Photographer John Sann shooting "Ophelia" cover

How did you begin writing fiction and choose OPHELIA as your first book?
I think that all English professors secretly long to write books that will be read by regular people (not just other English professors.) So when I left teaching, I had the time and the freedom to write a novel. Because I had taught so much Shakespeare, I was already thinking about his female characters and why readers (especially female ones) find them so unsatisfying.

When I taught "Hamlet," I found that my students were very influenced by the movie versions and willing to dismiss poor, mad Ophelia altogether. But I started to ask questions: What made Hamlet fall in love with Ophelia in the first place? What if there were a method to Ophelia's madness as well as Hamlet's? How would the play be different if she did not kill herself? Eventually my answers to such questions evolved into a complete retelling of "Hamlet" from Ophelia's point of view.

I love the cover! Did you get to choose it? Who is she?
The photographer, John Sann, had an assistant that Bloomsbury thought would make a good Ophelia. But she had short, dark hair! So they hired a stylist who spent hours weaving extensions into her hair, and they dressed her up in various costumes and took photographs. The result was a very beautiful cover. I did not have anything to do with the cover, but I absolutely love it.

What would Shakespeare think of your Ophelia?
I wondered about this the whole time I was writing! If Shakespeare had been able to use female actors, I think he would have written a tragedy about a woman. I tried to make Ophelia the kind of character that Shakespeare himself might have drawn, not a modern girl projected into the past. So far I have heard no howls of outrage from other English professors. I like to think Shakespeare would be pleased and flattered by the attention today's authors give to his works.

Your second novel is about the Battle of Gettysburg. Can you compare your writing process with the first novel?
For both books, the writing process was similar. Just as "Hamlet" was the pretext for "Ophelia," the Civil War (especially the Battle of Gettysburg) was the pretext for "Two Girls of Gettysburg. The story of Lizzie and Rosanna sprang from existing historical events, just as Ophelia sprang from Shakespeare's play. Both books I revised again and again to be sure the characters and their dreams, conflicts, and relationships stood out from any background story.

QUESTIONS FROM ANNA, A 16 YEAR OLD FROM TORONTO
Like a good interviewer, she has done her homework. I thought I’d post my answers for anyone who wants to know more about my writing process.

Q. Did you imagine, when getting a Ph.D in literature, that it might lead you into doing writing of your own?

A. Never. Although under hypnosis, I might have admitted that I secretly always wanted to be a novelist, but was afraid that I couldn't succeed at it. So I wanted to be able to make a living as a college professor.

Q. How far do you think that the writing of non-fiction is preparation for the writing of fiction? Did you find that writing the Trinity History was more or less difficult than Ophelia?

A. For a historical novelist, the research and writing of nonfiction (what I did as an English professor, teaching courses in Renaissance lit) was vital to my fiction now. Writing the Trinity history was easier than writing a novel, because it's basically chronological. It did enhance my eventual fiction writing, because I found that I wanted to tell stories about PEOPLE, not church buildings and fund drives.

Q. Did you start out writing Ophelia with the intent of targeting it to young adult readers, or did it just fall into that category?

A. I thought of college-age students and adults as the probable readers. But because of the age of my heroine, my agent recognized Ophelia as potentially a YA book. So I rewrote parts of the book with a younger audience in mind.

Q. Did you have any interest in writing another novel before you visited Gettysburg, or were you looking for subject matter at that time?

A. I wasn't consciously looking. Or rather, I'm always looking--always wondering if there's a story when I go somewhere--on vacation or to a museum, for instance.

Q. Did you find that writing fiction became easier over time- for instance, did you feel better prepared to approach Two Girls of Gettysburg having gone through the process of writing Ophelia?

A. It didn't necessarily get easier. I have gained some confidence and learned more about the craft of writing simply by doing it. I was pretty much winging it with Ophelia. (Though I had the plot of Hamlet to work with.) With each novel, I'm getting better at knowing what the story needs and what to leave out; I'm developing an internal editor.

Q. How do you think that your experience teaching English informed your writing? For instance, do you try to write novels that you think today's students would enjoy or benefit from?

A. Yes, I'm a teacher at heart. I write books that I would have loved to read in my English or history classes (or teach to my own students). I want my young readers to be completely absorbed in a story, but also to come away richer, with some knowledge or insight they didn't have before.

Q. Ophelia, Two Girls of Gettysburg and Lady Macbeth's Daughter all revisit old stories from the point of view of a female protagonist. Do you consider yourself a feminist?

A. Yes. I grew up with an acute sense that a lot of life was unfair for girls (though a lot has changed, thankfully.) And it was unfair in the distant past too. But I wanted to show how young women could become individuals and act within the constraints of their patriarchal culture. They were not simply beaten down by it.

Q. How has writing, if you will, "Shakespeare fan fiction" changed the way you think about his plays?

A. I want everyone to be a fan of Shakespeare! Don't be intimidated by his plays, by the language, by the idea that they are high culture. Shakespeare was writing plays for the masses. Anyone can take his
plots and play with them. He did the same with other playwrights. I have great respect for Shakespeare, so I try to keep true to the spirit of his time. Historical accuracy matters to me. Perhaps I want his approval, even though he is dead! Is that crazy or what? Time for the psychiatrist's couch for me.