Joanna Cantor's new novel is Alternative Remedies for Loss.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: What was the inspiration for Alternative Remedies for Loss, and how did you come up with your main character, Olivia?Visit Joanna Cantor's website.
A: I began Alternative Remedies for Loss as a short story, inspired by “Safari,” a chapter of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. I love family dramas and set myself the goal of writing a story similar to “Safari” but about a family traveling to India. After I completed the story, I didn’t feel finished with the characters, and I thought maybe the story could become a novel. So I kept writing.
When I came up with the character of Olivia, I was fairly new to writing fiction and just learned how to let my characters mess up. It felt liberating to create a female protagonist who was constantly stepping into action, rather than sitting around overthinking every email and conversation (which is more the way I am!) So from the start, she was...[read on]
--Marshal Zeringue