Pump Up Chats with Melanie Benjamin

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Melanie Melanie Benjamin is a pseudonym for Melanie Hauser, the author of two contemporary novels. Her first work of historical fiction as Melanie Benjamin was Alice I Have Been. The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is her second release. She lives in Chicago, where she is at work on her next historical novel.

You can visit her online at www.melaniebenjamin.com.

On The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

I was stuck in the middle of a manuscript that I simply couldn’t finish; I’d lost interest in it and had to assume the reader would, as well. But it was due to my editor in a few months! Before I told her this, I figured I should have an idea for a new novel, along with a couple of pages. I frantically started Googling – lists of women, historical figures, events. I did have an idea of the era I wanted to write about; the Victorian era. I also knew that since ALICE I HAVE BEEN was set in England, this time I wanted to set a book in the United States. On one of those lists, the name “Lavinia Warren Bump – aka Mrs. Tom Thumb” leaped out at me. I remembered her from a scene in one of my favorite books, E. L. Doctow’s RAGTIME. She was feisty even in a very brief scene. So I started researching her and was instantly enamored with her story and, most importantly, her voice.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

There is a childbirth scene that was very, very difficult to write. I really had to view it from an animalistic sense – forgetting this was a character, and viewing the scene as one views an animal giving birth, almost; the primitive, relentless nature of the act, once started. While I’m very proud of the scene, it was the one I was dreading writing from the very beginning.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

Yes – that truly, there are no limitations on the kind of life you choose, no matter what obstacles you’re handed at birth – but that sometimes, this choice can have unforeseen consequences for those you cherish the most.

On Writing

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

Quite late in my life. Writing was always something I did without thinking, the thing that came easiest to me. It was what got me through school, really – I always knew that eventually there would be an essay test or a book report and that I would ace it. So it never occurred to me that it was something to be studied or honed. My first love was acting, instead – and that was what I studied. While I was a lifelong reader, I was in my late thirties when a dear friend suddenly said, “I always thought you’d be a writer.” She still doesn’t know why she said it, but when she did, a light bulb went on over my head.

Q: What’s the most frustrating thing about becoming a published author and what’s the most rewarding?

Frustrating is knowing how much of, well, everything is out of your control – you can’t control reviews, or where your book is displayed in bookstores, or how people talk about it on the Internet. The only thing you can control is the writing – and that’s the most rewarding thing.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

Just write something, every day. Waiting around for the muse to strike won’t get your novel written; you have to sit down and just do it, every day. Even on those days when you think you’ve written the worst dreck ever, you’ve actually done something worthwhile – you’ve moved the story forward, inch by inch.

On Family and Home:

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

Photo_cat I’ve been married for 23 years to a wonderful saint of a man who puts up with my artistic neuroses! We have two grown sons; one just graduated from college, the other is a junior at college. We live in the Chicago area with two cats who tolerate us.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I finally have an office, now that my youngest is at school. I took one of the boys’ rooms and made it my own; I’m surrounded by all my favorite books. I do most of my writing there.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

Once a year – and I’ve done this since my boys were much smaller – I go away for a week alone. The mountains of Colorado are my destination; I hide myself away and do nothing but write and drive and hike in the mountains. I get so much work done, but still come home completely rested and at peace.

On Childhood:

Q: Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

Yes, yes, yes – I always won the summer library reading contest!

Q: Can you remember your favorite book?

I really had so many favorites, but it was a series of books – BALLET SHOES and THEATER SHOES were the ones I most remember – that were my absolute favorites. Written by Noel Streatfeild, these were the first books that showed me it was absolutely OK to be an artistic child, that there was an avenue for creativity. This was not a lesson I would have ever learned at home, in my family. These books really made me feel that someday, I’d turn out all right, after all!

Q: Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

No, not really – if I did, it was only so I could act in them. I was the original “Let’s put on a show!” child.

On Book Promotion:

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

I did a lot with my two previously published books – contemporary women’s fiction, published under a different name. I sent out mailers to bookstores, I cobbled together my own little book tour, I blogged like mad. (This was before Twitter and Facebook.) I went to every little literary festival that would have me, all on my own dime – some of them nothing more than a few local authors in a library. I drove across states to meet with book clubs. But in the end, none of it mattered; it was heartbreaking but also empowering to realize that if you don’t write a book that people want to talk about, and tell others about, none of the promotion in the world is going to help. When I realized that, I quit the blog, stopped driving, and got down to writing the best book possible. It took me several false starts and stops, and a lot of rejection, before I finally broke free, in a sense – a very liberating, creative sense – and found myself inspired by a collection of photographs by Lewis Carroll. This inspiration led to ALICE I HAVE BEEN, and I finally wrote the kind of book that other people wanted to talk about, miraculously, without me begging them to! That was my big “ah ha!” moment – that ultimately, it comes down to the book, and that’s where our time is always better spent.

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

Yes. I’m on Twitter – @MelanieBen, and Facebook – Melanie Benjamin – Author. I think these are brilliant, and a much better use of an author’s time than blogging – at least, they are for me. They take less time and reach more people. I used to agonize for days over the perfect blog post, and reach 1/10^th of the people I do now. I also have met such lovely people – booksellers, book clubs. I love to call or SKYPE with book clubs, from all over the world, and social networking is a wonderful way to facilitate this.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

Well, I think that authors are forced to be much more public, much more personable than perhaps is in our nature. I think most of us are drawn to writing precisely because it’s a lonely endeavor; most of us don’t play well with others! Yet now we also must reach out and interact and engage, on a level that is really difficult for many of my author friends. I feel lucky; I have two sides to my personality, the theatrical, spotlight-seeking side that helps with book promotion, social networking, touring, speaking with readers. And then I have the solitude-craving side as well, which is necessary for the actual writing. But not everyone has both sides, and I think this is what is difficult, in terms of promotion, for authors these days.

On Other Fun Stuff:

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

Other than the usual wish for my children’s health and happiness? That books would continue to be important to the generations to come. That authors will still be valued.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

Paris, France.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

My husband. Who else? He’s my biggest fan, and has to put up with a lot of drama from me!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach