Interview with Anene Tressler, author of Dancing with Gravity

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Yesterday, I shared a review of the Catholic novel, Dancing with Gravity.  As promised, I have a Q&A post to share with my readers.  I have to admit that coming up with the questions was an interesting process for me.  I really enjoyed reading Anene’s responses and appreciate her taking the time to do this.

I hope you’ll enjoy!  And, don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of Dancing with Gravity.

When you began writing Dancing with Gravity, did you already have in mind that a Catholic priest would serve as the protagonist?  Where did your inspiration for his struggles originate and did you seek any outside input as to what the internal battles faced by a celibate priest might be?

Samuel Whiting, the central character in Dancing with Gravity, first appeared in a short story I wrote while in graduate school. His arrival is something of a mystery to me; he’s not based on anyone I know. But in that short story, I needed a priest (the story is about a memorial service). I’m very critical of my own work, but I remain very fond of that piece. And I was completely enamored with Fr. Whiting. I wanted to try writing a novel, and I liked him so much that I thought I’d place him in that longer form. Once that was firmly in my mind, I knew he would be the central character.

As far as the struggles he faces: those are entirely made up, but they’re based on life observations and research. I’m an R.N. by background, and I spent years working in hospitals. So that setting felt “right.” The circus—when it appeared in my book— was as much a surprise to me as it was to Whiting. But I think it was the right vehicle to pull him from his daily routine. Yet, because of his own mother’s history as an entertainer, he has a visceral response to being amid entertainers again. And yes, it was important to me that Whiting be a Roman Catholic priest, rather than an Anglican, for example, because I did not want marriage to be an option as he confronted his feelings for Sarah and his own loneliness.

I did a lot of research regarding the life and challenges of priests. That took the form of interviews as well as reading. I’m Catholic, and my husband and I are friends with a number of current and former priests. And their stories, too, helped inform my vision of Fr. Whiting.

Do you have a personal or familial tie to the circus or other performing arts which prompted the inclusion of the circus troupe within the novel?

I am intrigued by the blend of beauty, mystery and skill that are circus. The performers are true athletes—and glamorous show people too.

In the 1990s I first saw a performance of Circus Flora, a one-ring circus based in St. Louis. My husband and I became such fans of Circus Flora that we even had a short stint as volunteers: taking tickets, seating patrons, etc. That gave me a wonderful opportunity to observe the skill—and separateness—of circus performers. And it brought to mind the dedication and “otherness” that Whiting must experience as a priest. So the two felt like a good mix.

Unlike some novels that are written strictly to entertain, Dancing with Gravity appears to have several possible ‘lessons’ for the reader throughout the story line.  Is there a primary message (or two) you would want readers to take from the novel?

Last weekend, the writer Mary Troy delivered a keynote address at the Missouri Writers Guild Conference. She said that as a species, we’re keenly interested in ourselves, in our own stories. I agree. And for me, character is always the most fascinating aspect of any story. Not just what we do, but why. Dancing With Gravity is a character-driven story. It’s a slice of life centering on a particular man at a particular time in his life, as well as the people in his orbit. Whiting’s identity as a priest is, of course, central to his life, but he is a very singular man and not a stand-in for priests in general. That said, I’ve received feedback from several priests as well as a Protestant minister (a woman) who said they identify with Whiting’s struggles and his identity as an “outsider” by virtue of his call to service.

I understand what you mean about offering lessons…and I find that to be an intriguing idea. But in fact, I had no conscious lessons in mind. My sincerest hope is that my characters will resonate with readers. And that in reading about Whiting and the others, we will recognize something of ourselves.

This past November, I spent many long evenings working on a novella during NaNoWriMo.  That process seemed so different from the shorter reporting style bursts of writing I do on a daily basis.  Where there particular challenges you faced while writing this novel compared to the other writing you have done?

Absolutely! This is my first novel. Previously, I focused on the short story, and to a lesser extent, on poetry. The novel is an entirely different challenge. Writing a novel demands a serious commitment of time. Not just because there is so much to write (approximately 120, 000 words vs. the average short story of less than 5,000 words), but also because the novel has such a complex structure. John Steinbeck said the writer must have discipline over himself, his abilities and his material. I confess that I was not very disciplined for a very long time. I tried writing an hour (or less) at a time. And I spend very long stretches concentrating on my freelance work and ignoring my novel altogether. That was costly. It was difficult to pick up the tone of my story and I sometimes lost my way in the sequence of events and had to back track. I certainly lost a lot of time. When I finally gave the work my full attention, it was an intense, and intensely humbling experience.

Right now, I’m just keeping a notebook of thoughts, story ideas and observations. My plan is to recommit to daily writing on June 1^st. I would like to write another novel, and have some ideas I want to explore. But I’m also very interested in the short story—and I suspect that some of the ideas I’m considering will be better suited to the shorter form. Really, the bottom line for me is that I want to continue to improve as a writer, to push myself, and to grow in my craft. I have the deepest respect for good writing in all its forms, and I want my work to be worthy of inclusion in a tradition that matters so much to me.

Anene is an award-winning fiction and poetry writer whose work has appeared in Best of Writers at Work anthology, The Distillery, Treasure House, Currents, River Blossoms Lit Mag and Word Wright’s. While at UMSL, she won the English Department’s annual prizes for fiction and for poetry and she has studied with Richard Bausch at Johns Hopkins, Nicholas Delbanco at Breadloaf, Claire Messud at Sewanee, Lorrie Moore at Vermont Studio Center, and Robert Olmstead at Rappahannnock. She also attended two workshops at the University of Iowa’s summer program and spent a month at Wellspring House in Massachusetts. Most recently, she has taken two semester-long poetry classes with David Clewell, poet laureate of Missouri. She holds undergraduate degrees in Communications and Nursing from Saint Louis University, Masters Degrees from Washington University and the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and she teaches scriptwriting and media writing as an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at Webster University. After making a change in focus from fiction and poetry to running a successful company specializing in corporate communications, print and film/video production and meetings, she is back hard at work in the world of literature.