Amy Hatvany is not just a terrific author. She's also warm, funny and so supportive that she deserves to be in the Writers Hall of Fame. She's the author of Heart Like Mine, Outside the Lines, Best Kept Secret, The Language of Sisters, The Kind of Love That Saves You and her newest, Safe With Me. I'm so thrilled to have her here. Thank you, Amy!
I always ask, what
sparked this particular book?
It
actually came from an article I read over a decade ago, about a woman in New
York city who was having her home remodeled. She became friendly with one of
the workers and as the two of them got to know each other, she shared the fact
that her husband was recovering from a kidney transplant. When the worker told
her that he had actually donated one of his own kidneys to a stranger the
previous year, they compared surgery dates and doctors names and it turned out
that the worker was the person who saved the woman’s husband’s life.
I still
get chills thinking about the two of them coincidentally crossing paths. The
story idea grew from there.
SAFE WITH ME is about
so many different things, organ donation, single parenthood, to name two--what
was the research like? Did anything surprise you?
Having been a single
parent myself, I didn’t have to do a ton of research around that particular
aspect of the book. Organ donation, however, is something with which I haven’t
had personal experience, so I was lucky enough to connect with a counselor at a
Seattle-based organ procurement organization. She was enormously helpful in
explaining the logistics of the process, but more importantly, what clients and
the families of those clients go through emotionally. One thing that didn’t
necessarily surprise me, but struck me as an immensely profound thought was the
fact that the many parents of a child in need of an organ transplant are
essentially praying for another child to die so that their child can be saved.
As a mother, I was initially horrified by this thought, but as I began to flesh
out Olivia in the story, I began to understand it as being just another part of
the process. There is grief on both sides, and it’s what happens when those two
sides come together that I wanted to explore.
I was struck by
something you said, about who we do or do not share the most intimate parts of
ourselves with others, and how that sharing creates a bond. Could you talk
about that please?
At the beginning of the story, all three main characters in the
story, Hannah, Olivia, and Maddie, ache to find a feeling of safety, both
figuratively, and in Olivia and Maddie’s case, physically. They are all in
flux, struggling with fear and grief and uncertainty, and it is only after they
meet that the dynamics in each of their personal situations begin to change.
None of them have an easy time with trust or vulnerability, and I wanted to
explore how important that very basic need within us–to have people in our
lives with whom we feel safe–is to our survival. The title sprang from that
exploration.
SAFE WITH ME is also
about deep grief and the loss of a child. You're a mother--how difficult was
this to write?
It
was excruciating, really. I had the first scene in my head long before I began
writing and it haunted me. The idea of losing one of my children is the most
painful thing I could imagine. Not too far into the story, I realized right
along with Hannah, who loses her daughter, Emily, that children who lose their
parents are orphans, spouses are either widows or widowers, but there is no
word for a parent who loses a child. A profound finding, I thought, and totally
understandable. The significance of that kind of loss is simply too devastating
to fit into one word.
Tell us about your
writing life these days. Do you have rituals? Do you outline? Do you have three
novels bubbling in the back of your mind or do you take a long time to figure
out what you want to write about next. And how do you know when an idea is a
good one?
The only ritual I have
is that I must go straight to my desk each morning and begin working. I can’t
take a shower or exercise or clean or play with my dogs or the day will be lost
to distraction. I get my cup of coffee, plop on my Bose noise-cancelling
headphones and either research or write. Both, perhaps, depending on the day.
I’m also not a huge
outliner, but I do jot down a three-act structure of a book and the turning
points at the end of the first and second acts which propel the story along. Those
points give me something at which to aim. Before I begin writing, I absolutely
need to pinpoint the larger question I am trying to answer, the overall driving
force behind the action of the book. Of course this is usually hampered by the
two or three other ideas for novels leaping around in my brain, so I often need
to get the bare bones of those stories onto the page before I can truly focus
on my current work in progress. I know a story idea is a good one when it won’t
leave me alone. When I’m walking my dogs and find myself in an unfamiliar
neighborhood because I’ve been so caught up in the idea that I didn’t pay
attention to where I was going. When I can’t sleep because characters are
chattering in my head. That’s when I know I’ve stumbled upon something
compelling enough to build upon.
What's obsessing you
now and why?
This is not related to
books in any way, shape, or form, but I am completely obsessed with the
discovery of using vanilla bean paste in my baked goods. Worlds better than
vanilla extract in terms of adding amazing flavor to my creations. I tend to
bake when I’m working on an new idea, or waiting for my editor to get back to
me on revisions, so I’ve stocked up on this ingredient and have been putting it
to great use!
What question didn't I
ask that I should have?
I was waiting for you to ask me about what movies I’ve
fallen in love with this year, since we share that particular passion! I adored
“Enough Said;” Nicole Holofcener is one of the most talented writer/directors
working today. Her first film, “Walking and Talking” introduced me to her
particular brand of humor and realism and to Catherine Keener, whom I also
adore. I talk about Nicole incessantly and can’t recommend her films enough.
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