Pop Boffin:
Grosse Pointe Girl seems to be largely autobiographical. In what ways do you draw from reality in your writing and in what ways do you shy away from it?

Sarah Grace:
When I was younger, like high school, or late middle school, I used to write about "issues" and most of them, at the time, had nothing to do with me or any personal experience: anorexia, suicide, personality disorders. Everything I wrote was pretty melodramatic and, looking back on it now, I think when you write about things you don't know about, whether it be a condition, a place, a type of person… well, the insincerity is apparent. I think I was always afraid to write honestly, because inevitably, people read your stories and ask "Is this about you?" And I never felt safe or comfortable saying "Yes", or even "Sort of."
I don't worry about that so much anymore. This started in college and continues as my writing develops. In regard to the stories in Grosse Pointe Girl, I've repeatedly said "I'm not a reporter" but most of the stories are memoir and pretty accurate. This may change once again, but right now most of the stuff I write is coming from a personal place, even if it's labeled as fiction. I'm working on a novel now and it's not about my family or me, but it is about the disruption of family and the falling of childhood heroes, and I do know about this. Pam Houston once said at a reading, "Everything I write is 85% true" and I feel the same way about my stuff.


Pop Boffin:
Do you prefer to be part of a community of writers or is writing a solitary activityfor you?

Sarah Grace:
I've participated in several workshops and writers groups in the past, as recently as a year ago, but now I am in primarily a solitary groove. I think writing communities can be both beneficial and detrimental. It's necessary at some point to get feedback but sometimes it can also almost be a waste of time, if you're not in a group that's helping you learn and grow as a writer. It depends on where the other writers are in their own development, and also I think style has a lot to do with it. Someone may be a good, solid writer but I don't particularly care for his or her style, or vice versa about my own work.
I had a pretty horrible experience with a professor and poetry class at Michigan State University, where the instructor was a well known, published poet but her "feedback" was horrid. She would issue an assignment and then in the next class, start with what she thought was the best poem and work her way down. But even with the poems she slated in the top three spots, her comments were all terribly negative. She never offered any guidance or suggestions or support. She was very manipulative and wanted to make it very clear that she was the "expert" and we were just wasting her time. It wasn't a matter of not being able to take criticism, because I love a good editor and feedback. She was just cruel and vindictive and it's hard to shake the effects of an experience like that.
Right now, I wouldn't say my writing is completely solitary but I find myself working on feedback, criticism, and editing on a more one on one basis, or with smaller groups. The last group I participated in was lead by Annie Callan, this terrific Irish poet and writer who teaches at the University of Portland. I met with her and three or four other women once a month on Saturday afternoon at her houseboat. We spent the afternoon discussing different techniques and then trying them out, sharing what we came with at the end of the day. A fantastic, intimate experience overall.


Pop Boffin:
Was it always your intention to publish with a small press? While the big publishers put out some books I like, they all tend to be fairly alike in style. Do we have to look to the indie media to get another side of the story?

Sarah Grace:
I always intended to publish Grosse Pointe Girl with a small press for several reasons. One, the press I worked with gave me complete creative control over the content, which was really important with this project. Also, my impression was it was next to impossible to get to a bigger press without an agent, but also difficult to get an agent without having published. I saw this as the loophole and in the process discovered there's a fantastic small press community out there. Explaining the concept of "small press" to people back home was a bit challenging. People hear "book" and think they can walk into any store and pick it up. They don't understand distribution or sales or any of that.
I think working with some big publishers is sort of like working with a movie studio: pretty soon, you've got a movie produced by studio execs. But that's not across the board, I don't see all of the big publishers as the enemy, of course not. I think the trick is finding an editor and publisher that supports your creative decisions and one that allows you to tell your story, not theirs.


Pop Boffin:
Authors don't seem to be able to make a living at their trade unless they're John Grisham. What do you think this says about our cultural priorities and what can we do about it?

Sarah Grace:
John Grisham is sort of like the Tom Cruise of writing, isn't he? It wasn't always that way, of course, but these days he seems to produce blockbuster after blockbuster. It's really a shame because there are so many talented authors out there, but if their not a New York Times mass market paperback best seller or on Oprah's book list, not only are they not making the big money but their books are also not getting enough exposure. A lot of it has to do with marketing, buzz, word of mouth, a good publicist, things I learned about first hand with Grosse Pointe Girl, as I handled all of the marketing and PR myself.
Culturally, I think books can be like movies. Some people tend to grab the "Titanic" over the "Waiting for Guffman", because they are going for what the masses have "approved". That doesn't make the mass choice bad, but it does leave a lot of other choices in the shadows. Most of my favorite writers have one or two or maybe three books out: Pam Houston, Peter Hedges, Blake Nelson, Jeffrey Eugenides, Karin Cook. I've always said I'm going to seek out and support what I called the "small businesses" in the hopes that someone would return the favor someday.
I struggle with the trying to make a living with my writing - my creative writing - everyday. I still have a day job, and while it's a fun day job (Marketing Manager for Dark Horse Comics), it doesn't erase the thought of what I'd rather be doing: wake up around 9am, make a good cup of coffee, write for a few hours, go for a walk, stop by the bookstore, call my editor, put on a Beth Orton CD, write for a few more hours, and then maybe try to make dinner from some recipe I stole from a magazine in my doctor's office, but fail miserably at the execution of the meal. The thing is, there are a lot of people who are doing this. They might not be taking vacations in the Swiss Alps or redecorating their homes for the fifth time with the proceeds, but they are making enough to live in a decent place, buy a little more than the necessities, pay the bills, and even have a little left over. That's all I'm asking for - that and an occasional trip to New Mexico or Scotland. Is that too much?


Pop Boffin:
I'm sure you've been asked about another Grosse Pointe Girl, Maggie O' Connell on Northern Exposure. Any similarities?

Sarah Grace:
You know, it's funny you ask about Northern Exposure, because I get asked much more about Grosse Pointe Blank or even the short-lived show on the WB, Grosse Pointe. I only watched the show occasionally but I can say this: I am not Maggie O'Connell but I can think of more than one girl I went to school with who could have been related to the little princess. And I can also think of other girls who were much, much worse.