Ten Everywhere: Ethel Rohan and Hard To Say
Posted By bl pawelek - 15th December 2011
In 10 words (no more, no less), please describe Hard to Say.
ER: My traitorous heart on the page for all to see.
(p8) – When was the last time you suffered from things hard to say?
ER: Minutes ago, when I again listened to the song mentioned below.
(p12) – “Every time I closed my eyes, I saw God pull Mother through a black hole in the sky” … what happened when you opened your eyes?
ER: It remained so dark I wasn’t sure my eyes had opened, but I took comfort in my sisters beside me and the ever present sense as a child that I was never alone, that God was always with me, watching over me.
(p14) – When your dad stared at the ceiling a lot, what did he see?
ER: The ceiling.
How does the cover art fit your book?
ER: The cover artist, Siolo Thompson, is a genius. The cover captures misery, unraveling, and the misshaping of a voiceless child. Note the golden and pretty pastel hues, though, they represent hope and the shiny human spirit.
(p19) – Tell me the best thing about the girl in the moon.
ER: The girl in the moon sings the world to sleep. Those who have had something essential inside broken can’t hear her anymore and don’t sleep well or feel at peace. Those are the people she sings her hardest for, her best for, out of her soul for, hoping someday they’ll heal and recover and will eventually hear her again and sleep like babes.
Are there times when guilt affects your writing?
ER: Interesting question. I’m not sure guilt has ever consciously affected my writing. Guilt sometimes censors my writing. Out of guilt and the worry I would hurt others with these stories, I almost didn’t publish Hard to Say.
These stories are like a continuing narration … do the stories still continue?
ER: Yes. Hard to Say captures the beginning in this continuing narration. Someday, I may or may not write the middle. A biographer may or may not write the end.
(p49) – What was the best thing you heard the sun say?
ER: “I’m untouchable, and that’s my tragedy.”
What song would be a best fit for this book?
ER: Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You.”
Describe your writing process. What is the best and worst parts?
ER: Writing out of me stories I didn’t know I had in me is the best part of the writing process. The worst part of the writing process is failing.
In 10 words (no more, no less), please describe your next project.
ER: A novel set in Ireland in 1980 about a creep.
Ethel Rohan, Hard To Say, Little Books
bl pawelek, Ten Everywhere
