Picking up the Pieces - Author interview - PLOT SPOILERS

Questions for the author

What was your original inspiration for writing “Picking up the Pieces”?
At the time I’d been reading plenty of dramatic fiction by several different authors. One thing they had in common was very nasty villains who seemed to have no remorse. These characters were treated like the lowest of the low, which appeared to be perfectly justified within the pages. Although I enjoyed the stories, I began wondering what deeply rooted unhappiness might inspire a person to commit a serious crime. People aren’t born with the intention to destroy the lives of others. It seemed sad to me that people who are already deeply troubled enough to commit a crime must then bear a load of censure and blame on top of it. Surely in many cases, extending grace and understanding might help heal the hearts of some criminals more than anything else.

One morning I woke up with a strong desire to write a different sort of story in which the criminal would be handled with as much sensitivity and compassion as his victim. My imagination had been sparked. I got excited with the idea of even influencing readers to feel affection for him. I didn’t know if I could pull it off but I was really anxious to try. If it worked, what a great exercise in compassion, forgiveness and turning stereotypes upon their heads! The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give it a try.

The result was “Picking up the Pieces.” I had one preschooler and one new-born baby at the time I wrote the book. I think every young mother who chooses to stay at home should have a creative outlet, and that was mine.

Do you think that abortion was the best way Claire could handle the situation?
Absolutely not. She was pressured by her father into agreeing that under their circumstances, abortion might be the easiest and most pain-free option. But Claire discovered that her decision brought the opposite result. She never expected the pain and regret that she had to deal with. I wanted to show that no matter what the circumstances, the decision to keep a baby is never the wrong decision.
I also wanted to show that young women who undergo abortions are themselves victims of a wrong who need healing and understanding rather than judgment. “Picking up the Pieces” is a book all about smashing stereotypes and snap judgments. As well as the lifestyle change of having an unexpected baby to deal with, Claire and her family surely knew that they might have faced judgment and non-acceptance from friends, acquaintances and members of the general public if she remained pregnant. It’s terrible that these issues influence young women to choose abortion but I’m sure it must happen all the time. I believe that novels have the power not only to help people recover from similar ordeals but also to highlight the issues women might face, indirectly giving them tools to help them recognize this negative pressure for what it is.

Have you known people in situations like this? Have you had others respond to this and what were their responses?
I’ve known ladies who have chosen to have abortions, and every one of those same ladies has regretted her decision. Other ladies have written to tell me how “Picking up the Pieces” helped heal their raw hearts and enabled them to come to a place of peace. They felt trapped between a rock and a hard place; judged for falling pregnant in the first place, then judged for having abortions. They found that Claire’s experience evoked such sympathy and compassion for her that the next step was extending it to themselves as well. Several ladies reported that they cried many tears during the book, which turned out to be cathartic, healing tears.

How do you think it is possible that Claire could actually forgive Blake for what he did?
For as long as she focused on the enormity of his crime and the pain he caused her, she couldn’t forgive him. Even after seven years had passed and she thought she had actually dealt with her experience, the sight of him was enough to rush all the resentment and bitterness back. It reinforced to her that she had to do it all over again. Forgiveness is something that might need to be repeatedly practiced before it sticks.
In “Picking up the Pieces” I hoped to show two other things about forgiveness.

Forgiveness has to be a decision before it can become a feeling. Claire came to understand that she had to forgive Blake for her own sake rather than his; to end the pain and hatred that was eating her inside. She had no idea that the feeling of forgiveness would actually follow at all. That was a stunning surprise for her (and for the reader too, I hope!)
Forgiveness began to flow when she looked out of herself and began to focus on Blake as a person. That was when she began to see that he had suffered too, and understand the sad factors in his life that had influenced his bad action that night.

At last, after years of assuming that she could never forgive him, she realized that forgiveness had crept upon her in such a subtle way, she was hard pressed to figure out when it first began to happen.

When you started this novel, did you know exactly where it was going?
I knew what the outcome of the main characters’ story was going to be. I just had to come up with believable plot devices to throw them together in a natural way, enabling them to spend the time together that they needed for love to grow. (Because of course the very last place Claire and Blake would have chosen to be was with each other.) These plot devices included the Christian camping holiday, Rowena’s accidental death and Michael’s smashing of Blake’s car, to name a few.
Perhaps planning a novel is a bit like making a sandwich. The beginning and ending are like the slices of bread that author starts with, and the events of the plot that make it satisfying and believable are like the delicious filling.

It has been out of print for a long time. What made you get it reprinted?
I think this all comes back to your first question. My original purpose for writing it was still burning in my heart. At this stage I’ve had feedback from readers of the first edition who have been deeply touched by the story. Their feedback has convinced me that stories are a very legitimate way of helping and healing people. If I can continue doing that, I’ll be happy.

$22.95 (postal price adds $2 more)

ISBN: 978-1-921633-16-4

Paula Vince, author of Risky Way Home

and A Design of Gold

Read the first two chapters online!!