| The InSide Story: A Conversation with Catherine Gilbert Murdock |
by Kristen Switzer
Ingram Library Services recently caught up with Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of The Off Season, a follow-up to her bestselling first novel, Dairy Queen, for the following Q&A.
 You've had quite a year--from last year's smash hit Dairy Queen to this summer's sequel The Off Season. Has it been a whirlwind? What was it like when you realized you had finally arrived?
“Whirlwind” is a bit strong. That term's more for when you win the Oscars or suddenly get chosen for the next moon launch. I still scrape dried spaghetti off the kitchen table, and forget to put out the recycling, and get stuck figuring out what to make the kids for lunch when all we have in the fridge is ketchup. Would a whirlwind take care of that?
In terms of “arriving” (see whirlwind, above), I have to say that it's been very nice, this last year, being able to say that I'm a writer without wincing. For 10 years, I was an aspiring writer, which could often sound, well, wince-worthy, at least to me. So being a legitimate, published writer is a huge relief at cocktail parties and such. I also love that I now, as a YA writer, have an excuse to read children's literature. I'll be sprawled on the couch with a great fantasy novel, and I can say to the kids--with a straight face--“Could you guys keep it down? I'm working here.” That's arrived.
What do you like most about main character D.J. Schwenk? What changes should she make in her life? Is there anything about her that you'd like to add?
I'd have to say that I'm fondest of D.J.'s phlegmatic nature. I am not phlegmatic--a considerate person would describe me as manic--and the fact that D.J. can take so much trauma and labor and angst without turning into a chicken with its head cut off is enormously admirable, in my humble opinion. Would that the world had more souls like that.
In terms of changes to her life, are we talking about the beginning of The Off Season or the end? Because of course enormous changes happen throughout the book. Beyond the conclusion of The Off Season, I can say only that the girl really needs to get the heck out of Dodge. Fond as I am of Red Bend, it's not the center of the universe, and I'm glad to see that D.J. recognizes that. I do have some ideas I'm filing away for a third book. But that's many years down the road.
Dairy Queen was all about what happens when we don't--and then when we finally do--communicate with the people in our lives. How does The Off Season continue this theme?
In terms of a theme, if you will, the sequel explores the meaning of community. What are the ramifications of living in a close society, especially when you're a teen desperately wanting to be independent while also desperately wanting to fit in? That conundrum affects everyone in the book in various ways, the kids most of all. Of course The Off Season also continues to explore the downsides of non-communication and how it damages the Schwenks and the Nelsons. My first title for the sequel was The Worst Thing in the World, which we ultimately decided was just a teensy bit depressing. But it does give you some notion of where the story's going.
What can you tell us about D.J. and Brian's relationship? Any specifics?
Based on the volume of e-mails I've received, quite a few readers really want to know where D.J. and Brian are going. Though I don't want to reveal too much, a large portion of the book focuses on their efforts to define just what the word relationship means, and what it means to them specifically.
You've said that you were the “queen” of your school library's YA section. What were some of your favorite books growing up, and how did they shape your decision to write YA fiction?
My favorite books usually contained strong female leads--I could read about boys, and did often enough, but I adored any sort of clever or effective or persevering girl. My Web site, www.catherinemurdock.com, has a page of my favorites from way back when: John Aiken, Anne McCafferty, Susan Cooper, T.H. White, etc. It's rather curious, actually, that I write contemporary fiction at all, considering my passion for fantasy. I'm still drawn to it, in part because it reduces the research load! (Meaning that I won't have to learn to text-message, a skill that no self-respecting teen, or teen author, can apparently be without.) Two of my favorite books--not YA necessarily, though I did reread them far into my teen years, which doubtless says a lot--were Where's Wallace, which I was delighted to see has been reissued, and A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse To Me, which inexplicably is out of print. I also adored, and still adore, the extraordinary poetry compilation Don't Forget to Fly, which is also out of print. And The Animal Family--oh, I should probably put that one on my Web site.
As you can see, my career choice has really been based on my undying love for children's books generally. I would so much rather read literature for kids than for so-called grownups--and I'm talking everything from Junie B. Jones to Toys Go Out to The Pirates! There's just so much there to relish, and from which to draw inspiration.
If you had one piece of advice to give your readers, what would it be?
Take advice! And I say this to all writers, even those just slogging through an English assignment. It took me so many years to learn that critique was not invented simply to hurt my feelings; teachers, editors, and readers were suggesting genuine improvements to my work that I should ignore at my peril. To be honest, I still have trouble with this, though I try to keep a stiff upper lip in public. And when I take the time (often several weeks!) to reflect on the suggestions I've been given, I invariably admit that they make the story better. Pride can be a writer's most dangerous adversary.
What are you working on now?
A fantasy (happy face emoticon)--a fairy tale about a princess and an evil queen, with all sorts of thesaurus words and plot twists. I began writing it even before The Off Season, and I couldn't love it more. Rumor has it the book is coming out next spring. Working title: Princess Ben.
Do you have a favorite library moment?
How could I choose among a million favorites? I truly did live at the library when I was a kid, and then in middle school I worked there restocking the scrap paper bins, which meant getting to use the giant paper cutter. Yowsa. I do recall once visiting a big city library with my grandmother. My parents lived in a small town with a nice little library, very well run, in a nice clapboard colonial-era home. But to walk into the Utica Public Library! I recall it being on the scale of Grand Central Station. Perhaps it really was designed by McKim Mead & White; it certainly had that effect. I was dazzled. The thought that real, everyday people could enter this palace of marble and columns and giant stairways, just for books! Plus my grandmother got me Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I'd never seen before, and which I read next to her in the pickup truck the whole way home. That was a pretty important moment, now that I reflect on it.
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