Author Interview ~ A.J. Kiesling

A.J. Kiesling is the author of Where Have All the Good Men Gone? (Harvest House) and the novel Skizzer (Revell). A former contributing religion writer for Publishers Weekly, she has written more than a dozen books. You can reach her at http://www.ajkiesling.com/.

How did you come up with the story behind your new book Skizzer?

The story of my own life is rich with a “sister theme,” and as far back as twenty years ago I knew I would write a novel someday about sisters. The only thing was, I hadn’t a clue what that story would look like. One day, while visiting with my own sister, we joked about the nickname I called her when I was a toddler—my “skizzer” (since I couldn’t say the word “sister” yet). All of a sudden, I knew that would be the title of my book. It was one of those lightbulb-over-the-head moments, like we’ve all seen on cartoon characters. With that inspiration came a renewed invigoration to write the story, but over the years I stopped and started it several times, always dropping it in frustration. I didn’t feel ready, as if something inside me needed to season, or that I needed to accumulate more experiences before I could make what I felt inside resonate with readers on paper. Fast-forward several years, and I started writing Skizzer again, but all I had was an opening scene—this vivid scene that I couldn’t get out of my head, but I couldn’t see anything beyond it. Still, I started writing in third person, but for some reason the story felt clunky. I let it rest for a few months and then had another inspired moment: “Maybe I should try writing the story in first-person,” I mused. And when I did the story of Skizzer and especially the character of Claire sprang to life. The actual story itself is a work of fiction, but there are elements of my own life and experience in it—growing up in North Carolina, romping through the woods as a child, an old woman I met once who inspired the reclusive character of Gretchen, traveling to England and staying at a real Rectory Inn, whose setting imprinted me so heavily it is reproduced almost unchanged in the story (including the stone church with the eerie carved visage on the back wall).

Do you have a favorite scene?

Yes, my hands-down favorite is the scene in which Claire meets Colin properly for the first time. As she draws back a curtain of willow tree branches in the Rectory garden, she emerges into a little glade where he’s putting flowers into the ground, his forearms covered in soil. He glances up at her, squinting in the sunlight, and Claire feels “the earth turn on its axis.” In my mind, the scene extends to include the walk down to the stone church, with both sisters in tow, where Colin informs them “the real ghost story took place.”

Are there elements of yourself in your books?

Every time I read a novel, I ask the same question to myself about the author. And the easy answer is—of course! There are elements of me in both Becca and Claire. I was very shy and bookish as a girl, like Claire, but my mom tells me that I was always leading my sister into adventures. In the story, Becca is much more vivacious and playful than I’ve ever been, but she is the baby sister of the family—a role I was given as well. If I had to pick one, though, I’d say I’m much more Claire than Becca.

Who would you cast in Hollywood to play your character/s?

One other blogger asked me this, so I’m prepared this time! Here they are, my cast members for Skizzer:

Claire Trowling: Frances O’Connor or Amanda Otto (with brown hair)
Becca Trowling: Rosamund Pike
Colin Lockwood: Johnny Depp
Eugenia Lockwood: Fiona Shaw
Aunt Jess:
Young Claire: Saoire Ronan
Young Becca: Dakota Fanning
Fr. Maccabee:
Gretchen: still thinking about this one…

Do you most identify with sweet or edgy stories?

I lean toward edgier fiction, stories that aren’t afraid to show characters’ all-too-human failings as well as their triumphs. The best example of this I’ve ever read is the Starbridge series by Susan Howatch. An English author, her books are not CBA fiction, but she writes more compellingly about faith and failings and redemption than anyone I know. Other authors whose writings have influenced me are Gail Godwin, Sue Monk Kidd, Leif Enger (Peace Like a River), C.S. Lewis, and the Bronte sisters.

Tell us about yourself.

I was raised in a Southern Christian home where you went to church every time the doors were open. I asked Jesus into my heart at eight years old—it’s written in my childhood Bible—but I wandered from that faith as a teenager, falling headlong into a rebellious phase. My sister waged a letter-writing campaign to woo me back (by this time we lived in separate cities). God used those letters and my mother’s prayers to bring me back into the fold. When I was twenty-one, I walked the aisle at a college ministry service. It was a sloppy, sobbing, heartfelt prodigal repentance. Over the years life can throw you curve balls, however, and I went through a wilderness phase, an angry-at-God phase (long story), and then on to a grace awakening that still leaves me speechless at times. God is good.

What do you most enjoy reading?

I’m reading “After the Leaves Fall” by Nicole Baart (Tyndale). Next on my stack is “The Shack.” I’ve had two friends recommend that book to me, and neither one knew the other. As for writing, my first singles book, “Where Have All the Good Men Gone?” debuts from Harvest House in March, and I’m starting to rough-draft a follow-up book to Skizzer.

Pearl of wisdom?

We love stories and so that’s why we read them. But never forget that your own life is a story—a magnificent, still-being-written story with you as the protagonist and God as the Author. The apostle Paul describes Jesus as the Author and Finisher of our faith. Ponder than for a moment; think about how profound it is to be in the midst of a story—both your own (fulfilling your destiny in life) and His never-ending story, which will sweep us all into eternity. To me that’s exciting.