Strange but True (48 page)

8/1/91

In the bathroom at Breakaway. There is some bitch on table 99 who just grabbed my shirt and called me over to count the croutons in her Caesar salad. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Only
six
croutons, John. This is a rip-off!” I went back and filled a bowl of them for her and told her from now on it was an all you can eat crouton deal at Breakaway—just for her. When I told Boo [the manager] she was sitting on a bucket in the kitchen smoking a cigarette. She said, “You deal with them. I'm afraid I might pull out a gun.”

Well, back to work… John

NOT DATED

In the bathroom at Breakaway. Guess what? I went on an interview at
Cosmopolitan
magazine today for a part-time position in the books department. I wore a jacket that I bought at the Salvation Army for twelve bucks. When I stepped off the elevator, I felt totally out of place (not like
Redbook
where people are more laid back). Anyway, the woman who interviewed me didn't seem very interested. She kept asking why I didn't have a resume. I told her that writers don't have resumes, which I think is true. Anyway, I doubt I'll get it, which is okay because I'm not sure I want it, even though it would be better than waiting tables.

Gotta go… John

“She kept asking why I didn't have a resume. I told her that writers don't have resumes, which I think is true.”

4/10/95

In the bathroom at Breakaway. Guess what?!? I got a literary agent this week! Plus, I published my very first essay in the
Washington Post
. I'm so excited. Since it's my 1st time they paid me $500, which they were apologetic about, little do they know that's 5 shifts at Breakaway!

I have to go because some guy was complaining that his stk au poivre was MR instead of M. So they're cooking it in the kitchen some more. Anyway, maybe this is finally the start of something big. Maybe someday I'll walk into a bookstore and see my book on the shelf.

Bye for now… John

An Interview with John Searles

Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of
Lucia, Lucia
and the Big Stone Gap trilogy, interviews John Searles about
Strange but True
.

A
DRIANA
T
RIGIANI
:
Are there any parallels between your own arrival in New York City and Philip's?

J
OHN
S
EARLES
: Like Philip, I had a very colorful introduction to New York City. For years, I lived upstairs from an eccentric Greenwich Village character, who existed on a steady diet of martinis and cigarettes. I'd run into him in the hallway some days and he'd be dressed in a woman's blouse for no apparent reason. So he was an obvious inspiration for Donnelly, even though he didn't have a pet bird or snake.

T
RIGIANI
:
How do you approach the process of writing fiction, compared to your work at
Cosmopolitan?

S
EARLES
: Both experiences are so different. At
Cosmo
, my work is part of a huge group effort each month, whereas my writing is done in solitude for long stretches of time until I am ready to share the story with my editor. Still, I approach both things with a great deal of focus while trying to maintain a sense of humor about myself and not take things too seriously.

T
RIGIANI
:
Do you find it challenging or liberating (or both) to create such high-strung suspense in your storytelling?

S
EARLES
: Both. Since I love to read books with three-dimensional characters and compelling storylines, that's the kind I try very hard to write. It's a challenge to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and incredibly liberating when I feel like I've actually pulled it off.

T
RIGIANI
:
Though
Boy Still Missing
is set in the early 1970s, it contains a few of the same elements conveyed in
Strange but True.
Do you believe these novels reflect each other in any way, or would you prefer that we read them as entirely distinct?

S
EARLES
: On the surface, they are different books because
Boy Still Missing
is told from the single point-of-view of a teenage boy, while
Strange but True
alternates between several characters' perspectives. However, I think there is a similarity in that halfway through both books there is a major surprise that transforms the entire world of the story for the characters as well as the reader. Also, both books deal with the themes of unexpected loss, which is something I've had to face in my own life.

“It's a challenge to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and incredibly liberating when I feel like I've actually pulled it off.”

T
RIGIANI
:
Who were some of your mentors or sources of inspiration in launching your career as a novelist?

S
EARLES
: First and foremost, my grandmother always told me I was going to grow up and be a writer someday. And later, when I was earning my bachelors degree, I had a poetry professor,Vivian Shipley, who gave me invaluable encouragement and is still very supportive to this day. In grad school at NYU, novelist Ann Hood was instrumental in helping me grow as a writer. Finally, Wally Lamb was a tremendous help. I am a huge fan of his writing and years ago when I was still waiting tables, I got in my Hyundai and drove to one of his book signings in Rhode Island. He was kind enough to offer to read my work, and when he did, he put me in touch with his agency. A young agent there, Joanna Pulcini, took me on and she is still my agent today. I am so grateful to all of these people who gave me help—especially my grandma.

“My grandmother always told me I was going to grow up and be a writer someday.”

T
RIGIANI
:
What should we expect in your next book?

S
EARLES
: I plan to bring my readers the same sort of dark story as my first two books, with very real characters and plenty of plot twists.

T
HE MOST COMMON QUESTION
I get from readers is, “How much of your novels are based on your life?” At one book signing, a woman even began to go page by page to inquire about which parts of the story were taken from my own experience. When I answered, she asked if I had planned to use certain moments the instant they happened. In fact, most writers will tell you that they don't consciously plan what experiences they will bring into their stories. Instead, when we sit down to write, our memories get tangled up with our imagination and the results end up on the page—part fact, part fiction. To give you a glimpse inside the process, I put together this “strange but true” list that compares a handful of the facts of my life—some silly, others serious—to the fiction.

Fiction:
Philip has a terrible phobia of birds and has been pecked in the face by a Mynah bird more than once. The bird he took care of knew how to ask for a martini as well as imitate the sound of a flushing toilet.

Fact:
When I was a kid, a friend of my mother's was moving into a new apartment building where pets were not allowed, so we inherited her two parakeets. One was particularly nasty and used to bend the bars of the cage and escape. We lived in a tiny house with low ceilings and when that green blur came flying around, my sisters and I would scream and hide. My father or brother was sent out to catch it—if they weren't around, I was given the job. This experience led to my terrible phobia of birds. Years later, I had a friend with a very nice apartment who asked me to housesit for her while she was away. The catch? I had to take care of her Mynah bird. The bird pecked me in the face several times, which only made my phobia worse. And by the way, this Mynah could say only a few words; mostly the creature just intimidated people with its fierce squawking.

“When we sit down to write, our memories get tangled up with our imagination and the results end up on the page—part fact, part fiction.”

Fiction:
Philip is a waiter at Olive Garden, where Gumaro gives him an education in X-rated Spanish. After dropping a tray of drinks, he walks out in the middle of his shift.

Fact:
For twelve years, I worked as a waiter at Breakaway restaurant in Fairfield, Connecticut, where the dishwashers taught me a fair share of dirty Spanish words. I've never eaten at an Olive Garden, but I've seen the commercials. Also, I never walked out during a shift, though I was tempted plenty of times.

“I worked as a waiter … where the dishwashers taught me a fair share of dirty Spanish words.”

Fiction:
Philip asks a police officer if she is pregnant. She's not, and he's humiliated.

Fact:
A few summers ago, I took a leave of absence from the magazine to write. When I returned, I ran into a colleague and noticed that her belly had grown very large. Of course, I know it's rude to ask a woman if she is pregnant, but I was so absolutely certain that I actually rubbed her belly and made a comment about the baby. Her answer: “I'm not pregnant. I just got really fat.” I slunked away and promptly collapsed in the arms of the art director.

Fiction:
When Philip first moves to New York City, he goes to Aggie's Diner for breakfast where he regularly sees a guy about his age with a friend and her baby.

Fact:
When I first moved to New York City, I used to go to Aggie's Diner for breakfast with my professor and her baby. It was a very happy time in my life, and a very special friendship to me. It's the three of us that Philip sees in the diner all those mornings. Finally, when I was writing the book, I went back there only to find the place had closed.

“I used to go to Aggie's Diner for breakfast with my professor and her baby… It's the three of us that Philip sees in the diner all those mornings.”

Fiction:
After Ronnie's death, Melissa moves to a small cottage across town. On the same property, are two other tiny houses—one is occupied by an elderly couple, the Erwins, the other is dilapidated and vacant.

Fact:
A few years ago, my grandmother moved to a small cottage near the water in Guilford, Connecticut. On the same property, were two other tiny houses—one occupied by an elderly couple, the other renovated but mysteriously vacant. Whenever I visited her there, I found myself staring over at that empty house and wondering why it never rented. Something about the place always left me with an eerie feeling. Then one day, the landlord announced that he had decided to sell the place. My grandmother and the other couple moved away, though the place never sold and now all three houses are vacant.

“I found myself staring over at that empty house and wondering why it never rented. Something about the place always left me with an eerie feeling.”

Fiction:
The name of the guy who taunted Philip all through high school is Jedd Kusam.

Fact:
I graduated from Masuk High School, where I suffered through the same sort of taunting. Notice anything about Jedd's last name? It's Masuk spelled backwards.

Fiction:
Ronnie Chase dies unexpectedly in a limousine crash after his senior prom. The cemetery where he is buried was once an airfield where the Chase family went years ago to watch daredevil stunt shows.

Fact:
Sadly, my sister Shannon passed away a few days before her high school graduation after years of struggling with a childhood illness. The cemetery where she is buried was once the town airfield. We used to ride our bikes there as kids to fly kits or watch the planes land and take off.