The Wishing Thread (45 page)

SAA:
The novel is set in Tarrytown, New York, the home of so much rich history as well as the legend of Sleepy Hollow. Is the Tarrytown of the novel the same as the real Tarrytown?

LVA:
My husband gets full credit for the story’s location. One day, he took me to Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, and he said “You’re gonna like this.”

So I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the local lore, including Washington Irving’s charming legend of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. The book features many recognizable Tarrytown landmarks, and I hope I captured the town’s busy suburban vibe.

But what I love about Hudson Valley folklore is that it’s a living thing, always shifting and changing. Each storyteller brings her own spin. So yes, it’s the real Tarrytown. But it’s also quite stylized to suit my fancy.

SAA:
Did you do any other research when writing the novel?

LVA:
Oh, yes. I did a great deal of research on the haunts of old Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow; the Headless Horseman is the tip of the iceberg. And I also did quite a bit of research about the history of knitting, which also has its share of rumor, myth, and legend.

SAA:
The way you write about magic is so unique. What are your favorite books with magic in them that have influenced you?

LVA:
I’ve always loved books that offer fun, imaginative plots along with a certain “makes you think” element—going all the way back. As a kid I adored
The Little Prince
for its enigmatic characters, magical surprises, and emotionality. Recently I fell hard for Erin Morgenstern’s
The Night Circus
. And, Sarah, your latest,
The Peach Keeper
, was one of those reads that had me sitting down thinking “just for a few minutes” and then realizing hours had gone by. This is always the sign of a great read.

SAA:
Thank you! I’m glad to be in such great company! Magic is so wonderful to write but also so tricky. I think every writer approaches writing in a different way. What are your writing habits? How do you write best?

LVA:
More and more, I find myself collecting things. I make a regular practice of writing lists with titles like “things you find that could change everything” and “reasons you might become stuck in a tree.” Sei Shōnagon inspired this habit for me when I read her eleventh-century collection of writings called
The Pillow Book
. She makes beautiful, breathtaking lists.

I also keep random boxes in my office of things that seem to go together somehow: pictures, objects, bits of fabric or color, anecdotes, books and pamphlets, scribbles, etc. Each box has its own kind of ordered chaos. I like the idea of all these elements marinating for a while until all the flavors marry and become a cohesive story. I have Twyla Tharp’s book
The Creative Habit
to thank for this.

SAA:
I hear you have a hedgehog as a pet—is anything else in the book based on real life?

LVA:
Ha, ha. Yes! My hedgie has quite a following. I guess you could say she was instrumental in developing the character of Icky Van Ripper, the main character’s pet hedgehog in
The Wishing Thread
. I’m hoping my little beastie won’t sue me for using her likeness or something like that. I’ll have to pay her off with mealworms.

But seriously, I never have models for my (human) characters. That method just doesn’t work for me. I do, however, expand on my own emotional experiences, like every writer.

SAA:
How did you get started knitting? What do you love about it?

LVA:
I actually outright
refused
to learn to knit for many years. I so was sure I’d hate it! But one day in my mid-twenties, an aunt finally took my shoulders and sat me down, and said “watch my hands.” A few rows later, I was hooked. There’s a scene in
The Wishing Thread
that definitely came right from that moment.

Of course, I had some false starts with knitting. My first scarf looked like a moth-chewed roll of lumpy toilet paper. One year, I made my brother three socks (one that was okay, one with holes, and one that could only have fit a hoof). But I’m better these days. Ravelry, a social networking site for fiber nerds, helped my technique a lot (find me as “lisava”). Knitting’s a great creative outlet for when I’m away from my manuscripts. I’m not very good at sitting still.

SAA:
Are you working on something new? Can you share anything with us about your next project?

LVA:
I can tell you that my book-in-progress box is filled with bright red plastic berries, peacock feathers, beeswax candles, pictures of farm equipment, random info like “how to make a leech barometer,” and writings about whether or not plants have feelings. It’s gonna be fun!

1.
The three sisters, Bitty, Aubrey, and Meggie, are each very different and have spent a lot of time apart, but despite everything they all find their way back home upon the death of the aunt who raised them. What does the novel have to say about the bonds of sisterhood?

2.
Each sister rejects, deals with, or embraces the idea of magic in her own way. Which sister do you relate to most? Are there themes in this book that run parallel with (or contrary to) the tenets of your faith community or your own personal ideas and beliefs?

3.
At one point, Aubrey thinks “if the Madness was real, then the sacrifice of being a guardian of the Stitchery was a bigger, scarier thing than any single sacrifice made in the name of a single spell.” What is the connection between the Madness and magic? Do you think the Madness will continue to follow the family after the Stitchery is gone?

4.
Why do you think Bitty started out so rebellious, but was so quick to embrace a socially acceptable lifestyle in adulthood and to distance herself from her sisters and the Stitchery?

5.
Aubrey struggles with confidence throughout the book. What do you think was the main turning point for her? What made her believe in herself?

6.
Meggie drops everything to go looking for the truth about her mother. Is there anything from your past you’d like to get to the bottom of?

7.
Why do you think Aubrey feels that she can’t give in to her attraction to Vic?

8.
The women of Tappan Square band together on Halloween Night to produce a feat of, if not magic, at the very least of remarkable artistry. What were the true effects of the yarn bombing? Do you feel the conclusion of the book indicates that magic is literally at work, that magic is something people choose to see, or that magic is what we make of it?

9.
Were you upset by the fate of Tappan Square? What does this novel have to say about gentrification?

10.
After Aubrey sacrifices Vic to save Tarrytown, she takes him back even though the Great Book in the Hall says she shouldn’t. How does she justify her actions? Was she right to take him back or should she have stayed true to her legacy?

11.
The old Stitchery is no more but something remarkable happens instead. What do you think is the legacy of the Stitchery and how does it live on?

12.
In the end, Aubrey comes to accept uncertainty. She thinks “The Stitchery had made a thing very clear to her—a thing she did not see until now: Whatever the Van Ripper guardians had said magic was, was only a very small part of it, if it was part at all.” Do you feel this is a step forward in her understanding? Or is it an excuse that allows Aubrey to reshape tradition according to her own ideas? What are your feelings about embracing irresolution and uncertainty?

13.
What do you predict for the next generation of the Stitchery, Bitty’s children Nessa and Carson?

14.
There are many themes in this novel: sisterhood, love, civic responsibility, magic, and self-determination, among others. Which one resonated the most for you?

15.
If the sisters of the Stitchery lived in your town, what would you ask them to knit, and for whom? What would you sacrifice for your spell?

L
ISA
V
AN
A
LLEN
’
S
writing has been published in many literary journals and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She currently lives in northern New Jersey with her husband and their pet hedgehog.

Want to meet Lisa? For information on how to schedule a call-in with Lisa for your book (and/or knitting) club, please visit
www.WriterLisaVanAllen.com
. Lisa accepts friend requests from fellow fiber arts fans on
Ravelry.com
, where she knits as “lisava.” Find her on Facebook and GoodReads, too.

Books are better with buddies
.
Facebook.com/RHReadersCircle