more survivors of sexual abuse I spoke with, the clearer it became that Meredith’s story was not unique. It wasn’t even uncommon. There are a lot of real people out there who went through situations like this, and worse.
Ignoring this issue because it’s unpleasant will not make it go away. On the contrary, it only provides the predator with an unchallenged path straight to the children. Something to think about.
One element that is important in this book is the boyfriend's mother's belief in the "victim soul" -- I'd never heard of that before, is that a well-known thing, and what gave you the idea to incorporate that in your story?
I’d never heard of a victim soul either, until I caught a news story about a ‘real’ victim soul, a fourteen year-old girl named Audrey Santo from Massachusetts who’d had a swimming accident when she was three and left in a coma-like state known as akinetic mutism. Since I’m always interested in an intriguing story, I went online and discovered…well, here are a few links, providing photos and several different viewpoints.
This situation so disturbed me that I started imagining what it would feel like to lay there helpless and paralyzed for YEARS, day in and day out, growing from child to adolescent as thousands of desperate, agonized strangers filed past your bed weeping, begging, clutching your hand, kissing it, praying for you to take their pain, cure their disease, absorb their suffering. (Not to mention the glass-walled window your mother had installed between your bedroom and the garage so you could still be seen when private masses were held.) The whole situation became so overwhelming, and left me so aghast that I exited the sites, and never went back.
But I guess I never forgot, either.
Some time later, while watching yet another news story on convicted child molesters being released from prison, and getting good and mad about it, Meredith arrived, and with her Ms. Mues, and her fervent belief in a victim soul.
If you could give a piece of advice to your main characters, what would it be? Do you think they'd listen?
You are so worth fighting for, and if anybody ever tells you you’re not, don’t believe them. Don’t give up. Please.
I would hope they would listen, especially if I showed them how true it was by standing up and proving it with my actions.
I imagine that you've already heard some feedback from readers about the book -- what has been the most gratifying thing to hear?
It’s a draw between the enthusiastic “Wow! Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop until it was finished!” and the quieter mention of how deeply they connected with Meredith on an emotional level. And it's very humbling, the private stories they generously share of their own past abuse, and what it took to get through it.
Did you learn anything unexpected about yourself in writing SaPG?
Yes. I learned that I will step into any nightmare, no matter how wretched, to stay with my main character until the very end.
What drew you to write YA?
It wasn’t a conscious choice. I’m a character-driven writer, and for me, without someone compelling to care about, there is no story. These people show up on my doorstep, alone, scared, dilemma in hand, and I invite them in. 99% of my characters are teens just trying to make it through unscathed.
How long did it take from the moment you decided to write the book to the date of publication?
Ha! Get ready for an example of how long stubborn determination and belief in your story can sustain you.
The first draft came fast, and was set aside to cool. Next were research, rewriting, finding and signing on with my agent Barry Goldblatt, who had recently opened up his own literary agency. Once signed there was more revision, and the search for the right editor. Finding MTV's Jennifer Heddle – hallelujah! – a contract, and more revision. Cover, Photo, bio, Author Q&A, ARCs, and then finally, Pretty Girl was born!
Figure about seven years from the moment of conception to birth. (And I’m pretty sure that gestation period beats both African elephants and Orcas. ;)
Is there a book that changed your life?
One book and one story.
The book was Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth. I read it in grade school and loved it so much that I decided to do a report on it. Well, book-reporting meant you had to stand in front of the room – always torture – and read your report aloud to the class. When it was my turn, I started out okay but when I got close to reading my favorite, funny passages from the book, I cracked up just knowing they were coming, and had to start over.
And over, and over. Whenever I hit that one certain line I’d start snickering, and couldn’t finish. By like the eighth time I was laughing so hard I was crying, and the teacher was laughing and the class was laughing, but I was the only one who knew what was so funny, and I couldn’t make it come out of my mouth!
That was the first time I realized just how enchanting the right words could be.
On the flip side, a book of animal stories called Animals You Will Never Forget introduced me to a short story by JL Wolff called Savage Dog. That story was an intensely-crafted, simple, perfect heartbreak and burned so deep that it still haunts me to this day.
Pretty good, for 1 ½ pages worth of words. ;)
What are you working on now?
I’m one of those writers who lose steam if they discuss what they’re working on before it’s firmly fixed in their minds, so beyond that we’re approaching revision time for my second book with MTV, tentatively titled LEFTOVERS, which is (in another major understatement) about what causes two good-hearted girls to commit an unforgivable act in the name of love, and justice. (The first chapter of which made my entire critique group cry. All things considered, that was a very gratifying author moment.)
WORLD FAMOUS LIGHTNING ROUND - non-pop-culture edition! let's play favourites...
Fairy tale? Tie between Tatterhood, and Johnny and the Witch Maidens, both in A Book of Witches by Ruth Manning-Sanders and illustrated by my all-time favorite Robin Jacques. (C’mon, who wouldn’t love Tatterhood, a troll-ugly, confident and determined little girl riding around on a goat and waving a wooden spoon?)
As for Johnny and the Witch Maidens, the whole concept of having a cavern filled with eyeballs stolen right out of peoples’ heads was just too cool. (I was a terribly blood-thirsty child.)
Fruit? Cherries, with pomegranates a close second.
Time of Day? Sunrise, when I’m the only one up and the morning is mine.
Wild Animal? Childhood dream? A capybara, thanks to an old kid’s book called Cappyboppy. As a much respected companion, a mountain gorilla. And then of course there are the deer… ;)
Library? East Brunswick, back in central Jersey. Great selection, great resources, no check-out limit. Every two weeks I would exchange one towering armload of books for another. Sheer bliss.
Fictional Character? Oh, this is just too hard! Moll Flanders, Mame Dennis, James Herriot and Anne Shirley. (I have mood swings, lol.)
Constellation? Taurus, with an Andromeda chaser.
Bookstore? Finally, an easy answer. Books Inc, of course. (you heard it here, people ... and that was totally unscripted!)
What book (besides your own) do you think NYMBC members would love?
Inside scoop: Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins, author of Damage, Breaking Boxes, Beating Heart and more. Not out yet, coming soon in June 2007, but I was lucky enough to get an early look at it.
Short but enthusiastic version:
One of hell’s demons gets tired of tormenting the damned, leaves without permission and slips into the body of a teen-age boy. Funny, poignant, quirky, thought-provoking and definitely not your average demon story!
Finally, is there any question you wish I had asked that I didn't?
No, you’ve been wonderful. Thanks so much for hosting me!
No, Laura, THANK YOU!
To visit Laura on the web, click HERE.
Laura's musings on LJ can be found HERE.
Friend Laura on MySpace by clicking HERE.
To read an excerpt of SaPG, click HERE.
To purchase SaPG from Laura's fave bookstore, DON'T BE SHY!
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Such a Pretty Girl is wrenching to read -- was it hard to write?
Character-wise, no. Meredith, her friends and family arrived almost fully-formed. That doesn’t usually happen for me, and it made Meredith’s nightmare very real, like her whole life was already in progress and she just reached outside of it, tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey, something bad is happening here, and you might want to pay attention because I really need help.”
Emotionally yes, it was very intense. (Understatement of the year.) I felt everything Meredith did – terror, desperation, betrayal, fear, triumph -- plus a totally separate, fierce, underlying fury at the adult world’s ongoing inability to save her.
At times I actually ran away from the computer, totally freaked and trying to shake off the darkness long enough to keep going. Those moments back in ‘real life’ were rough too, though, because while I was taking a break I knew that Meredith and all the other kids actually living the nightmare *couldn’t* just step out of the story, or shake it off. For them, it was a constant, real life misery.
What brought me back, over and over again, was not only Meredith’s strength and will to survive, but knowing that if I turned away from her, she would be alone all over again.
And that was not acceptable.
This is such a terribly important topic; how did you approach writing about it?
Passionately, with no forethought, planning or hesitation. I charged in all fired-up and wrote it from the heart, gut and viewpoint of one terrified, desperate girl. It’s Meredith’s story, and the betrayal she lives with is appallingly complete.
The more research I did and the more survivors of sexual abuse I spoke with, the clearer it became that Meredith’s story was not unique. It wasn’t even uncommon. There are a lot of real people out there who went through situations like this, and worse.
Ignoring this issue because it’s unpleasant will not make it go away. On the contrary, it only provides the predator with an unchallenged path straight to the children. Something to think about.
One element that is important in this book is the boyfriend's mother's belief in the "victim soul" -- I'd never heard of that before, is that a well-known thing, and what gave you the idea to incorporate that in your story?
I’d never heard of a victim soul either, until I caught a news story about a ‘real’ victim soul, a fourteen year-old girl named Audrey Santo from Massachusetts who’d had a swimming accident when she was three and left in a coma-like state known as akinetic mutism. Since I’m always interested in an intriguing story, I went online and discovered…well, here are a few links, providing photos and several different viewpoints.
This situation so disturbed me that I started imagining what it would feel like to lay there helpless and paralyzed for YEARS, day in and day out, growing from child to adolescent as thousands of desperate, agonized strangers filed past your bed weeping, begging, clutching your hand, kissing it, praying for you to take their pain, cure their disease, absorb their suffering. (Not to mention the glass-walled window your mother had installed between your bedroom and the garage so you could still be seen when private masses were held.) The whole situation became so overwhelming, and left me so aghast that I exited the sites, and never went back.
But I guess I never forgot, either.
Some time later, while watching yet another news story on convicted child molesters being released from prison, and getting good and mad about it, Meredith arrived, and with her Ms. Mues, and her fervent belief in a victim soul.
If you could give a piece of advice to your main characters, what would it be? Do you think they'd listen?
You are so worth fighting for, and if anybody ever tells you you’re not, don’t believe them. Don’t give up. Please.
I would hope they would listen, especially if I showed them how true it was by standing up and proving it with my actions.
I imagine that you've already heard some feedback from readers about the book -- what has been the most gratifying thing to hear?
It’s a draw between the enthusiastic “Wow! Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop until it was finished!” and the quieter mention of how deeply they connected with Meredith on an emotional level. And it's very humbling, the private stories they generously share of their own past abuse, and what it took to get through it.
Did you learn anything unexpected about yourself in writing SaPG?
Yes. I learned that I will step into any nightmare, no matter how wretched, to stay with my main character until the very end.
What drew you to write YA?
It wasn’t a conscious choice. I’m a character-driven writer, and for me, without someone compelling to care about, there is no story. These people show up on my doorstep, alone, scared, dilemma in hand, and I invite them in. 99% of my characters are teens just trying to make it through unscathed.
How long did it take from the moment you decided to write the book to the date of publication?
Ha! Get ready for an example of how long stubborn determination and belief in your story can sustain you.
The first draft came fast, and was set aside to cool. Next were research, rewriting, finding and signing on with my agent Barry Goldblatt, who had recently opened up his own literary agency. Once signed there was more revision, and the search for the right editor. Finding MTV's Jennifer Heddle – hallelujah! – a contract, and more revision. Cover, Photo, bio, Author Q&A, ARCs, and then finally, Pretty Girl was born!
Figure about seven years from the moment of conception to birth. (And I’m pretty sure that gestation period beats both African elephants and Orcas. ;)
Is there a book that changed your life?
One book and one story.
The book was Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth. I read it in grade school and loved it so much that I decided to do a report on it. Well, book-reporting meant you had to stand in front of the room – always torture – and read your report aloud to the class. When it was my turn, I started out okay but when I got close to reading my favorite, funny passages from the book, I cracked up just knowing they were coming, and had to start over.
And over, and over. Whenever I hit that one certain line I’d start snickering, and couldn’t finish. By like the eighth time I was laughing so hard I was crying, and the teacher was laughing and the class was laughing, but I was the only one who knew what was so funny, and I couldn’t make it come out of my mouth!
That was the first time I realized just how enchanting the right words could be.
On the flip side, a book of animal stories called Animals You Will Never Forget introduced me to a short story by JL Wolff called Savage Dog. That story was an intensely-crafted, simple, perfect heartbreak and burned so deep that it still haunts me to this day.
Pretty good, for 1 ½ pages worth of words. ;)
What are you working on now?
I’m one of those writers who lose steam if they discuss what they’re working on before it’s firmly fixed in their minds, so beyond that we’re approaching revision time for my second book with MTV, tentatively titled LEFTOVERS, which is (in another major understatement) about what causes two good-hearted girls to commit an unforgivable act in the name of love, and justice. (The first chapter of which made my entire critique group cry. All things considered, that was a very gratifying author moment.)
WORLD FAMOUS LIGHTNING ROUND - non-pop-culture edition! let's play favourites...
Fairy tale? Tie between Tatterhood, and Johnny and the Witch Maidens, both in A Book of Witches by Ruth Manning-Sanders and illustrated by my all-time favorite Robin Jacques. (C’mon, who wouldn’t love Tatterhood, a troll-ugly, confident and determined little girl riding around on a goat and waving a wooden spoon?)
As for Johnny and the Witch Maidens, the whole concept of having a cavern filled with eyeballs stolen right out of peoples’ heads was just too cool. (I was a terribly blood-thirsty child.)
Fruit? Cherries, with pomegranates a close second.
Time of Day? Sunrise, when I’m the only one up and the morning is mine.
Wild Animal? Childhood dream? A capybara, thanks to an old kid’s book called Cappyboppy. As a much respected companion, a mountain gorilla. And then of course there are the deer… ;)
Library? East Brunswick, back in central Jersey. Great selection, great resources, no check-out limit. Every two weeks I would exchange one towering armload of books for another. Sheer bliss.
Fictional Character? Oh, this is just too hard! Moll Flanders, Mame Dennis, James Herriot and Anne Shirley. (I have mood swings, lol.)
Constellation? Taurus, with an Andromeda chaser.
Bookstore? Finally, an easy answer. Books Inc, of course. (you heard it here, people ... and that was totally unscripted!)
What book (besides your own) do you think NYMBC members would love?
Inside scoop: Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins, author of Damage, Breaking Boxes, Beating Heart and more. Not out yet, coming soon in June 2007, but I was lucky enough to get an early look at it.
Short but enthusiastic version:
One of hell’s demons gets tired of tormenting the damned, leaves without permission and slips into the body of a teen-age boy. Funny, poignant, quirky, thought-provoking and definitely not your average demon story!
Finally, is there any question you wish I had asked that I didn't?
No, you’ve been wonderful. Thanks so much for hosting me!
No, Laura, THANK YOU!
To visit Laura on the web, click HERE.
Laura's musings on LJ can be found HERE.
Friend Laura on MySpace by clicking HERE.
To read an excerpt of SaPG, click HERE.
To purchase SaPG from Laura's fave bookstore, DON'T BE SHY!
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
notyourmothers- Not Your Mother's Bookclub
- nymbc home
Comments
And now for strange shallow comment of the year: my friend and I once burned a rose. It was in a vase, hanging down right over a votive candle, and we noticed it was burning. So we took a tall candle and, er, exagerated it... it was FUN!