By Max Bowen
In Anne Shaw Heinrich’s new book, “House of Teeth,” she captures another facet of small-town life in the Women of Paradise County series.
“Jules Marks and his five little sisters can finally relax. Their feckless parents from Shakey's Half are doing time in the Paradise County Jail, and their Uncle Larry, Aunt Sally and Aunt Clarice have swooped in to give them the safety and security they deserved all along. As they settle into the closest thing to normal they’ve ever known, their neighbors and classmates are quick to remind them not to get too comfortable. Poulson’s only dentist makes a generous offer to help the Marks children fix their long-neglected teeth, but many folks object to the free treatment they receive. Meanwhile, Jules is figuring out how to be a man as he holds onto an ugly secret involving his dear friend, Violet Sellers. When cancer strikes the family, Jules decides to right a wrong that’s gone unchallenged for far too long.”
Anne goes into how her writing process has changed over the course of the series and her process for capturing small-town life. We talk about her protagonist and their creation process, as well as the future of the series.
Check out more at https://www.anneshawheinrich.com.
I want to begin with how your books capture small-town life. What’s your process, and has it changed or evolved over the course of your series?
My process has evolved, primarily because when I wrote the first book, “God Bless the Child,” it wasn’t created with a series in mind. That came later, so I’ve had to throw open the doors and windows on that original story to let the timelines breathe and allow other characters and places to bloom. It’s been an unexpected gift that has turned into something I could never have imagined when it started! When you think about how connected we are to others in the world by time and space and circumstance, the possibilities are endless for exploring and just shining light on voices that beg to be heard.
Who is Jules Marks and what went into his creation?
Jules doesn’t emerge in The Women of Paradise County Series until Book Two, “Violet is Blue.” He’s a little boy born into very tough circumstances just trying to come to terms with his place in the world. We get to see him discover that he actually has some agency. He can set things into motion and I’ve just loved helping Jules grow into a young man capable of loving deeply and being loved in turn. He’s based on a compilation of people I’ve watched from afar and up close. I care about him deeply.
It seems like you're creating the whole community, one book at a time. Where do you see this going?
It’s been a privilege to go deep and wide like I have. Each book adds new layers that could go on and on, if you keep honoring a shared humanity that is just there for the taking if our eyes and ears and hearts are open. Book Three, “House of Teeth,” has been just a joy to write. I’m thankful that the series has been extended to include a fourth book. I’m trying to give the story a respectable closure, so I can move onto another exciting stand-alone book. Who knows what will happen? I’m staying open to any and all possibilities.
Small towns are known for being close-knit. What are the ups and downs of this?
I would liken small-town living to an extended family of sorts. It’s a collection of people who occupy the same general space and therefore find themselves agreeing to a complex set of rules and unspoken expectations that generally suit the common good until challenged by something we just can’t dismiss—the human spirit. It’s inspiring and inconvenient, depending on where you happen to be perched within the ecosystem. Still, there's love, hate, and even an indifference that connects to a twice-removed kind of comfort we crave. I’ll never tire of exploring it.
What’s your advice for someone looking to launch a series of their own?
Keep an open mind and heart. Let readers make up their own minds about the characters and their choices. As their creator, you get to decide where to shine the most light, but the storyline still has to make sense. Let yourself play with time and perspectives, and be really intentional about reminding readers of what’s happened. Remember that they are not as entrenched in the story, so you have to keep them supplied with breadcrumbs.
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