Padma's CLIMBING THE STAIRS Blog Tour Finale

Padma Venkatraman, author of CLIMBING THE STAIRS (Putnam, April 2008), has been on a whirlwind blog tour. Today she joins us on the Fire Escape where I'm honored to host her final stop. 

Before we start, though, I have to confess a bit of personal history related to this interview. Françoise Bui, editor of Secret Keeper, my forthcoming book from Random House, called recently. Just before we ended the conversation, she shared that she'd read a novel with some similar themes to my own. It was called CLIMBING THE STAIRS. Apparently, Padma and I had both featured an Indian girl who moves into her joint family's home, created a romantic interest with a boy upstairs, and delved into the loss of a father. "But they're very different stories," Françoise told me.

Despite those editorial reassurances, I began Padma's novel with trepidation, worried that our books might be too similar. And hers came out first, darn it. And got bundles of starred reviews, too. Would I have to convince the gatekeepers that my book was done and off to press before I read CLIMBING THE STAIRS? Would I become the next South Asian American writer accused of plagiarism? How similar were the two books, anyway?

I'm relieved to tell you that I (a) immediately forgot about comparisons as I lost myself in a superbly crafted story, and (b) was reminded anew that when it comes to fiction, even with some here-and-there similarities in plot, two authors can produce completely different novels thanks to the unique soul prints with which we mark characters, themes, and conflicts. I absolutely loved this brilliant novel, and would consider it high praise if people notice any similarities with mine. (I hope Padma agrees!)

Okay, now are you ready for some enlightening Q & A with Padma? Here goes.

You were born in India and lived there until you were 19 years old. Now you’ve lived here for __ years, and you’re becoming an American. So, tell us, Padma, where is “home” for you?

I am certainly American – as you can tell by my leaving that second blank blank…I’m a lot older than people guess when they see me! I became a citizen just over a year ago – when people ask me why, I tell them it’s because America has the best Public Library system in the world. I mean it, too. Where else can you find so many wonderful free libraries filled with friendly librarians?

Home…I told Betty Cotter of the South County Independent recently that I carry a lot of homes inside me, and I think that’s true. India is a home, but so is America. And at times I have felt “heimweh” for Kiel, in Northern Germany. And when I read Harry Potter, I remember my days at Brockwood Park School in England. So, Hampshire (in the UK) is one of my homes, too. And my accent is a hodgepodge. Right now, of course, Rhode Island is home most of all.

It's wonderful to have many homes and love them all. I love how the book provides a fresh take on WWII for teens -- not many people realize the turmoil and divisions taking place inside India during that time. Why do you think that it's important for young people to read stories set in other times and places?

I think it’s important for them, for all of us, really, to read stories set in other times and places so we can appreciate diversity – but also so we can come to an understanding of what we all share as human beings. So that we can be fascinated, entranced, even, by a location or time that seems exotic. So that we can see that however exotic the setting of a story is, there is a fundamental human thread that ties all our tightly stories together.

Amen, sister. Some of the perhaps unfamiliar (to many American teens) "isms" introduced so cogently in the novel include Mahatma Gandhi's view of pacifism, internal differences in Hinduism, and the impact of colonialism. Could you sum up for us the dream response of a reader who knows little or nothing about India’s history and culture?

Instead of summing up, I’m going to quote from a dream response I got from the first teen reviewer of CLIBMING THE STAIRS. She says:

Climbing the stairs by Padma Venkatraman is a novel about a teenage girl, Vidya, growing up in India during World War II. Vidya is very free spirited and does not act as a lady like her family would hope. She dreams of going to college, but when a family crisis hits, her future plans are jeopardized. Venkatraman portrays the highly individualized Vidya in a way that the reader can immediately connect to her.

The plot is thrilling and I found myself having a hard time putting the book down. I enjoyed how this book has a lot of very interesting historical and cultural information. At many points in the story I was left amazed at the cultural bridge between the United States and India. I could not believe what the treatment of women was like in India even as last as the mid 1900s. This book illustrates the struggles of India as a country and how war can tear families apart. While many families fought nonviolently against the British occupation that was going on at that time, others chose to fight alongside the British in the quest to defeat Hitler. Vidya finds herself in a family that is torn between the two. This is one of the best historical fiction novels I have read. The balance between plot and history makes it so enjoyable. I would most definitely recommend this book to any reader, especially one who loves historical fiction.

Now that review was and is a dream response come true!!!

So lovely. Now let's move to the journey of getting the novel published. What was a high point? A low point?

High point – the sunny summer day last July, right before our wedding, when my agent called to say “Putnam-Penguin bought your novel” and I yelled so loudly that our neighbor stopped pottering about in his yard to look up and see what was going on.

The lowest point – when agent # 2 said almost exactly what agent # 1 had said “this novel is beautifully written. Your prose is poetic and the story is very moving. I especially love how you weave in timeless themes such as violence/nonviolence, gender equality and social justice together with the evocative descriptions of India and Indian spiritual traditions. And I learned so much from reading your book – I had no idea what the effect of World War II was on India or other parts of the world, and still less that there were Jews in India! However, I am sorry to say CLIMBING THE STAIRS is not for me, because I don’t think it will be appreciated by an American audience and I do not see a market for your book. I do regret that this is not for me and wish you success elsewhere.”

Looking back on it now, I suppose I could have been thrilled she liked the book, but I really wanted to publish the novel in America, my country of adoption, and not in India, where my previous work had been successful. And she was telling me in her opinion (which I greatly valued) it wouldn’t do well here because of what it was about. That was really tough because I wanted to tell Vidya’s story to people in this nation. And if the story wasn’t going to be heard but the writing was at least sort of okay, then what could I do? (As my dearest husband pointed out, I could send it to another agent).

What was the biggest change you made in response to an editorial suggestion?

Where the novel started. At first, the novel started with Vidya already in Madras, if I remember correctly. As my wonderful editor pointed out, I needed to describe what Vidya’s life was like before she moved – and the chapters I usually read aloud from nowadays didn’t exist in the first draft! I often compare my editor to my high-school and university athletic coaches – I used to participate in ‘high jump’ and, like a sports coach, my editor kept raising the bar (which I’m glad he did).

Could you describe a fear you have about this novel that can keep you up at night?

When I was writing it, the Protest March chapter used to keep me awake because it upset me so much and it was frightening to envision it. Now, I am kept awake at night because of the sadistic streak I have that I’ve come to be aware of because of the novel. At least two people have actually cried proper tears at two of my readings, and that fills me with such elation that I can’t sleep at night. And oh how wonderfully nice I feel toward these listeners/readers! Then, I write to my editor “hey, someone cried when appa was bashed up, yay, yay, yay!” After that, I feel pretty ashamed of myself and I keep awake thinking “Padma you have become a rotten, rotten person.” But I get up in the morning and laugh because it is all rather silly rubbish how you can go up and down like a roller coaster based on how people react to your work.

That scene was extremely moving. You wrote it with beautiful understatement that gives the reader space for his or her own emotions. Okay, next question. Finish the sentence twice, first from an idealistic "literature changes lives" point of view and then give the savvy marketer's take. CLIMBING THE STAIRS will be a successful novel if:

a) readers see the current relevance of the characters’ central conflicts while enjoying the dramatic setting – the unique contrast of a time and place when/where the world was experiencing World War II and a nonviolent liberation movement.

b) savvy marketer’s take…that I’d have to learn from more experienced authors such as yourself! I have so much to learn about marketing…I’m right on the bottom step there…a lot of stairs left to climb!

On a related note, I have to say that I’m deeply, deeply grateful for all the success we’ve had already with the novel, such as the starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and VOYA, and the great reviews in Kirkus and School Library Journal. There’s a lot to be thankful for during my debut novel’s “birthday” month – including this wonderful blog tour, hosted by so many dear author friends! I’m so honored to have the grand finale of this tour here on my blog guru’s site!

Wow. A blog guru is way better than a love guru, so take that, Mike Myers. Okay, here's my last question: What's next for Padma Venkatraman in the realm of children's books?

A picture book for elementary school children that I worked on a long time ago for August House, called The Cleverest Thief will be out this November. But that’s published under the name “T. V. Padma” because it’s for a younger readership - there’s my schizophrenia for you…I used to write for the younger audience, and my books for them, mostly published in India, were written as T. V. Padma.

So perhaps the correct answer to your question is that when she’s not learning how to climb the blogging stairs, Padma Venkatraman is revising her next YA novel, ISLAND'S END, which is slated for publication by G. P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin) in spring 2010.

Can't wait to read it. Thank you, Padma, for spending time with us on the Fire Escape, and for creating this lovely novel.

Authors Padma Venkatraman and Barbara O'Connor celebrate the release of CLIMBING THE STAIRS

Go Ahead, Judge My Book ...

... by the cover. What do you think it's about?

Coming January 2009 from Random House

A New Writing Season

This week Delacorte editor Françoise Bui told me that a copy editor's working on Secret Keeper (Random House, Spring 2009), the flap copy and author bio are good to go, and she's sending me cover art soon.

I've got one more revision of The Bamboo People due to Charlesbridge, but that feels more than manageable.

And agent Laura Rennert called to chat about future projects.

After almost three years of writing under contract, I'm free! Picture me on the Austrian Alps -- wait scratch that, the Himalayan foothills -- singing and whirling with arms akimbo.

My goal for the next three years? Hone the craft, sweetheart, and no signing on a dotted line before that first draft is finished.

Poetry Friday: Light By Tagore

Yesterday I sent my editor Françoise Bui of Delacorte a close-to-the-end revision of Secret Keeper (Random House, January 2009), so today I offer a brief excerpt of the draft that includes a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal's Nobel Laureate.

The scene is set on a train, and Asha's mother is telling her daughters about how she met their father:

"We were visiting relatives in Calcutta,” Ma started, keeping her eyes fixed on the blur of rice paddies outside. “One afternoon, I was on the veranda combing out my hair. It was long then, down to my knees, and thick as a shawl. I was singing; I remember the song still, it was a Tagore love song I’d learned only weeks before.”

She began to hum, and then sing in her low, rich voice: “Light, my light, the world-filling light, the eye-kissing light, heart-sweetening light! Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life; the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love; the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth …”

The poem “Light” is reprinted from Gitanjali: Song Offerings by Rabindranath Tagore. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1912.

Poetry Friday: For The Young Who Want To

I sent it to her on December 14th and relished the holidays like a college student after final exams. But low in my mind buzzed a swarm of short sentences; small, stinging flies that needed to be smacked time after time: "It stinks. It's no good. It's a pile of —"

Yesterday was report card day. Her email winged into my box, making my pulse quicken like it did in eighth grade when that Irish redhead walked to my desk for the first time. "So not to keep you in suspense," she wrote. "I like it!"

I shouted and squeezed the nearest son, the one studying the Middle Ages. He nodded and smiled and focused on his flash cards; he's been through this before.

I've written several books now, and still the process is no less agonizing. So to any writers and the writer wannabes visiting the Fire Escape on this cold and rainy Massachusetts Poetry Friday, I give you Marge Piercy's poem about true talent:

For the young who want to
BY MARGE PIERCY

Talent is what they say
you have after the novel
is published and favorably
reviewed. Beforehand what
you have is a tedious
delusion, a hobby like knitting ...

Read the rest here.

India's Invisible Women

Ruhani Khan's disturbing slide show, India's Invisible Women, gives me no excuse for griping that our entire clan wept when I was born. Yes, I was a third daughter in a sonless family, and my mother carried shame for decades, but neither of us faced anything like this:

When Kalpa got pregnant for the seventh time, her husband threw her out of the house on the grounds of her being a girl-bearing wretch. She gave birth to her seventh daughter on the streets, who died soon after. Kalpa now shares quarters with mentally unstable women at a short-stay shelter. Her husband has remarried since then.

The novel I'm writing is set in India in the seventies. It's impossible for my protagonist to be the feisty, empowered heroine-archetype who is conventional in today's YA lit. Like the women in the slide show, Asha's goals are worth championing and her stakes are high -- two basic plotting prerequisites. The problem is that they're taken for granted by most book-loving North American young women, who usually don't worry about survival, dependency, or the struggle for education. And so I write on, trying to help my readers appreciate a totally different kind of feminine fight, and am grateful for other writers taking on this particular challenge.

Title Poll Results

Over the last three weeks, I ran a title mini-poll on the Fire Escape for my young adult novel coming from Random House in 2008. Forty-one people chose between three possibilities without knowing anything about the subject matter of the book, and here are the results:

Answers Votes Percent 1. Asha Means Hope 20 49% 2. The Secret Keeper 16 39% 3. Family Secrets 5 12%

I've now eliminated Family Secrets, with apologies to the five who liked it (maybe one of you should write that book.) I'm toying with the idea of a series, with a first novel titled The Secret Keeper: Asha Means Hope, and the second one titled The Secret Keeper: Shanti Means Peace or something like that. But we'll see what happens. Anyway, thanks for voting! I was surprised by how many of you liked Asha Means Hope, and will pass that news on to my editor. There's still time, so feel free to opine if you're so moved ...

Title Quandary: Please Vote!

Françoise Bui, my editor at Delacorte, called to talk about my revision of a young adult novel tentatively scheduled for release in 2008. "So how's it going?" she asked.

"Great," I answered. "I've been thinking about the book while I sip coffee and watch the cardinals and blue jays play in the spruce tree outside my window."

Doesn't sound like I've been working hard, does it? But I have been. I've been preparing my psyche to delve once again into the plot, characters, and setting of this novel, a story that is much closer to memoir than any of my other books. It also might not have a happily-ever-after kind of ending -- a first for me.

Françoise also asked me to think of alternatives to the book's working title -- Asha Means Hope. I've thought of a couple of possibilities (The Secret Keeper or Family Secrets), but I need your help, Fire Escape visitors. Please cast your vote for the title that sounds the most intriguing in the sidebar to the right. I'll be back after the holidays to share the results, but in the meantime, stay safe, celebrate, and peace be with you.

Let The Holidays Begin!

I put Asha Means Hope in the mail today, and finished my last school presentation of 2005. Now I have an unreasonable urge to go shopping for a new pair of shoes.

The Finish Line

I am printing out the final draft of Asha Means Hope even as I blog. On Monday, I will mail it to Francoise Bui, my editor at Random House. I'm waiting now for word from my agent about Sparrow's first book, and if she gives me the green light, I'll print that out on Monday, too, and send that manuscript to Margaret Woollatt, my editor at Dutton. It feels like the end of final exam week, except I don't have the stamina I had when I was nineteen. I'll finish my last school visit of the year on Monday, at Washington Irving Middle School in Boston, sponsored by the Foundation of Children's Books, mail off the manuscripts, and then curl up under the afghan my mother crocheted and drool for a while.

It Isn't Drivel After All!

Just heard from my agent that she's halfway through Asha Means Hope and that she loves it. Whew! That's encouragement to me as I'm trying to produce 3000-4000 words on Sparrow's story every writing day. I am planning a spa-like December of serenity to reward myself for this autumn's intensity. But do I want a different vocation? Not on your life. After years of rejections, I'm not complaining about having to fulfill contracts and submit manuscripts to waiting editors. If only I can make it to December 1 without bleeding, chewed-up cuticles. The nails are gone now, I had to quit gum because my jaw kept popping out of socket, and conseqently, the oral fixation that accompanies hard work needs to find a new source. Anyboy want to suggest a healthier option than chomping on my own skin?

Anaconda Means Hope

The crazy Australian dude was in over his head in the Amazon, wrestling with a slippery, writhing, enormous snake. Gasping for air and covered with mud, he appeared for a second to shout to the viewers at home: "She's a beauty, isn't she?"

That's how I feel about the character in Asha Means Hope, the novel I've been working on all summer. Asha is my anaconda, and as I write the last part of her story, she keeps slipping out of my grasp. Will I drown? Sometimes it feels like it. The insane herpetologist eventually mastered his beloved, gave us a close look at her, and then set her free. I hope I can do the same with mine.

Asha Means Hope

My fingernails are decimated. I just signed and sent off a contract to Random House for Asha Means Hope, the story of a Bengali teenager who comes to America during the 1970s. Asha is a recurring character in my life (read the short story called "The Fire Escape" on my website to meet a preliminary version of her). So why am I freaking out?

Okay. Here's the scoop. I've signed a contract for a novel that's NOT YET WRITTEN — a huge vote of confidence from my wonderful Delacorte editor Francoise Bui (please imagine the correct French spelling of her name). I do have about half of Asha's story written, so Ms. Bui is not completely insane.

It's also the first time I'm writing a novel without plotting out a rough but steady "narrative arc" before I plunge into story. This time, I'm writing fiction-cum-memoir purely from my right brain, letting the characters inform the plot as I travel along with them. Not my usual style at all.

Finally, I'm panicking that I'll reveal too many family faults and foibles, even though I'm writing fiction. I don't want my beloved parents or sisters to feel humiliated and exposed — I'm a good Bengali girl, after all. But I do want to write truth. How do writers like Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) spill their ancestral shame across the printed page so freely? Any insights?

Okay. Deep breath. I'm heading off to Peet's to get some writing done.