Julie Mars
Author Interview

Author Interview: Julie Mars

I have to ask, are you Ellen? If not exactly, are there any parts of her personality and life that are similar to yours?

I think Ellen might be me ten years ago. She and I have the same kind of mind—one that won't shut off and is constantly creating alternative scenarios which may or may not be true. She's agitated like I have been, and she finds non-mainstream people to be really riveting, as I always have. But when I read the book now, she feels a bit foreign to me. I like her immensely, but she seems more chaotic and frantic than I currently am, and she seems more affected by her moods than I do. But the house she buys in the book—that was mine. And her quest for the truth, that is also mine (still). And her sense of humor is mine, too.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Ellen and Tommy seemed to have a great relationship. I felt really sad for their estrangement and could tell that they still loved each other. What does this say about marriage? That even the good ones are bound to fail?

I think I'd put it this way: even the good ones will be seriously tested. It takes enormous courage to demand actual engagement in a marriage. It's so easy to get numb or fall into a routine (or rut) or just give up and accept things as they are, even if something important seems missing. If my book says something about marriage, I hope it's that marriage is a living thing that needs honesty and truthfulness and frank, but not reckless, discussion of difficulties. Ellen falls a little short in the "reckless" department, but in the end, for me, she and Tommy arrive at a better place. It might not be familiar to them, but it's better. And I think their marriage survives.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

All the people that come into Ellen's life for this one summer have a definite purpose, especially Rayfield and Rodney. How do these two men change Ellen's life for the better and how does she change theirs?

I think Ellen causes the subtext and sub-currents to come to the surface for Rayfield and Rodney—for each individually but also for the two of them in relation to each other. I think each man was kind of holding the other's unconscious secrets, and somehow, thanks to Ellen, they were able to give the secret (which was an important part of each) back to the other. This opened them up--not only to each other but also to self-respect. I think they change Ellen by accepting her completely. In the beginning, she doesn't bother to try to impress them because she figures the stakes are so low. Then, the more herself she is with them, the better she likes herself. This is a story about self-acceptance, about calming down and being present. Rayfield and Rodney facilitate this for Ellen.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Ellen and Tommy could never have kids but she seems as if she would have been such a good mother. At the same time, she doesn't seem particularly sad to send Oliver home to his mom and get back to her "adult" life. Why isn't she more distraught over never having a family of her own?

In the story, Ellen's desire to have children (and her inability to) is pretty far in the past. She's used to being childless. When she gets the chance to take care of Olivier, she learns how demanding it is, how relentless it is, and how important it is to do it right. I think she feels too overwhelmed and possibly too old to give that much to anyone, and, while she's grateful for the chance to be with her nephew and loves him with her whole heart, she's relieved when his mother returns. And I think Rayfield and Rodney become her family, too, so she does, in an important way, have a new family all her own.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Rayfield is particularly candid about his disorder and is also quick to befriend Ellen. Is his behavior supposed to speak about the difference of personality and lifestyle in the country versus the big city?

Rayfield is one of a kind, a true original. I don't think of him particularly as a "country personality." He just happens to live in the middle of nowhere. Basically, he just sits around and waits for something to happen, and when Ellen arrives, he hits the jackpot. I can't imagine Ellen would have had the time to throw herself into his life if she were back in the city, though, so in that sense this is a story that could only happen in the country, where distractions are harder to come by and therefore more precious.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Ellen was and is such a free spirit. Did her life with Tommy contain that too much leading her to end up in Eagle Beak looking for a way to revive her former self?

Oh, her life with Tommy contributed, for sure, but so did her work life, the hectic pace in New York, and her age. Reflection about the past and future is pretty much unavoidable for women in their forties, in my experience, and Ellen understands instinctually that she needs to revise her values and prepare for "the change." She's energetic and impulsive and a risk taker, all of which add up to her seeming like a free spirit, but she's also desperate and worried and afraid of what might be coming down the pike. All these things combine and the next thing she knows, she's stuck in Eagle Beak. The funny thing is, all the things she's pathologically avoided (responsibility, most of all), come crashing down on her.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

One of the underlying themes is aging. Ellen is learning to be okay with the woman she's becoming. In reality, I think most women have a really hard time with this transition. What can we learn from Ellen's approach to accepting middle age?

Here's what I really think: the forties are very hard for women because we think many things we rely on are beginning to wash away with the tide—important things like beauty, sex appeal, energy, a sense of opportunity and a wide open future, and, for many women, their children and maybe husbands are on their way out, too. And there doesn't seem to be anything new washing in with the tide, either. It feels like such a loss. But most women discover, and I think Ellen does over this book, that what finally arrives is a new sense of power and self-containment. It's actually pretty great not to be yanked around by hormones. There's a lot to be said for wisdom and freedom from a pretty rigid set of societal restrictions and values. All through the book, Ellen wants to be herself. I feel confident when I say that that's what you get when you get older—and it's worth the wait, believe me.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Why does Ellen always get fired from her jobs? I think it's shallow to assume that it's simply because she speaks her mind.

She gets fired because she can't play the game for an extended period of time—or maybe she doesn't know there is a game. She has a problem with authority. She also tends to undervalue herself on the job, in my opinion, and she's mad about that. (For example, she works for chump change, as she points out.) When her anger and resentment build up, she blows, and then she gets fired. I'm pretty sure she rather admires herself for finally saying "NO!" each time she gets fed up. And maybe she enjoys being a renegade. Honestly, though, now that you ask, I think she wouldn't have to be fired so often if she had stood up for herself more along the way. But learning how to do that is hard, especially for a woman like Ellen who feels constantly inadequate.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Karen is a wonderful character! I feel like she's the woman we all want to be - a successful business owner, independent and loved by her man, mother of a beautiful child, and beautiful to boot. How does Ellen have any self-esteem with her as a sister? I didn't detect even one shred of jealousy which I find impossible!

Let's chalk it up to the age difference! Ellen feels almost maternal toward Karen—in a good way. They're far enough apart in age and experience to be non-competetive. I had a sister who was just that many years older than I, and I always felt so supported and appreciated by her. I always felt she thought I was precious. I guess that was the model for this relationship, though I never realized that while I was writing it. Here's a side story: that sister, Shirley, was dying of pancreatic cancer while I was writing this book. I read her the pages every night. She said then that Ellen and Tommy, Rayfield and Rodney, and Karen and Olivier were the last friends she would ever make. I finished the draft just before she died. I dedicated this book to her. She is the reason Karen and Ellen relate the way they do.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

The thing I admired most about your book was the smooth blend between story and introspective narration. Ellen gets really deep into soul-searching but those scenes are not boring and drawn out at all. Where did you learn your writing skills?

Well first, thank you. In life I often worry that my introspective questions spill over too much and drive people crazy, so it's validating to know you weren't put off by Ellen! I learned to write by reading and writing and caring desperately about capturing life experience in words. I was a story teller before I could even write—I'm talking about forming letters into words on paper. Both my parents told stories all the time, and I've always believed in the power of a story to heal. So it's always seemed like worthwhile work to me. I did do some formal training, too. I have a master’s degree in creative writing, and I spent several years working in the movie business, where I learned how to think and write visually.

Author Interview: Julie Mars

Author Interview: Julie Mars

What are you working on right now?

I have a new novel called Rust, which I've just finished. It's about an artist from New York (female, age thirty-seven) who moves to New Mexico, becomes obsessed with learning to weld, and pairs up for welding lessons with a Chicano welder of low-riders. It's the first book I've set in New Mexico, where I've lived for ten years. It takes place over just nine days, and the writing is quite dense and more poetic than anything I've written before. I love this book, and I hope it finds its way to Book Club Queen one of these days!

Author Interview: Julie Mars