Interview: Barbara Delinsky, author of 'Blueprints'
Over the years I've read and enjoyed many of Barbara Delinsky's books, so it was a special pleasure to interview her about Blueprints, her new release.
A bit about Barbara (courtesy of the author):
She's written more than 21 bestselling novels with over 30 million copies in print. She has been published in 20 languages worldwide. Barbara's fiction centers upon everyday families facing not-so-everyday challenges. She is particularly drawn to exploring themes of motherhood, marriage, sibling rivalry and friendship in her novels.
As a breast cancer survivor who lost her mother to the disease when she was only 8, Barbara compiled the non-fiction book Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors, a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes. She donates her proceeds from the sale of this book to her charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
About Blueprints (courtesy of St. Martin's Press):
The story of two strong women, Caroline MacAfee, a skilled carpenter, and her daughter Jamie, a talented architect. The day after her 56th birthday, Caroline is told the network wants Jamie to replace her as the host on Gut It!, their family-based home construction TV show. The resulting rift couldn't come at a worse time.
For Jamie, life changes overnight when, soon after learning of the host shift, her father and his new wife die in a car accident that orphans their 2-year-old son. Accustomed to organization and planning, she is now grappling with a toddler who misses his parents, a fiancé who doesn't want the child, a staggering new attraction, and a work challenge that, if botched, could undermine the future of both MacAfee Homes and Gut It!
For Caroline, hosting Gut It! is part of her identity. Facing its loss, she feels betrayed by her daughter and old in the eyes of the world. When her ex-husband dies, she is thrust into the role of caregiver to his aging father. And then there's Dean, a longtime friend, whose efforts to seduce her awaken desires that have been dormant for so long that she feels foreign to herself.
Who am I? both women ask, as the blueprints they've built their lives around suddenly need revising. While loyalties shift, decisions hover and new relationships tempt, their challenge comes not only in remaking themselves, but in rebuilding their relationship with each other.
INTERVIEW
Veronica: What were your major influences while writing this book?
Barbara:
• The folly of making rigid life plans. Too often I've seen instances where we have an idea of what we want to be, where we want to go, and with whom — before life steps in the way, throws something at us that is beyond our control, and changes everything.
• The pressure-cooker of parenthood. My children are in the throes of raising their own children and those early years? Chaos! I wouldn't want to be back there raising my kids now, but many of my readers are and will therefore identify with the young parents in Blueprints.
• The plight of the older woman. She has built a challenging and fulfilling career, hits her late-50s and is told she is too old for that new plum assignment. This is increasingly happening to women around me. We need to start a dialogue on this.
Veronica: One aspect of your novels I particularly enjoy is the way you write about topics or concerns found in the real lives of many readers. Which character was the most challenging to write, and why?
Barbara: The toddler, Tad MacAfee, was tough for me. I can't imagine what it's like to be 2 and, overnight, have the only life you've known change forever. I really had to fight to put myself into Tad's mind, especially since I was feeling such heartache for him. OK, I didn't love it during his tantrums, but I do get his angst.
Veronica: I've written some young children in my novels so I can relate. Even as a mother myself, I sometimes worry whether I'm making the character "too adult." I found Master Tad and his reactions quite believable! My younger child was only 3 when my husband died and I felt the echoes of her real-life reaction when reading the emotions you portrayed Tad experiencing.
Do you have a favorite quote from the book you'd like to share?
Barbara: I believe in growth — in myself and in the characters I create. So when Caroline MacAfee, one of Blueprints' two main voices, realized that "the important part of growing older was the growing part, and that resisting change meant forever standing still, which was a sad way to live," I wanted to stand up and cheer. In as much as my characters are my children, I felt a proud mama moment then.
Veronica: How did you go about creating the fictional show Gut It?
Barbara: As I plotted Blueprints, I realized that ageism against women is most obvious in the field of entertainment — and that I needed a TV show in my book. But I'm not a fan of reality TV. So I turned to public television and took inspiration from This Old House. For the behind-the-scenes scoop that would be unique to my book, I preyed on a friend who is involved in local television. I walked her through the characters in my show, Gut It, all women, by the way, and, in turn, she walked me through the hierarchy of a TV station and how it might produce a show of this type. When something she suggested didn't work with the scenario I put forth, she adapted it. She was a dream to work with, understanding that all we needed to do was to create something that was possible. It didn't have to be probable. Just possible.
Veronica: When I read one of your novels I totally immerse myself in the world you create, and it's hard to leave that behind when I close the book. (The Summer I Dared is my all-time favorite.) Are you ever tempted to revisit the characters in one of your previous novels and write a sequel?
Barbara: Yes, yes, it's totally tempting. Readers ask for it all the time. The thing is, I did try it once. On the premise that it would be neat to create one town and a returning cast of characters, I conceived of a quartet of novels set in a small town in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. I wrote the first, and readers loved it. I wrote the second, and they loved that one, too. I did not. Well, I loved the book but not the writing experience. I felt too constrained. Not only was it hard going back to the same small town, but revisiting these characters whom I loved was harder for me than not seeing them at all. And then there was the element of challenge. Each of my books is different from the last, each with its own characters, its own setting, its own themes. As a writer, I need the variety. I sense my readers do, too.
Veronica: How do you celebrate when you finish writing a novel?
Barbara: I sleep. Right up until the end of a book, I'm waking multiple times in the night with character qualms and plot tweaks. When a book is finally done, I can let that go and sleep unencumbered.
I can also read, which I love doing. With my own book done, I can appreciate the voice of other authors without worry of writing the next morning in someone else's voice.
Veronica: What's next for you?
Barbara: Another book! This one will be set in Vermont, rather than Massachusetts, will be written in the first person, rather than the third, and is based on the following premise: When you lose the most precious thing in your life, how do you go on? But then, how do you not?
I'm still in the opening stages of this book, and it could totally change by the time I'm done, but, for now, there you have it.
Veronica: I'm thoroughly intrigued — can't wait to read the new one.
May we take a peek at your To Be Read list?
Barbara: Of course. I've just finished Toni Morrison's God Help The Child and Lily King's Euphoria, both of which I adored. Next up is The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer, and after that, The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg.
You can learn more about Barbara and her books at www.barbaradelinsky.com.
—
Amazon best-seller Veronica Scott is a three-time recipient of the SFR Galaxy Award and has written a number of science-fiction and paranormal romances. Her latest is Ghost of the Nile. You can find out more about her and her books at veronicascott.wordpress.com. Please e-mail Veronica at scifiencounters@gmail.com about content related to this column. Due to the volume of mail, e-mails may not be answered personally, but all will be read.