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Q&A with Joanne Rendell & Giveaway!

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Hi everyone, I really enjoyed reading the Q&A that Joanne Rendell, the author of The Professors’ Wives’ Club, has on her website. Lucky me, she gave me permission to post it for all of you. I loved this book-it was just great, you can read my review of it here. Stay tuned at the end of the interview for a new trailer for The Professors’ Wives’ Club and a GIVEAWAY!

1. Why did you write a novel about professors’ wives?

The initial inspiration came amid a rather giggly, wine-soaked evening with one of my girlfriends who, like me, is a professor’s wife. After our usual catch-up, the cabernet began to flow and we found ourselves gossiping about other faculty wives. We talked about a wife planning a boob job; another pregnant with her fifth child. The best piece of gossip came last, however: a professor’s wife who’d just run off with one of her husband’s grad students.

The next morning I started to hammer out my first ideas for the novel. As I typed, the more I realized what intriguing characters professors’ wives would make. Even if they aren’t professors themselves (which many are), most professors’ wives are deeply connected and invested in the university where their husband or partner works. Like my friend and me, they live in faculty housing, they go to the campus gym, often their kids go to the same daycare.

Yet, these women, women like my friend and me, often have little power when it comes to university decisions. They don’t get much say if the university decides its budget cannot stretch to child care anymore or it wants to close its faculty housing.

2. Speaking of which, where did you come up with the idea about professors’ wives doing battle with a ruthless dean to save a faculty garden from demolition?

The idea came to me at the NYU children’s playground. Although situated on busy Bleecker Street among towering faculty housing buildings, the university playground is a serene little oasis in the heart of downtown Manhattan. It has delightful amounts of shade, two vast sandpits, and a heavy gate that even the nimblest of little Houdini fingers can’t undo.

Not long after I started working on ideas for the book, I was playing with my son at this playground and suddenly had a gripping panic. Wouldn’t it be awful if the playground were shut down and demolished? Would NYU ever decide to use the space for a new lecture hall or, worse, a parking garage?

I looked around at the park and the other moms with their kids and it then occurred to me how all the moms I knew there would put up a tenacious fight if the university ever tried such a thing.

The book flooded out after that day. In fact, over the next few months I could often be found typing furiously away on the book, sitting on a bench in the university playground with Benny playing in the nearby sandpit.

3. Your book portrays not only a unique story about professors’ wives, but also a story about the power and strength of female friendships. Why did you choose to write such a story?

Relationships between women frequently get a bad rap, in my opinion. Women are too often portrayed in film, TV, and books as bitchy, competitive, and at odds with one another. We constantly see the bitchy woman boss mistreating the young female employee; or the woman who treats her nanny like a slave; or the sisters who hate one another; or the mother and daughter who constantly fight; or the “friends” who bitch behind each other’s back or betray each other over a guy.

Granted, in real life, women can be like this. But not all the time. Women, in my experience, also have wonderful, supportive, and nurturing relationships with other women.

I wrote The Professors’ Wives’ Club to echo what Sex in the City, Steel Magnolias, and books like Kate Jacobs’ The Friday Night Knitting Club have done a wonderful job showing us. In other words, how joyful, fun, powerful, and sometimes life-sustaining female relationships and friendships can be.

4. Which character is most like you?

Probably Sofia. She’s a mom living in downtown Manhattan with a nice husband who’s a professor…which sounds a lot like me. Also, I gave birth watching Terminator movies just as Sofia does in the book (it really is true!). However, Sofia has a feistiness that I can only fantasize about having. She’s fearless yet also fun and loving. I love that about her.

5. Your book is set at the fictional Manhattan U. which bears more than a passing resemblance to NYU. How much of the book is true?

Well, my husband is a professor at NYU; we live in university housing, so that’s the world I know, and so, of course, real life sneaks into the novel here and there. But I’m not telling exactly where. My husband likes his job at the university too much!

Edgar Allan Poe and his poem “The Raven” play an important role in The Professors’ Wives’ Club. What were your reasons for this?

I always wanted The Professors’ Wives Club to have some kind of literary subplot running through it – I have a PhD in English Literature, after all! I choose Edgar Allan Poe and “The Raven” for three reasons. First, I just love Poe’s work and particularly “The Raven.” Second, Poe wrote and published the poem when living in Greenwich village, where I live and where my book is set. Finally, Manhattan U is loosely based on NYU, and NYU and Edgar Allan Poe have a history. During the time he lived in the Village, Poe was meant to deliver a reading at the university…but was too drunk to show up! Also, a few years ago, NYU caused a furor by pulling down the old house on Third Street where Edgar Allan Poe lived for six months, to make way for a new law school Building. Both these stories show up in the novel.

6. One of your character’s, Mary Havemeyer, is in a physically abusive relationship. What were your reasons for including such a character?

When people hear the title The Professors’ Wives’ Club, the last thing they would probably expect is a story about a professor’s wife and her abusive husband. After all, aren’t male professors a smart and gentlemanly crew who would never abuse their wives? For the most part, of course, they are.

But domestic violence goes on in all walks of life, including behind the closed doors of faculty marriages, and I wanted to show this. I wanted to show that smart women, strong women, and accomplished women can be abused by their supposedly smart and accomplished husbands.

There aren’t many portrayals of domestic violence in popular culture, especially few in middle or upper-class settings. Yet, in spite of this, the Family Violence Prevention Fund reports that nearly one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. This statistic is staggering, and thus, it seems to me, we need to represent, talk about, and deal with the issue of domestic violence much much more often.

7. What are you working on now?

I just finished and sold a second novel which tells the story of two female professors working in the English Department at Manhattan U (the same University featured in The Professors’ Wives Club). I had a lot of fun writing about professors’ wives, but I always knew I wanted to write a novel that explored the campus in more detail. I wanted to show what life is like in the classroom, in faculty meetings, in the library, on study abroad programs. I know a lot about this world from my own years in academia, and I had a lot of fun spinning all the gossip, competition, jealousies, even forbidden romantic liaisons into my new novel.

8. You have a PhD in literature, but you decided not to stay in academia. What is it like being a novelist instead?

It’s great. Creating my own fictional worlds is proving just as fun, perhaps more fun, than studying and analyzing the fictional worlds created by other people. I’m glad I decided not to stay in academia. Being a writer instead of a professor means no faculty meetings, no teaching prep, no tenure worries, no never-ending reading lists, and no hours fretting over a lost citation. However, I do acknowledge the rich foundation that my academic studies gave me for my current writing life. It taught me how to read books with a keen and studious eye. It taught me the power of words and the tools of research. It gave me great training for executing projects and working for hours on my own with only my laptop and a steaming cup of tea for company! Plus, I can still enjoy the best parts of the academic world through my husband. Together we are faculty fellows in residence in one of NYU’s dorms which means we have a lot of interactions with students and I get to organize and attend all kinds of interesting discussions and events.

Oh, and there’s also the not-so-small fact that the intriguing and gossip-ridden world of academia has given me great fodder for my novels!

I love how she addressed some serious issues in her book with a lot of class and the way she came about the inspiration for this novel is priceless. What better way to come up with an idea than a wine-soaked evening with a friend!

In addition, Joanne has a brand-spanking new trailer of The Professors’ Wives’ Club for us to view. Enjoy.

And, now on to the GIVEAWAY. Joanne has graciously offered to send a signed copy of her book to ONE lucky winner! The rules are as follows:

  • comment here for one entry

  • leave a comment on something from this interview that you found interesting. Don’t just tell me you read the interview-I want something specific. For this receive two entries.

  • blog about this giveaway and spread the word and I’ll give you three entries

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (due to postal costs). I will draw for a winner on Wednesday, October 22. Good luck everyone!

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Comments

  1. “Relationships between women frequently get a bad rap, in my opinion. Women are too often portrayed in film, TV, and books as bitchy, competitive, and at odds with one another.”

    Very true. This sounds like a very interesting book.

  3. I work for a university and the idea of delving into academia intrigues me. The campus population is just so diverse you just know there is a story there.

    I have to say that the comment about relationshiops between women really caught my eye. I’ve not read many books where women can get along without someone being catty or mean spirited.

    Oh..and I loved the reference to Steel Magnolias and Sex and the City. I loved those characters.

  5. I loved reading this post, Dar. I’ll blog about the giveaway.

    I, too, liked this quote:
    “I wrote The Professors’ Wives’ Club to echo what Sex in the City, Steel Magnolias, and books like Kate Jacobs’ The Friday Night Knitting Club have done a wonderful job showing us. In other words, how joyful, fun, powerful, and sometimes life-sustaining female relationships and friendships can be.”

    This is a book I’ll tell my daughters about. They’re both in their 20s and sometimes talk about how negative female friendships can be portrayed. That’s disappointing.

    Is this book out in paperback yet?

  6. This book sounds great. I love the setting and it is different than anything I have read. NY, academia, and gossip. Sounds great!

  10. ok even if I can’t enter… I must tell u I have become an ardent fan of this author!!

    I really can’t believe about the abused wives…. it goes about to prove… that education is just nt enough nay?!

    and really love the way she talks about…how she started the book!!

    🙂

    I would surely get this one for me 🙂

    Thanks Dar…this was the nest interview I hve read in a while!

  11. In the interview, I agree with her point on abusive relationships not being talked about openly enough in today’s society and therefore we are not aware of their impact or “commonness”; just like it use to be with breast cancer awareness.
    I would very much like to win a copy of her book.
    Thank you
    Darby
    darbyscloset at yahoo dot com

  12. Holy Mackrel. She gave birth while watching Terminator movies. THere is not anything more interesting than that.

  13. A wonderful subject for a book. The little park at NYU sounds like a heavenly place for the kids to enjoy.
    Theresa N
    weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com

  14. Great interview, glad that you were able to post it on your blog and that I stopped by and caught it. I love that this book was born of a wine-soaked evening that was shared with a friend. Joanne Rendell’s choice to portray female friendships as supportive, joyful and sustaining is to be commended, bravo! Her new novel sounds a mirror opposite of this one but a fun read nonetheless.

  15. Dar, no need to enter me, though I'd love to read this book.

    I loved the Q&A. I completely agree with the quote Nymeth highlighted. My friends and I aren't like that at all. In fact, I know more bitchy competitive men than women 🙂

    Giggly, wine-soaked nights with friends – those are the best!!!

  16. I thought it was interesting that Joanne admits to using real life experiences for inspiration for her story 🙂 We could have guessed as much, but it is cool to hear her own up!

  18. Please enter me!

    I will comment on #6 – Abuse can come from every “Kind” of person, even upstanding ones! I too am a victim of abuse from my first husband, no one would have guess it! He seemed like such a nice person. I like the fact that she made one of the Professors the abuser.

  20. Can I make it three in a row?

    The whole interview was interesting but I like the last question and answer where she talks about how her degree has prepared her for being a writer. It must also be nice to be privy to the academic world but not actually have to work in it!

  22. I would love to be entered to win this book! I liked the part in the interview when she was telling about how the idea come about for her book and her being a Professors Wife.
    photoquest(at)bellsouth(dot)net

  24. I love how she weaves Edgar Allan Poe into the story. As a grad student we always speculated about the wives/husbands of our professors. Not how I picture ours being, but I enjoy reading stories about female relationships. Thanks for the giveaway Dar, I’d love to be entered.

  25. After reading this interview, it’s made me want to pick up the book more. I like how the author has used factors in her own life to tell a story about women and the power they can have. Truth be told that I haven’t really thought about my professor’s personal lives, much less their wives or husbands. It’s certainly something to think about. Awesome interview =)

    Carmen T
    carmenalexistsang[at]gmail[dot]com

  28. Sounds like a great book! I love the part of the interview where the author describes how a random thought during her daily life — visiting a playground — became the spark that drove her to write the book.

    Thanks for having a great giveaway!

    carolyn [dot] bahm [at] gmail [dot] com

  29. Great interview!
    And domestic violence does occur in all walks of life…my first love who was my everything at the time was abusive…but unfortunately he met Me AND I wasn’t taking it. But, I also realized that I could NEVER marry him because I dreamed that one day I would kill him and that my kids would have to grow up without their mom in their lives. Just wasn’t worth it.

  31. oh, oh, oh enter me!!! I love the idea of inteligent women bonding together to fight for something 🙂 and I am super curious about the secrets as well!

    I will add this to my wish list, I WANT it!!

  33. I agree that women are not always portrayed positively in their relationships with other women. Women can be such a great emotional support for each other, not to mention the sheer fun you can have hanging out and chatting with other gals.

    This book sounds great! Good interview.

  34. This statement from the interview really makes me wish I could write: “Creating my own fictional worlds is proving just as fun, perhaps more fun, than studying and analyzing the fictional worlds created by other people.” I’ll have to settle for reading the wonderful works of authors like Ms. Rendell. Please include me in the drawing. Your interviews are great! Thanks for sharing.

  36. Yes, I related to the comment about women & friendship. I love Sex and the City, Steel Magnolias, & The Friday Night Knitting Club…all favorites of mine, so I am sure I would be interested in this book. Great review & I put your giveaway on my blog-thanks:)
    http://julyso4463.blogspot.com/

  37. I just won a book from you, so please don’t enter me in your giveaway; however, I wanted to say that I really enjoyed the interview and the trailer. Joanne seems like a delightful woman that writes about what she knows. I loved learning about where her idea bloomed and where it is going. Like I said on your review post – I love anything academia, so I find the whole concept interesting.

  39. I’d like to put my name in the hat; thanks, Dar and Joanne for the opportunity!

    I always enjoy author interviews, both to learn more about them as writers as well as their lives as “real people”.

    The note about a character giving birth while watching Terminator movies (like Joanne did) caught my eye. The Kentucky Derby was on the hospital TV when I was in labor with our eldest daughter.

  40. This book sounds interesting and I would love to be entered in your contest. I thought it was interesting that the author included the reasons why she had an abusive relationship included in this book.

  44. I really thought the fact that Joanne came up with the idea for the book at a playground shows a lot of imagination.

    babypossum at mail dot com

  45. question 6 where you ask her about domestic violence and characters. Interesting to note about most people do not associate professors and violence. Another lesson in don’t judge a book by its cover. Sounds like a great book
    florida982002@yahoo dot com

  46. The title of this book in my friend’s blog really caught my attention because of the fact that I am myself a professor’s wife. While working to put my husband through school, I remember having these images of faculty cocktail parties in wood-paneled studies, drinking wine, discussing current events, and trading appetizer recipes with the other professors’ spouses. I always thought I would find some common ground and maybe even camaraderie. Nothing has been further from the truth at either of the universities we’ve been at (except for the self-interested-dean thing – that seems to be universal). I still believe it exists, we just haven’t “found our place” in the world, yet. As a result, we move frequently and I’ve been unable to form the “supportive, and nurturing relationships with other women” that are spoken of in the interview. I look forward to reading this book to “keep the dream alive.”

    I mentioned this entry in my own webpage at: “http://terranlily.livejournal.com/17811.html”

  47. I am intrigued by this book because it does talk about domestic violence which is so prevalent in our society, yet not written alot about. It is amazing to me how many upper/middle class families have abuse in them, but no one wants to talk about it.