Diane Wald was born in Paterson, NJ, and has lived in Massachusetts since 1972. She holds an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has published more than 250 poems in literary magazines since 1966. She spent two years on a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and has been awarded the Grolier Poetry Prize, The Denny Award, The Open Voice Award, and the Anne Halley Award. She also received a state grant from the Massachusetts Council on the Arts. She has published five chapbooks and won the Green Lake Chapbook Award from Owl Creek Press. Her book Lucid Suitcase was published by Red Hen Press in 1999 and her second book, The Yellow Hotel, was published by Verse Press in the fall of 2002. WONDERBENDER, her third collection, was published by 1913 Press. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, Carey Reid, and their charismatic cats.Visit Diane on Twitter. (Bio courtesy of She Writes Press.)
Boston, 1984. Even in a world without cell phones, messages come through loud and clear if one is listening. When thirty-something Nora Forrest travels to Manhattan to see a Broadway play starring her idol, an aging Irish actor named Hugh Sheenan, she doesn't know whether what happens in the theater that night should be credited to witchcraft, extrasensory perception, synchronicity, or simple accident--and she knows that many people would tell her nothing had happened at all. Told through the voices of four people, Gillyflower is a story about intersections and connections--real, imaginary, seized, and eluded. It's a book about everyday magic, crystalline memory, and the details that flow through time and space like an electrified mist. It's a detective story, a love story, and a coming-of-age story--for the never really young and for the almost old. (Courtesy of Amazon.)
What was your inspiration for writing Gillyflower?
I wanted to explore and communicate my lifelong belief that there’s a lot more going on in life than the things that are easy for us to observe on the surface – and that you need to be tuned in to all that in order to m make your life richer. I like to say that the book is based on experience and not experiences, if that makes any sense. In other words, it’s not autobiographical, but the situation that the protagonist finds herself in is one that reflects something that happened to me a long time ago. I also wanted to celebrate the choices that women are free to make.
In one sentence, what was the road to publication like for you?
Because I’d only published books of poetry before, following this road to fiction was like taking an illegal U-turn! I had to shore up my nerve and put myself out there – and I think because of that, I ended up in a great place.
If Gillyflower were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
I’ve thought about this a lot because I think it would make a terrific movie. Nora would be played by Sally Hawkins (with an American accent) or maybe Emma Stone. Hugh would be played by Bill Nighy or Jeremy Irons or Hugh Grant. Leon is definitely a role for Eddie Izzard.
What do you like most about the spring?
I love the things that happen in my yard: the sturdy shoots of giant allium rising out of the dark earth, the surge in morning birdsong, the delicious glass of wine with my husband on our patio on the first warm evening, the way the air smells drifting off the brook at the edge of our woods….
What is the last movie you saw that you would recommend?
I would have to say Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which is a documentary by Steven Sebring. It’s not a new movie, but I only discovered it recently.
What is the strangest thing currently residing in your purse or handbag?
Today that would probably be a tube of enzymatic toothpaste for cats.
Thanks to Diane for chatting with us and SparkPoint Studio for sharing her book with our readers.
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17 comments:
The 80s were fun carefree days for me. I went to nightclubs and concerts all the time and enjoyed discovering new rock bands. I had the I don't give a damn about anything attitude and just thought about having fun. Growing up stinks. Now, I don't know what the word fun means.
The 80's was a fun time for concerts, music & letting my wild streak out. Times have changed & it can be a scary world out there now. Thanks for your great generosity.
I loved all the fun I had in the 80's....lots of rock concerts, road trips with friends, and feeling free.
The 80's was family time since my young boys were busy and active.
I so want to read this one. I'm an 80s girl so this is right up my alley.
this one sounds so great. Can't wait.
the music
The point I was at in my life then, work family, friends. And of course the hair and giant shoulders ;-).
I loved the music.
Definitely the music and rock and roll!
Great music in the 80's.
Yes, I agree about the music.
I loved the music of the 80s.
I loved the 80’s fashion and music.
music
I graduated High School.
My son was a little boy so much fun.
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