Here are the contents of my email interview with author Jayne Pupek. As a warning, a few of the questions contain spoilers of the book Tomato Girl (specifically nos. 5 & 7).
Jayne Pupek is the author of the newly released novel "Tomato Girl" (Algonquin Books, 2008) and a book of poems titled "Forms of Intercession" (Mayapple Press, 2008). Her writing has appeared in numerous literary journals. A Virginia native, Jayne has spent most of her professional life working in the field of mental health.
1. I know the novel Tomato Girl got it's start as a poem, could you tell us about the poem and how it evolved into book form?
The poem, also titled Tomato Girl, was a narrative poem written from an exercise based on the prompt "red." When I signed up for an online workshop/critique group for novelists, more or less on a whim, I didn't have a novel in progress. I'd read plenty of novels and thought it would be fun to try to write one. When it was time to submit my first chapter, I used the poem as a place to begin. I never submitted the poem for publication. I'm not sure if I still have it. I either threw it away or have it somewhere in a box of bad writing.
2. Does your writing process differ when you write poetry vs.fiction, if so, how?
Novels are more linear, which means I spend more time focused on the story arc. Poems don't necessarily contain a story, and are more about the essence of whatever the poem is exploring. I find fiction to be more arduous to write, maybe because it means being married to one set of characters and story for the duration. Poetry comes more easily for me; I never find it boring or tedious. In both fiction and poetry, I tend to begin with either images or a voice inside my head. I never know what the poem or novel is about until the voice of the narrator tells me.
3. You found me on goodreads.com, do you enjoy the grassroots type of online book publicity? Are you noticing it as a trend?
I love GoodReads.com and have met some of the nicest people there and at similar sites. I've also found some awesome books that I may have missed if not for recommendations from others. I really appreciate feedback from readers---good and bad---because it helps me learn and grow as a writer. I've seen more authors doing blog tours and online author chats, so I think it is a trend. The Internet makes it so much easier to connect with people and to find people with shared interests.
4.Your writing is being compared to the greats of Southern writing - Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Kaye Gibbons - with flawed, yet sympathetic characters. So while I was often angry with certain characters, it was easy to see how poor judgement results in disastrous consquences. It also shows a deep insight into human nature. Was that conscious on your part? Were there any characters you had to adjust to make them more or less villainous?
I try to approach my characters with compassion. My academic background is psychology, not English, and I spent many years in mental health and social work. I've seen over and over again how poor choices have a way of escalating into disastrous consequences. Damaged people are often prone to make poor choices, and sadly, to keep repeating the same mistakes. In terms of villains, I think my writing reflects what I believe: that monsters are made, not born.
5.I have to ask, because it was so shocking, how did the baby in the jar come to be? (i saw the Stephen King quote on your website and wondered if that was an influence)
Stephen King is an amazing storyteller and writer. He's definitely among my favorite writers, so maybe at some level, the baby in a jar was influenced by all the King novels I've read. But also, as a girl, touring the biology department of a college, I saw a human fetus preserved inside a jar, and the experience stuck with me. Also, I knew a woman who miscarried in winter. She retrieved the fetus from the toilet and kept the remains in her freezer because the ground was too frozen to bury it.
6. One of the things I love about Southern fiction is the strength and wisdom represented by the African American families - in this case Clara and Jericho - could you just talk a bit about them?
I think people who have overcome great adversity often possess an even greater capacity for faith, compassion, and resilience. Clara and Jericho demonstrate those traits in the way they intervene on Ellie's behalf. It doesn't matter to them that she is a white child, only that she is a child in need. They rise to the need, and do so with great love and determination. It would have been easy for them to say that Ellie wasn't theirs, but they were better people than that. They had too much heart to abandon her.
7. One of my favorites parts of the book, is the end when Ellie is living with Miss Emily. There is a relief (for the reader) that she is being cared for, but I most appreciated when Ellie says "I don't want to hurt Miss Emily's feelings, but I don't want to be anyone else's daughter. I had a mother. I want her back." Rather than being relieved over the external, that passage reassured me her spirit was intact.
Yes, I think that passage shows that Ellie has some knowledge and sense of her self as a separate and distinct individual with ideas and wants of her own. Ellie understands that Miss Emily can't replace her mother, and even more importantly, she doesn't want her to. That admission is a first and significant step in accepting the loss of her mother.
8. What has the reaction been among your family to your writing? (Not that they should be surprised ;)..)
Everyone has been very excited for me. No one was completely surprised, though, because they've known me to always have my nose in a book. (My mother would also like everyone to know that she is "not crazy like that woman" in my book.)
9. Are you planning to write another novel? If so, can you give us a little peek into the story?
I'm working on another novel now that will be completed soon. Superstition keeps me from saying much about it except that, like Tomato Girl, it is set in the South. It is told in first person, but in several alternating voices. One voice is that of a severely disabled child.
10. What are three books you think everyone should read?
You know, I think people should read what interests them and what makes their lives fuller or deeper or better. I go to different writers for different things, and I imagine other readers do that, too. I think people should read for the journey. If I had to choose three books that have been important to me, I'd select Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Sylvia Plath's Ariel, and J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace.
11. What are you reading now?
I just finished The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and I'm re-reading Hillary Jordan's Mudbound for a review I'm writing. I can't read too much while I am working on a draft because the voices can interfere with the voices in the story I'm writing, but I have a huge pile of books waiting for me. I love to read more than I love to write.
12. I find poetry intimidating, but I desire to learn and read more - where would you suggest I start?
I think the way poetry is taught in school turns almost everyone off to poetry, which is so sad. Poems should be experienced more and dissected less.
Here are some really good books about poetry and how to approach it:
Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words by Susan Woolridge
How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch
The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Frances Mayes
Some poets are more accessible than others. Sharon Olds is a contemporary poet whose work is brilliant and accessible. She's written many great books, but The Gold Cell and Satan Says remain favorites. Claudia Emerson's The Late Wife is also wonderful. Billy Collins, Louise Gluck, W.S. Merwin, and Galway Kinnell are remarkable poets whose work is very approachable.
You can read some of Jayne's poetry on her website - www.jaynepupek.com and her blog Notes on the Writing Life.
The End.
Rules by Cynthia Lord (ya/teen) - Artistic Catherine takes care of her autisic little brother while experiencing the growing pains of 12 year old girls. This is lovely, nothing inappropriate (why do they do that in books for young girls?) and sweet coming of age story. Totally should have won Newbery instead of that stupid Higher Power of Lucky book. 5 stars 
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (ya/teen) - for slightly older readers (I'd say high school for sure, although I'd also say if you are a parent you should read it first) after calling the cops at a party, Melinda completely ostracized and begins to withdraw into silence. What happened? Speak perfectly captures the agony of high school, made even worse by the torment of Melinda's situation. Is Laurie Halse Anderson the Jodi Piccoult of YA? (I hope not, but the thought struck me as I looked through her other books.) 4 stars 
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - finally mooched this for my introduction to Sedaris. Hmmm. A little goes a long way. I still laughed out loud a few times. But he's either way overhyped or I'm coming to the party late or both. Small doses are best but I'm glad I can see what the fuss is about and that I didn't buy it. :) 3+ stars 
If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs - an older book that has been on my list for quite a while. An international adoption, friendship story - the first half was great, the second half I anticipated would be even better (when they travel to Vietnam to pick up the baby), but it wasn't. And I'm still not sure why. 3 stars 
An old Golden Book - gotta hunt this down.
see 
