Interview: April 1, 2005
April 1, 2005
Bookreporter.com Co-Founder Carol Fitzgerald and contributing writer Shannon McKenna interviewed Alicia Erian, author of TOWELHEAD. Erian explains how the premise of her debut novel originated and why she chose to write this story from a child's point-of-view. She also talks about the process of titling the book, her transition from short story-writing to novel-writing, and the authors who have influenced her work.
Bookreporter.com: What sparked the idea for TOWELHEAD?
Alicia Erian: When I was eleven and my brother was nine, my mother sent us to live with my father in Houston. It didn't go very well, and after about seven months, she had to come and get us. The premise of TOWELHEAD is sort of a big What If: What if my mother hadn't come and gotten us, and we'd stayed living with my father? (Then, of course, I also got rid of my brother for the book.)
BRC: You write in the voice of a thirteen-year-old narrator. What were the challenges in writing like this? Did you do any special research before you set out to write, or along the way?
AE: Actually, I chose to write from a child's point-of-view because I thought it might be less daunting. I had never written a novel before and was frightened! The idea was that a child's voice would serve, in some way, to limit the amount of information I would be responsible for as the author. The grandness of Texas, the looming war, Daddy's politics would all be filtered through Jasira's somewhat limited scope. Plus, kids allow for more humor. They don't know what's going on half the time and the explanations they make up in their heads for things can be so ridiculous.
Research? Well, I try to do as little research as possible when writing. In terms of information about the first Gulf War, however, I relied mostly on a book called The General's War by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor.
BRC: How does the time period in which the novel is set --- during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s --- add context to the story?
AE: In TOWELHEAD, I think of the first Gulf War as a sort of cattle prod. Every once in a while it pops up and gives a character, or an interaction, or a scene some added charge. It's there to light everyone's butt on fire. A point of constant stress and conflict.
BRC: Was the second Gulf War in progress as you were writing TOWELHEAD? Did you ever think about changing the timing to the present?
AE: The second Gulf War was partially in progress as I wrote the novel, yes. I was quite a ways in at that point, though, and it wouldn't have made sense to make the alteration. Also, quite frankly, it wouldn't have been all that necessary. So many of the same political players are involved now as were during the first Gulf War.
BRC: Did politics influence the story in any way?
AE: Well, it was after 9/11 that I decided to set the novel during the first Gulf War, so I would say yes. That war and the politics surrounding it are almost a third character in the book.
BRC: At what point did you title the book?
AE: The working title of the book was WELCOME TO THE MORAL UNIVERSE. After I turned in my manuscript, however, my editor wondered if I could come up with something else. As I flipped through the pages of the book, one word kept popping up. I thought: No, I absolutely cannot call my book TOWELHEAD. But then the more I saw the word, the more I realized it was actually the only possible title. It's catchy, rude, exciting, illicit, horrifying, hopefully intriguing, and wholly of the book.
BRC: You've also written a short story collection, THE BRUTAL LANGUAGE OF LOVE. Did this experience prepare you for writing a novel, or was the process completely different?
AE: My idea about writing a novel was that the novel should be long and boring. I don't know where I got this idea, but I had it fixed in my head. So I wrote a hundred pages that were long and boring, then trashed them and started over. I really had no idea what I was doing. I didn't even particularly want to write a novel. It seemed too hard. My final approach was to just act like I was writing a giant short story. I don't know if that really helped, but that was how I thought of it. In the end, I would say that the main difference between novel-writing and short story-writing is that you need more elements for the novel.
BRC: At what point did you realize TOWELHEAD was destined to be a novel instead of a short story?
AE: TOWELHEAD was always a novel. From day one.
BRC: What did you find different between writing a novel and a short story, besides the additional word count?
AE: Well, you're stuck with the characters for a lot longer. You don't get to just ditch them after a couple of weeks. You have to stay very focused on who they are and what they're doing for a very long period of time. And you spend most of that time not knowing how things are going to turn out (or, at least, I did), and worrying that you're a crappy writer.
BRC: What can you tell us about your background and cultural heritage?
AE: My father is Egyptian, and my mother is predominantly of Polish descent.
BRC: Film rights to TOWELHEAD have been sold to producer Alan Ball ("Six Feet Under"). Will you be involved in the film process? What are you most interested in seeing brought to life from TOWELEHAD?
AE: I don't expect to be very involved in the filmmaking process, which is fine with me. I think Alan is really smart and is going to do a great job. We had a nice talk about his plans for the film, and that gave me a lot of confidence in what the final product might look like.
I think it will be interesting to see if it's funny. Not over-the-top funny, but subtle-funny. I think it's important to Alan not to make the film too morose.
BRC: You've also created films. What is the biggest difference between telling a story in cinematic form and the written word?
AE: More and more I think there's not that much of a difference. My favorite fiction tends to be very forward moving, with sharp dialogue, good physical action and images, and little-to-no back story. One of my students recently told me about an article saying that the best fiction is very similar to cinema, and I'm anxious to have a look at this piece and see what it says.
BRC: As a creative writing Professor, what advice do you offer your students about the writing process?
AE: I stress to my students the importance of structure, focus, pacing, and plot. Over and over I rant about these things. I think they're the hardest elements of fiction to master, and yet once you have some control over them, the world is your oyster.
BRC: Have any authors influenced your work? Did any influence TOWELHEAD in particular?
AE: I love Raymond Carver for his hilarity and efficiency, Mary Gaitskill for her bold and beautiful stories about sex, Stephen Elliott for his sadness and bravery. Mostly, though, I read nonfiction. I loved RANDOM FAMILY by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. I think she must be a kind of genius. Anyone who wants to know anything about tone and pacing should read RANDOM FAMILY. And I think Jon Krakauer is brilliant. Everything he does. I loved John Colapinto's book called AS NATURE MADE HIM, and Gitta Sereny's CRIES UNHEARD.
TOWELHEAD was influenced most by my oldest friend Barbara and the letters we used to write each other in high school. We were always refining our technique, trying to be as simple and funny as possible, all at once. She should've been a writer but instead she helps young women who have babies and no money, which is probably more honorable.
BRC: What are you working on now, and when can readers expect to see it?
AE: I am working on a novel called HUTCH about an occasionally overpowering, yet charming ex-Marine. I hope it will come out sometime in 2008.
