Tag Archives: counselling

A Glass of Wine and a Chat about Disappearing in Plain Sight

I have a treat for my readers today. Gwen Stephens, from the 4 A.M. Writer, has stopped by to ask a few questions about my recently released novel, Disappearing in Plain Sight. We grabbed a bottle of wine and made our way out to the cliff deck to admire the view as we chatted.

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af195236a2498a7558d173d00197c7ce[1]Gwen: The characters of Disappearing in Plain Sight struggle with a wide range of issues: alcoholism, infidelity, promiscuity, to name a few. Your background in professional counselling made me wonder if your characters are a composite of clients you’ve worked with in the past.

DSC_0035Me: Maybe, probably – yes and no – it’s a tough question to answer. By virtue of getting to a certain stage in life, anyone of us has interacted with, been close to, or loved people who experience a wide range of challenges when it comes to coping.

Counsellors, because of the type of work they do, hear a great many stories. I think the experience of that kind of focused listening made it possible for me to have a wide imagination for the types of things that can happen to people and how those past events echo into current thoughts and feelings.

The counselling experience may have broadened my perspective, but ultimately, it’s all of a writer’s life that contributes. Does that make any sense?

Gwen: Dan is a misguided Catholic priest whose character traits defy the public stereotype. That made him so much fun to read. In recent years, controversies within the Church have proliferated in the media. Did you draw upon this when creating Dan?

Me: Whew! If this is a common type of question for readers to ask, I might be in trouble. Take a deep breath here, Fran! In a past life – no folks, not that kind of past life – I worked within the Catholic Church as an educator and organizer. Being employed by the Church, as opposed to being a person sitting in the pew every Sunday, is a different reality. You see the people you work with in a different light, you hear stories you might not otherwise hear. The gloves come off, so to speak. No matter where we are employed, I think it’s the same. We get to see an underbelly we wouldn’t normally be exposed to.

Gwen: Liam is one of my favourite characters. He interacts with one of the other characters in a way that many readers would deem inappropriate, if not shocking. As a writer, you took a big risk with this plot thread. Did you grapple with whether or not to include it? Did earlier drafts take a different direction?

Me: Liam’s story arc was set in my mind from the beginning. That is not to say it wasn’t a risky thing to write or that I didn’t struggle to pull it off. There are parts of the book involving him that were rewritten so many times I despaired that I would ever manage to capture the tone and nuances I wanted.

I guess the real challenge was to coax the reader along, slowly revealing the layers of Liam’s character in such a way that when he missteps (which is complicated), you can understand – though not necessarily agree with his logic. He is undeniably the person who will make people think about the concepts of right and wrong.

In Disappearing in Plain Sight, Liam has found a peace of sorts, but it’s based on the fact that he doesn’t have a lot to lose anymore. Up the ante for him, give him a life that he wants desperately to hold onto (The Light Never Lies) and the type of guy he made himself into (quiet, easy-going, non-advice giving) will be sorely tested.

Gwen: Caleb’s untimely death had a deep and lasting impact on Liam, Izzy, and Beulah. From a writing standpoint, why did you decide to include his death as backstory, rather than as a “live” chapter or scene?

Me: One reviewer described Caleb as the moral compass of the group – he’s a strong character, even when you know from the very beginning of the book that he has been dead for two years. It’s only in retrospect of the writing that I realize the answer to this question. I wanted the reader to grapple with the same issues the characters do – Caleb is gone, he isn’t coming back. He’s a man of the past. Life has moved on beyond him.

Gwen: I loved the Lisa-Marie/Justin/Izzy romance triangle for its complicated, unrequited feelings. Can readers look forward to this storyline’s continuation in your sequel, The Light Never Lies?

Me: Most definitely!

A reviewer wrote that Disappearing in Plain Sight, rather than centering on one protagonist, follows a group of people. Many will argue that is no way to write a book. The first character the reader meets should be the main character.

Lisa-Marie jumps to life on the opening pages of Disappearing in Plain Sight and lo and behold, there she is at the beginning of the Light Never Lies, as well. Does that make her the protagonist? I guess time will tell.

Lisa-Marie and Justin’s story isn’t over; then again, neither is Liam and Izzy’s.

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The sun has set, and the wine is gone. It’s time for Gwen to head back over to her 4 A.M. Writer blog. I hope you have enjoyed our conversation as much as we have. The only thing you missed was the wine and the view!

My Latest Flash Fiction for the Ramsgate Women’s Fiction Group

(A pretty pic to catch your eye – we writer’s our shameless in our ability to solicit attention – but don’t say you weren’t warned.)

Got my snippet of conversation for a flash fiction assignment from the Ramsgate Women’s Fiction Group – check out their blog http://ramsgatewomensfiction.blogspot.ca/

Anyway, here’s the result – fiction with a wee twist of autobiographical feeling – then again, what fiction isn’t like that?

“Yes, well she said she wasn’t drunk, but I don’t know.” Shit – why had she tacked on those last three words – I don’t know – in that tentative, weak tone? She sounded like she didn’t have a clue, like her client would have been better off telling her problems to the first passerby she saw on the street. Shit.

Monica clutched at the file in her hand and told herself to breathe. The weekly peer supervision sessions with one of her graduate school colleagues always rattled her composure. They were supposed to share case notes from their practicum counselling sessions and try to help each other identify blind spots, work on their edges – what a load of shit. It was the blind leading the blind – one-upmanship spurred on by mutual insecurity. The first person to show a hint of weakness would be brought down like a crippled zebra before a pack of slavering lions.

And who the hell did this guy think he was to be questioning her judgement in that snide tone and making her feel like some sort of beginner? The thought of him being a counsellor someday made her pity anyone who might end up as his client. What a joke this entire program was turning out to be. Why she had thought going back to school to get her Master’s degree was a good idea was a total mystery to her now. And at her age – it was laughable, really. She knew how to help people – she’d been doing it for years. But instead of being out in the world doing what she was good at, she was stuck in a corner of the graduate student lounge being grilled by an egotistical smart aleck who was young enough to be her son – peer my ass.

When she let herself dwell on what her graduate school experience had been so far she felt like vomiting. Insecure professors who were also younger than her, nitpicking over ridiculous crap – academics who hadn’t had an original thought in the last twenty years, people so busy cannibalizing any real work they had ever done and stealing their own students’ ideas for more publications and research grant money, they had no time or inclination to give a shit about teaching. Her fellow classmates had either come into the program thinking they already knew everything or they were so busy spewing back every word the prof said like it had just come down from God on high they couldn’t possibly open themselves up to really learn anything. The curriculum for the entire program made her question when the last time anyone designing this bullshit had been in the real world. What a colossal mistake it all was.

“Monica, can we drop the peer supervision roles for a minute? I really need to talk to someone.”

The tremble in his voice propelled her out of her spiral of negative thoughts as she sat up straighter and met his pleading eyes. “Sure, Jeff – what’s up?”

“I haven’t slept for a couple of days – I can’t keep up. Work is crazy right now and I need the job – I’ve got to pay for school. I don’t have that old silver spoon in my mouth like some people in this program. My girlfriend is on my back every minute about how much time I’m spending on campus and I’m behind in the readings for every course. Forget about that bloody theories paper for Mr. Dickhead – it’s not going to happen.”

Monica watched him drop his head into his hand and rake his long fingers through his hair. When he looked up his voice shook, “I admire you – you’re the one person in the whole frigging cohort who seems to care about anybody else or even slightly have her shit together. I watch you and I wonder what the hell I’m doing here. I feel like such a bloody imposter every second – like it’s only a matter of time before they find out what a total incompetent I am and kick me out of the program. Sorry to dump all my crap out like this – I just feel like I’m drowning.”

Monica took a deep breath and reached across the space that separated them to put her hand on Jeff’s knee, “Let’s take things one at a time – OK? Maybe together we can figure out where you can get a little room to move in all of this.” She smiled warmly at him and she could feel her world pivot back to where it was supposed to be.