MARTHA O'CONNOR
Interviewed by Brenda Birch
The Bitch Posse is Martha O'Connor's haunting debut novel of three friends bound by secrets and excess of yesterday. Sharing a twisted bond of irresponsible and neglectful parents the three seniors binge on sex, alcohol and drugs which in the end, drive the three to make a fatal mistake - one that will impact the rest of their lives.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What was the "lightbulb" moment that made you pick up the pen and never look back?
I've wanted to be a writer since I found out books were written by people! My first effort was a note to the squirrels, when I was three. I was concerned they were cold. My first effort with a storyline was done when I was about eight years old. I wrote a play starring myself and all my cousins, to be performed on the top of a shed at our summer farm in Northern Minnesota. It was a tremendously hilarious endeavor about Gnomes and Rabbits. Well... at least, everyone clapped.
What authors or poets inspired you? Who are your favorites today?
As a child, I devoured the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, CS Lewis, L. Frank Baum and Maud Hart Lovelace--the usual suspects, I suppose. In college I discovered the work of Pablo Neruda. His life was nearly as fascinating as his work, and I was hooked forever. I am also a big fan of Vladimir Nabokov, Joyce Carol Oates, and Hubert Selby, Jr.
Can you share the evolution of the stories of Cherry, Rennie and Amy? How did the story develop?
The story developed very organically. I know it sounds like a cop-out, but the story just flowed out of me and before I really even realized I was writing a novel, I had written the first draft. I didn't outline, nothing. It was a very odd and unusual experience--maybe I was just "ready" to write it.
The energy in the story of The Bitch Posse makes this a riveting, yet exhausting read. What it as exhausting to write?
Not until after it was completed! I wrote the book at a fever pitch, sometimes writing for twelve hours at a time, sometimes writing all night. It consumed me while I was writing it. Boy, was it amazing.
From the very first scene of The Bitch Posse, you appear to be an author who's not afraid to bend a few rules here and there, coloring outside the conventional writing "lines." It also appears to work rather well for the overall telling of this story. Has this always been your basic style throughout your writing career?
Previous to this, I had written a very self-conscious, "safe" novel that was sort of a chicklit mystery. At the time, I believed it would be very marketable. I had two agents agreeing with me, but the one with whom I signed couldn't sell it. Then I began writing what was to become The Bitch Posse. This agent HATED it. She said no one would ever want to read it, and that it would have no audience. By that point, I didn't care. In a way, hearing that was a very freeing experience because I was able to turn off all the censors.
The character Cherry has an admiration to the doomed Princess Diana. Did Diana's personal tragedies influence any The Bitch Posse?
As you know, Princess Diana was a self-injurer, as are the girls in the Posse. But I think Diana is kind of a metaphor for a whole generation of girls as they discovered that the dreams they'd been promised were really just so much crenoline and fluff.
The Bitch Posse was recently voted into The Los Angeles Public Library's list of Teens' Favorite Books. How does it feel to be listed among other great authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and E.B White?
Totally amazing! I'm really flattered and I don't quite know how it happened. However, from the fan mail I get from teens, my impression is that it's become the kind of book that's slipped from backpack to backpack in study halls, or hidden under pillows, or stolen from bookstores or libraries. That's cool with me! I did the same thing with my favorite book as a teen, The Outsiders!
While The Bitch Posse is considered your debut novel, it isn't exactly your first book. What made this "the one"?
I think for the first time I stopped writing for an audience, and started writing for ME. That was so key to everything. I'm not sure it would ever have been written if I hadn't gotten such a strong negative response from that agent, so in a way I'm grateful!
Based on your own personal odyssey toward publication, what advice would you give to unpublished writers who are still going through the sometimes "hellish" agent query process, the dreaded rejection letters, etc.?
Don't give up. As you're querying the first book, write another one. Whether or not your first one sells, you'll need another book in the pipeline. And don't take any of it personally. As you can observe from what happened to me, so much of this business is personal taste! Pushing buttons and upsetting people simply means your work is powerful!
Once the sale of The Bitch Posse was made to St. Martin's Press, how did you find the experience of revisions and/or working with an editor for the first time?
I had already done quite a bit of editing with my agent, the fantabulous Mary Evans. After the sale, my editor, Jen Enderlin, made some marvelous suggestions that helped make the book work together as a whole. I then returned it and received copyedits back. I changed so many things at that late stage that I felt bad and bought the copyeditor a certificate to a coffee store! One thing that new writers might not realize is how long everything takes. After the sale, the book didn't hit the shelves for nearly 18 months!
With all the recent flap regarding the overall integrity of the publishing industry, book club selections, etc., what are your thoughts on the state-of-publishing as it stands today?
The scariest thing for me is the rise of the chain bookstores and the squelching of the independents. I'm fortunate to have a wonderful local independent bookseller, Book Passage in Corte Madera. Elaine Petrocelli has been a godsend to me, and even before I had a book contract, I simply hung out in the store, attended readings, and bought lots and lots of books. They're a monument to the community. For years there's been a Barnes and Noble right across the highway from them, but Book Passage has held their own. But now Barnes and Noble is opening a brand new store right down the street from Book Passage, three times the size of their old store and three times as large as Book Passage. It's a blatant attempt to push Book Passage out of business. What does this mean for the author? Well, the buyers for the chains have a huge influence on publishing. They can request cover changes, release month changes, even rewrites. At its extreme, this will homogenize publishing until only a certain "type" of proven, cookie-cutter book will be published and stocked in most communities. It shouldn't be that way. Please everyone, support your local independent bookseller, especially if you are an author. The book you save may be your own!
What's next for Martha?
I'm working on a new book! I'm sending chapters to some critique partners this week, actually.
What was your book tour schedule like? Also, what was it like to meet and greet readers who had just purchased a copy of your book?
I visited two stores in Chicago, one in LA, and four in the Bay Area. I enjoyed meeting readers and friends who came out to support the book. In San Francisco, I was even surprised by an author whose work I admire, Stephen Elliott.... he had shown up for the reading! That was cool.
How did you coordinate the publicity of The Bitch Posse?
I hired an independent publicity firm, and they coordinated with the inhouse publicist at St. Martin's. I handled the Internet side of things, landing interviews on websites and so forth. However, I think an author's time is best used by writing her next book!
