As promised, here is the very first post in the series: That’s Not Me!, which examines how much of our fiction is autobiographical and why some authors try to insist there’s no link between their fictional characters and themselves.
To start off the discussion, here’s Joan Livingston, author of thirteen published books, so far. Over to you, Joan.
That’s Not Me or Is It?
My motto in writing fiction is that I take what I know and have my way with it. That includes the setting for most of my books — the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts in the U.S. — and its characters. Thanks, Miriam, for this opportunity to explain.
Since I was a kid, I’ve always been a curious and attentive person who pays attention to what is happening around me, especially what others are doing. I can thank my mother for that. When Hank and I moved our family to the sticks of Western Massachusetts, I had an opportunity to immerse myself in rural life. That was enhanced when I became a reporter covering this part of the world for a local newspaper. I listened to the way people talked and observed what they did. These were great experiences that prepared me for writing fiction.
Now the ultimate question: are any of these characters based on people I know? In my latest book, Northern Comfort, I can honestly say no. Willi Miller and her boy are a charity case in a rural NE town. One snowy day, Cody’s sled slides into the path of Miles Potter’s truck. Until that tragic accident, they are separated by their families’ places in town. Cody’s death also has an impact on the father who abandoned him. Because of my experiences and observations, I believe I created authentic characters who deal with this situation.
I will admit there is a lot of me in the main character of my Isabel Long Mystery Series. Like me, Isabel was a former long-time journalist. She’s an older woman on the sassy side. But I didn’t pursue being a P.I. after losing a job as editor-in-chief. My husband also didn’t die. (When we visit the town of Worthington, where we lived 25 years, people will joke that Hank’s still alive.) My mother doesn’t live with me, and I have six adult kids, not three. I also don’t work part-time at the local watering hole — although I did that long ago when we were building our house and needed the extra cash — or have a love relationship with its owner.
Isabel’s mother was inspired by my own mother, Algerina, who is now 99. Yes, she’s a big reader, nosy, and a fan of gambling like Isabel’s mom. I created that character as a tribute to her. Isabel’s kids are based loosely on three of my kids. I will let them figure that out.
The rest of the characters? They were born inside my head and I’ve grown to love them, even the bad ones. It is humorous when people I know try to guess who my characters “really are.” Sorry, no, you’re wrong.
By the way, I am just about ready to send Missing the Deadline, no. seven in the series to my publisher, darkstroke books. That will be the 14th of my published books.
I still have one unpublished adult novel — The Swanson Shuffle. This one was inspired by my experiences living and working in a psychiatric half-way house. But it’s not autobiographical.
By the way, I once had an agent who wanted me to write a tell-all memoir about hilltown life. I tried a few chapters but he wanted more dirt. A lot more. I stopped. I couldn’t do that to the towns I so loved.
Has my fiction ever got me into trouble? Once, for the first book I self-published, Peace, Love and You Know What. Here’s the plot: Turn on, tune in, and then what? That’s the question facing Tim and Lenora. But first they’ll escape to a three-day graduation bash put on by Tim and his roommates at their funky, hippie pad. A few college friends thought I portrayed people we know unfavorably. Huh? This was definitely not a memoir, not even close. It was a case of taking what I know … oh, you know the rest by now.
Bio
Joan Livingston grew up near the ocean in Massachusetts, where her grandparents arrived from the Azores and Madeira islands. Her childhood was steeped in all things Portuguese — from saintly aspirations to festas down the street. (Don’t let her last name fool you.)
Her mother taught her to love reading with twice-weekly trips to the public library. Her teachers inspired her to write. She longed for straight hair and popularity but settled for being smart instead. She was the first of her family to graduate from college.
For a very long time, she was too busy raising six kids to write much. She started with poetry but found her way to prose when she began reporting on the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts for a daily newspaper. She covered meetings, disasters, and small town scandals. She profiled such people as the woman who kept a pet porcupine and the farmer who became Bill Clinton’s national security advisor.
She worked as a journalist for 35 years, including managing editor of the award-winning newspaper, The Taos News in New Mexico. Her editorials won state and national awards, and she’d like to think, brought positive change. More recently, she was editor-in-chief of three daily newspapers in Western Massachusetts, where she lives. But she has left journalism to concentrate on her own writing.
Links to books
- Isabel Long Mystery Series
- The Sacred Dog
- Northern Comfort
- Peace, Love and You Know What
- The Sweet Spot
Miriam Drori, Author 