Interview: Annalisa Crawford

Today I am interviewing Annalisa Crawford, author of the very touching novella Cat and the Dreamer.



 

Thank you Annalisa, for doing an interview. :) I want to tell you, I really enjoyed the book. It is beautifully written. Let's jump into the questions, shall we?

Thanks for asking me! And I'm so glad you liked it.

The book is about a woman who survived a suicide pact as a teenager. What made you want to write about this subject? I've always tried to find slightly unusual topics to write about - it keeps me interested - and I love exploring the psychological aspect of people. With the suicide pacts, in particular, there was a spate of them in the news, and I wondered what would happen if one of the pair survived. The idea grew and fitted together with another idea I was toying with - the vivid imagination.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? A pantser. Stories tend to come to me as a whole -I had the ending of this story just as clear in my head as the beginning - and then I fit in the bridging scenes as they come to me. Mostly that happens out of sequence, and there's a lot of re-writing to be done.

Are you a day dreamer like Julia? (I am!) Yes, definitely. I always have been - it's a great source of ideas! It's probably why I started writing in the first place.

Have you ever had a 'Cat' in your life? Luckily no. Cat just appeared whole one day, perfectly horrible.

What's been the best part of your writing journey so far? I think, right now. I've been writing and submitting for just over twenty years - I had my first short story published when I was 20. Even with work, and getting married and having kids I'd write, but only get a short story published every couple of years. My writing career never really took off, and I could never be sure how many people were actually reading those small press magazines. Right now, I actually feel like a writer!

Warning! Spoiler Alert, read on at your own risk.

A story like this can't realistically be wrapped up perfectly in the end. Julia has real issues to deal with, but was it tempting to give her a perfect, happy ending? No, because I had the ending in mind before I started writing. I re-wrote the ending a lot though, trying to get the right balance between too realistic and too depressing. I hope I got it right.

I thought you left the ending somewhat open to interpretation. Was that your intention, or is it just my wishful thinking? (I wanted the happy ending.) ;) It was definitely my intention to leave it open. I love fiction that makes me think, so that's how I write. I know what really happens, but I'm not saying :-)

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us? Ooh no, my lips are sealed!

Thanks for visiting us today, Annalisa! Readers, this is a lovely book and I definitely recommend it!