Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Catherine Johnson author of Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace.
Good day Catherine and thanks for participating in our interview.
Norm; How do you get started writing Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace?
Catherine: The novel was inspired by a true story, events that occurred within my family. Friends and other family were often asking for updates on the situation, particularly once the divorce and custody battles experienced by Paul’s character became so vicious. One person who kept telling me there was a great story here was our lawyer. In his years of dealing with family law, he had seen stories of a similar nature devastate families. Eventually, I took him up on it and wrote the book.
Norm: Please tell us a little about your debut novel, Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace.
Catherine: Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace isa classic story of good versus evil that explores the universal themes raised by human conduct and moral responsibility. It’s also a story about that bond of family, the deep ties of generations that bind, and the shared blood that’s worth putting everything on the line for.
Norm: Did you work from an outline? As a follow up, how did you develop the plot and characters? Did you use any set formula?
Catherine: Rather than use an outline, at the suggestion of one of the book’s first editors, Prudy Taylor Board, I employed a calendar. This allowed me to compress events of the story into a 5-year time period. In real life, the events occurred over a much longer period of time which would have made for an unwieldy narrative. This turned out be the best advice any editor has given me.
In terms of plot development, I used key events from the real story as a guide. My goal was to keep the reader interested while getting across the universal themes of the story – love and family, the existence of evil in ordinary lives, betrayal, deceit, and moral conduct.
For any character that I write, there needs to be a core of truth. With this particular work being inspired by a true story, I used traits, attributes, language, etc. that existed in real people. But I think most authors do that – we’re observers by nature, and we make note of these real elements to apply to characters in our work.
Norm: What kind of research did you do to write this book?
Catherine: The majority of my research dealt with Minnesota events, history, locations, and so on. Since the novel takes place from 1996 to 2001, I spent a lot of time focusing my research on events that occurred during that timeframe both in Minnesota and nationally. Newspaper articles and court records covering the real events were invaluable, as was the Internet.
Norm: What do you want your novel to do? Provoke thought, amuse?
Catherine: Both of those things, but especially to provoke thought. We all know that evil exists, but we never think it’s going to happen to us and my family was no exception. When we’re face-to-face with it, most of us are at a complete loss as to how to deal with true malice. The main theme of the book is that anyone, no matter how morally grounded they might be, can be pushed to do things they would never otherwise consider. I think this is especially true when family is threatened, people will do whatever necessary to protect loved ones from harm.
Norm: What do you believe makes a character in a novel memorable?
Catherine: They come alive for me and it’s easy to envision this character as a real person, see their physical traits, hear their voice, and have opinions about whether this character is someone I like or dislike.
Norm: Has there been any author or novel that has influenced your writing in any way?
Catherine: I love Jane Smiley, particularly “Moo” and “A Thousand Acres”. They are vastly different novels, but her prose and story telling is incredibly beautiful without becoming dense.
Norm: In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell a good story or make a point.
But how much is too much?
Catherine: It depends on the work. In the case of Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace, I took liberties with the material by toning it down. While much of what’s portrayed in the book did in fact happen, other events in the real story were so bizarre that I didn’t think readers would find them believable. I think authors take too many liberties with material when they claim something to be inspired or based on a true story, but in reality it’s only a sliver.
Norm: Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?
Catherine: I think writers owe readers material that engages them, entertains, informs, or expands reader’s horizons in a new way. Even a novel can offer reader benefits through the various plots and subplots covered in the book. For me personally, it seems unfair for a reader to invest their time and energy in an author’s work and not come away with something of value.
Norm: Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice or do you have a writing mentor?
Catherine: I’m part of several on-line writing groups, but nothing local. Through those groups and classes I have found some wonderful editors who have provided exceptional feedback I’ve implemented to improve my writing.
Norm: What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing? What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?
Catherine: Coming from a journalism background, one of the best things I ever learned was this: Good writing is a result of good reporting, which meant that your notes needed to filled with important details to develop an effective story. Some other elements of good writing that have certainly helped me: writing should “show” readers more than it “tells” them, bring the reader into your story as soon as possible, and appeal to the reader’s senses.
In terms of tools, my writing has been most informed by my own life experiences as a sister, as a daughter, as a wife, and as a business owner. But there are also some tangible tools no writer should be without – a good thesaurus and a dictionary. These may sound basic, but in some of my writing courses I’ve seen writers tend to repeat the same words or phrases. Instructors and classmates have often suggested using these tools to expand your writing vocabulary which I believe is excellent advice.
Norm: Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)
Catherine: Besides promoting the novel, I’m writing a series of short stories, all of which are again based on true stories. Depending on the feedback, one of those stories may develop into my next novel; otherwise I’ll look at publishing the short stories as a book.
Norm: How can our readers find out more about you and Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace?
Catherine: Readers can visit the web site:
www.CatherineJohnsonNovels.info where they can learn more about the book and also find resources that pertain to key topics discussed in the work.
Norm: Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?
Catherine: Only that I hope readers will enjoy the book and tell others about it.
