Lindsay Hatton's new novel is Monterey Bay.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: Why did you choose the Monterey Bay Aquarium—a place where you worked as a high school student--as one of the focal points of your novel?Visit Lindsay Hatton's website.
A: Like many other people, I think the Monterey Bay Aquarium is magic. But to me, it’s a darkish magic. Many of my most formative and dramatic adolescent moments took place there, so in terms of creative fuel, it’s a very rich setting for me.
Q: Why did you decide to include actual historic figures in the novel, and what do you see as the right balance between the fictional and the historical?
A: I feel like it’s impossible to write about Cannery Row without mentioning Steinbeck. At first, he was a very peripheral character in my book but then, the more I researched him (and I did A LOT of research), the more I realized he’d be an amazing foil for Margot, the novel’s protagonist.
The same is true of Ed Ricketts. His real-life exploits and predilections...[read on]
--Marshal Zeringue