The inaugural San Diego Festival of Books was held yesterday, August 26th, at Liberty Station in Point Loma. One of the main features of the Festival of Books were the panel discussions. The second panel SDLS attended was called, "Fictional Families", and the author guests were Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Susan Carol McCarthy, & Andrew Roe. The panel was moderated by Nina Garin.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She is a national, & international, bestselling author, whose first book was shortlisted for the South African Boeke Literary Prize, longlisted for the IMPAC Dublic Literary Award, and was an IndieNext Great Read. Her second novel was also an #1 international bestseller. The screen rights to both novels have been optioned. She now lives in California.
Susan Carol McCarthy is the award-winning author of three novels, and one non-fiction book. Her work has been widely selected by libraries and universities for their One Book, One Community and Freshman Year Read programs, and incorporated into school curricula in 29 states and 6 countries. A Florida native, she now lives and writes in Carlsbad, California.
Andrew Roe is the author of 2 novels. His fiction writing appears in multiple publications. His nonfiction has been published in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon.com, and elsewhere. He lives in Oceanside, California.
This was a lively and fun panel, that covered a wide range of topics. Nina Garin started the discussion by asking the authors who their favorite fictional families are. Here are their responses:
McCarthy: I have always loved the stories of Eudora Welty. She is a Southern writer, who wrote mostly about her own family. She told stories about her crazy aunt, and other eccentric characters in her family, and I could relate. I mean, who doesn't have a crazy aunt, right? I really enjoyed her stories.
Gowda: I think all books are about families to some extent, but I think the Joads, from Grapes of Wrath, are my favorite. They exemplify everything that is great about families: courage, sacrifice, struggle, & challenges, and getting through it together.
Roe: I just finished reading Ann Patchett's Commonwealth, so I'd have to say that book. It tells the story of 2 different families, and she weaves the story together so beautifully. Nobody can write like she does. But, if I had to pick one family that I really love, it'd be the Bluth family, from Arrested Development.
Garin later asked the panelists how important place is to their stories. Here are the responses:
Gowda: Place is crucial to my stories. I write about the worst of India, as well as the good things. I try to present a whole picture of the country, which is the world my characters live in.
Roe: I write in California. I try and present a diverse picture of the state. I want to shed a light on the diversity that exists within it.
McCarthy: Florida, arguably, is the most racist state in the U.S. This story (in my book) couldn't take place anywhere else but Florida. Place is extremely important in my stories.
Garin also asked the writers if they think about families as they start to write their characters.
Roe: I tend not to be a plotter, or a planner. I kind of stumble along. So, I don't think too much about families before I start writing.
Gowda: When I am trying to build my characters, I do think about their families. I look back generations and try to get the fullest picture of who my characters are, where they came from, & their motivations.
McCarthy: I write historical fiction, so I look at the historical timeline, and what was going on at that time, and this helps me know how my characters are likely to act and who they are going to be.
McCarthy gave a great answer when she was asked whether or not she knows how her books will end, & how easy or difficult it is to write the ending for her books. She replied: "It's like taking a train from California to New York. You may know where you are going, New York, but you don't know if it will rain in the desert, snow in St. Louis, or you get off in Philadelphia and get lost for 2 days. So, when I write, I know where I intend to go, but I don't always know where I'll end up."
Additional info here:
http://sandiegoliteraryscene.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-inagural-san-diego-festival-of.html
http://sandiegoliteraryscene.blogspot.com/2017/08/san-diego-festival-of-books-highlights.html
http://www.shilpigowda.com/
http://www.susancarolmccarthy.com/
http://www.andrewroeauthor.com/Labels: Author Appearances
