Author Talk: August 27, 2015

Elisabeth Egan is the books editor at Glamour, and her essays and book reviews have appeared in an impressive array of publications. In her debut novel, A WINDOW OPENS, Egan tells the story of Alice Pearse, a mostly satisfied wife and mother of three, who decides to make a radical career change and learns that “happily ever after” is not as easy as it seems. In this interview, Egan talks about some of the traits she shares with her protagonist (book preferences, for one) and which books and authors have inspired her through the years. As an industry insider, she also weighs in on the merits of digital readers versus traditional books, as well as the important role women’s magazines play in contemporary book culture.

Question: Can you tell us about your inspiration for A WINDOW OPENS? What were the novel’s origins? Where and how did you begin?

Elisabeth Egan: The book has its origins in my inability to find a book like it when I was looking for one. I’m the opposite of an escapist reader --- I’m drawn to stories that are relatable, or reflective of whatever my life looks like at the time. I have a long history of using fiction as a form of self-help --- but all of a sudden, I couldn’t find any books about women in my moment of life: approaching middle age, settled down but not settling, listening in on a conference call for work from the waiting room at the orthodontist’s office. My current decade is awash in clichés, all well represented in books: the desperate housewife, the cold-hearted businesswoman.

Thankfully, the women I know don’t fall easily into stereotypes, and I decided to write a book about the ones with the nuanced, interesting, messy lives. I started writing at my daughter’s swim team practice and finished the first draft on the train home from work. I approached stealthily, cautiously, telling nobody but my husband and a handful of close friends what I was up to. I’m terrible at keeping secrets, so this book was a major breakthrough for me on many levels.

Q: In your novel, Alice loses her father to a devastating illness. In Self magazine, you wrote about the illness and death of your own father. What advice would you offer those who are dealing with a sick or terminally ill parent, those who have recently lost a loved one, or those who wish to help someone who is grieving? Was there any particular literature that you turned to during this time?

EE: My best advice for all parties: be there. You can’t always be there in person, but you can find other ways to show up. I was in my 20s when my dad first got sick, so most of my friends didn’t really speak the language of illness or loss --- neither did I --- but some of them just instinctively knew what to do. One day I was getting a haircut and my friend showed up with doughnuts. I sat there with her, getting a trim, eating a Boston cream, feeling like one of the most beloved and lucky people in the world, even though my dad was in the hospital across town, fighting for his life. When I went to sit with him after the haircut, I felt galvanized. I knew I couldn’t pass along the strength this friend had given to me, but I could share her peace and kindness. Isn’t it amazing what a doughnut can do?

As for books: THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion, AN UNCERTAIN INHERITANCE by Nell Casey, THE MERCY PAPERS by Robin Romm and THE LONG GOODBYE by Meghan O’Rourke. There’s no road map of grief, but these are some excellent signposts.

Q: In the prologue of your novel, we learn that Alice was enamored with books even as a young girl. Was this the case for you as well? What impact did young adult literature have on your life and your identity? What were some of your favorite young adult titles?

EE: This part of the book is 100 percent autobiographical. I was born into a family of bookworms and had no choice but to become one myself. Reading transported me from a hot, boring afternoon in New Jersey to a cool fall day on Prince Edward Island. It gave me a preview of what it might be like to have a dog or to fall in love. I read a novel set in Vermont and decided to go to college there --- and in my house, this was a perfectly logical way to make a choice.

Here are the books that carried me through adolescence: anything by L. M. Montgomery, with a bias for the unsung EMILY OF NEW MOON (apologies to ANNE OF GREEN GABLES); A SEPARATE PEACE by John Knowles; THE PIGMAN by Paul Zindel; THE OUTSIDERS by S. E. Hinton; and anything by Lois Duncan or V. C. Andrews. Like most kids who grew up in the 1980s, I learned a lot from V. C. Andrews.

Q: Are you an “agnostic” reader, as Genevieve would say, or do you prefer the traditional printed book or eBook exclusively? What do you think is the best formula for a good reading experience?

EE: I’ll read a page, a screen, a Post-it or a cereal box --- it doesn’t matter as long as the words are interesting, engaging and in a legible font. (Now that I wear reading glasses --- if you must know --- I’ve become a little persnickety about the font.) Most of the time, I read fiction in a galley or a manuscript, and when I read on my iPad, it’s usually nonfiction. I bring a bunch of books home from work every night, and I try not to check my phone on the train back to New Jersey. If I’m hooked on one after 40 minutes, that’s a good sign. I definitely give preferential treatment to the books I read on my front porch with a glass of wine. Those are my favorites!

Q: What are your thoughts on traditional publishers and booksellers versus companies like Amazon, which incorporate greater technology? What role do you think technology should play in the literary world?

EE: So much depends on the reader and what kind of book he or she is looking for. I loved my first-generation Kindle. Two of my three kids have eReaders --- they’re great for that late-night emergency when you just have to get your hands on the next installment of the Shredderman series. I like buying my books at the local bookstore because this gives me a chance to combine my greatest passions: chatting and reading. I love the sociability of the transaction and the little bowl of Werther’s caramels by the cash register. As for technology, I’m only a Luddite when it comes to remote controls, which I think are needlessly complicated. I love the smell of pages; other people love the glow of pixels. The point is to lose yourself in a great story.

Q: How has A WINDOW OPENS influenced your current writing projects or changed the way you write? Do you think that you will revisit any of the characters or themes from this novel?

EE: A WINDOW OPENS has definitely changed the way I write insofar as it inspired me to write fiction for the first time since college --- 20 years! It was fun to get back in the saddle. Much as I love these characters, I don’t think I’ll write about them again. I feel like they’ve said what they needed to say, and now I need to move on to other people --- maybe ones who live in more exotic places than New Jersey, so I can live vicariously. The themes in this novel are the themes of my life, so in that sense I think I will continue to write what I know.

Q: As a reader, who are some of the storytellers you find inspiring and why?

EE: Anna Quindlen, Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler --- partly because my middle name is “Ann” and mostly because they tell it like it is. I’ll follow these three into any world they create. And fine, Lorrie Moore, too, even if her name ruins my alliteration.

Q: You currently work as the books editor for Glamour magazine. As an editor, what do you keep an eye out for? Do your choices as an editor differ from what you would choose to read personally, or do you find that your choices are closely aligned in both of these instances?

EE: I’m lucky that my reading choices align with the kinds of books we cover in Glamour: page-turning and thoughtful fiction, honest and brave memoirs, with the occasional creepy thriller or celebrity tell-all thrown in for good measure. I love stories that make me change my mind about something.

Q: What role do you think women’s magazines fulfill within contemporary book culture? What changes, additions or improvements would you like to see in this area?

EE: I’d like to see more coverage of books in all magazines, not just ones for women. It seems to me that people are having a very hard time figuring out what to read. We’re short on bookstores, so it’s harder than it used to be to get a personal recommendation, and Amazon or barnesandnoble.com still don’t really help us discover books we haven’t heard of before. So instead we see the crowdsourcing approach on Facebook and Twitter, which helps build these mega-bestsellers: GONE GIRL, THE GOLDFINCH, ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Magazines can help spotlight other books, the ones we might not hear about otherwise. I’m as excited as the next reviewer about the “big” books, but I also like to have a chance to spotlight the unsung heroes.

Q: When Alice begins her job at Scroll, she gets to live out every booklover’s fantasy by picking out a first edition of any book of her choosing. If you had the same opportunity, what book would you choose and why?

EE: Like Alice, I would choose A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN. I love every word of the book, and I love the memories of when I first read it. Of course, I’d cherish the first edition, but my marked-up paperback from the college bookstore would always be top dog on the shelf.