The Storyteller: Janet Skeslien Charles
Hi and welcome to Issue #17 of The Storyteller!
If you aren't yet subscribed to the newsletter, you can change that here.
Today's guest is Janet Skeslian Charles. She grew up in a small town in the plains in Montana, went to France to work as a teaching assistant, later became the programs manager at the American Library in Paris. It is where she came across the amazing true story of the courageous librarians there during World War II which became the inspiration for her sophomore novel, The Paris Library. I'll let her tell us more about it.
Anu: Can you talk us through your reading and writing journey from childhood and how you got to where you are now? Did you always want to be a writer? It’s quite the journey from Montana to Ukraine to France and I’m sure Storyteller readers would love to hear about it in your words! How did you adjust to vastly different countries and cultures, what were the challenges and the positives? Is there anything that surprised you?
Janet: I started writing in a journal when I was twelve. I have always been a writer. I am unhappy when I am not writing. Concerning Ukraine, I grew up during the Cold War, when we American were told that the Soviets were the enemy. As a little girl, I knew this could not be true, that people are people. I wanted to peek behind the Iron Curtain. After college graduation, I got a teaching job in Odessa. (I’m from Montana, where it can be -40 in winter, so I wanted to go somewhere warmer than Moscow.) I loved my time in Odessa and was amazed by the incredible people. I would love to write another book set there.
After two years in Ukraine, I was ready for a new experience and came to France. I spent that first year in Alsace, which is a beautiful region that I return to every year.
Concerning the different countries and cultures, I don’t know that I adjusted that well. I do enjoy the puzzle of language and particularly love Russian (though I have forgotten much of it because I don’t use it).
Anu: How has the above journey shaped you as a reader and a writer?
Janet: I am always an outsider. Though this makes daily life difficult, being an outsider is good when you are a novelist because you observe people and have distance from situations.
Anu: How do you approach working on a novel or, for that matter, any story? What does the process look like for you from start to finish? Does it change depending on the project
Janet: Though the stories are different, the themes are the same – women on their own, inventing or reinventing themselves.
My first novel had one narrator and was linear. I started thinking about it in 1994 and started writing it while sitting on a train in 2006. I finished it in 2008 and it was published in 2009.
My second novel has multiple narrators and is set in two times. It took from 2010 to 2019 to write and research. It will come out in 2021. I hope the next one won’t take as long!
Anu: Could you talk a bit about your experience teaching writing workshops at Shakespeare & Co for four years? How did it come about? Any highlights or takeaways?
Janet: I came to France as a teaching assistant and had one-year contracts, which meant that my colleagues saw me as yet another foreigner passing through, and they didn’t bother getting to know me. I struggled to find friends with the same interests – reading and writing. I went to Shakespeare and Co and asked Sylvia Whitman, who’d recently arrived to assist her father George Whitman with the bookshop, if they would host my workshop. She told me to have a look at the upstairs library. I climbed the stairs, and when I entered the library, George was there. He opened his arms wide and asked how long I could stay. It is one of my favorite moments in Paris.
The upstairs library has a view of Notre Dame. Class began on the hour to the chimes of the cathedral. I feel very lucky to have taught there.
Anu: What are some of your favourite things about living in Paris as a writer? I can imagine there are numerous distractions as well!
Janet: I love the bookshops! I enjoy bicycling here. These days, there aren’t too many distractions since our curfew is 6 p.m. and cafes are closed.
Anu: On that note, I want to chat with you about what it was that drew you to France and keeps you in Paris. Was it a place you always wanted to live in?
Janet: Growing up, my neighbor was a war bride from France. Spending time with her made me want to come to France. I always wanted to visit, but didn’t expect to live here.
Anu: The Paris Library is based on a true story. What, to you, is special about the American Library in Paris, as a place, as a location?
Janet: The people are what make the Library special. What is fascinating about the place is the cross-section of people – students, writers, folks on a budget, millionaires, conservatives, liberals. People whose paths would normally never cross find communion at Evenings with Author events. The staff is international as is the membership – sixty nationalities are represented.
Anu: You worked as the program manager at the Library. How did that experience help you in writing The Paris Library?
Janet: As the programs manager, I oversaw the ALP’s book groups, the writing of the newsletter, and weekly Evening with an Author series. We hosted journalists, art historians, debut novelists, and National Book Award winners. At events, I stood in the back of the reading room, one eye on the crowd, the other on my journal as I jotted down the speakers’ words. During the day, at my desk in the bustling back office, I also took note of what colleagues said and was especially captivated by the World War II story of the brave librarians who defied the Nazi “Library Protector” in order to hand-deliver books to Jewish readers.
Anu: How did you go about researching background and history? How did you manage the balance between that and the actual writing and formation of your story?
Janet: I became an obsessive Googler. Every day, new documents are scanned and added to online archives. Photos are being put up for sale. Each day, a researcher can find new material thanks to librarians, archivists, journalists, and bloggers who share their knowledge. I also tracked down the descendants of the real-life characters. I spent a day with Boris’s two children, and I corresponded with family members of other characters. What was hardest for me was putting words into the mouths of the real-life characters. I felt such reverence for them that I was afraid to make a mistake. At some point, I just had to trust the research and trust myself as a writer.
Anu: Are you an extensive plotter and outliner? Do the characters come first or the story or do they grow in tandem with each other?
Janet: I outline, but eventually characters do what they want to do. I start with setting, because I think where we’re from shapes who we are.
Anu: What are some of the things you have found useful for crafting strong characters as well as for balancing the various elements within the story?
Janet: Setting is important for me, whether it is a city like Odessa, a place like the Library, or a claustrophobic small town like Froid. So much about behavior and actions comes from how and where we are raised.
Anu: What draws you to write the stories that you do? Any obvious inspirations or influences? What do you want readers to take away from your books?
Janet: I am interested in women’s journeys and the way that women who move to a foreign country must reinvent themselves. I am inspired by the women in my life (my mother is in every word that I write) as well as my own struggles to learn new languages and customs.
I want readers to know that they are not alone.
Anu: Moonlight in Odessa and The Paris Library are both very different novels in writing style, among other elements (congratulations on winning the 2010 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance for the former!). How did you approach working on these narratives while still retaining your own overarching voice? Did the content dictate the style or vice versa? What does a typical writing day look like for you?
Janet: Thank you for asking about Moonlight in Odessa! It will always be close to my heart. Set in Ukraine, the story is about the booming business of email order brides. With its French and Italian architecture, Odessa is a gorgeous resort city on the Black Sea. Odessa is the humor capital of the former Soviet Union, so people there can laugh about anything. My novel is humorous because the people there are funny. The characters in The Paris Library are serious. But I hope that in both books the light tone shines a light on the darkness of both situations – the exploitation of women in one instance and the barbaric way people treat each other in the other.
I write first thing in the morning, while my mind is fresh and before the nonstop construction in my neighborhood begins.
Anu: How was your experience with querying and finding an agent? Any advice for aspiring writers?
Janet: I sent out 75 queries for this book. My first agent and editor passed on The Paris Library. So did my German and French editors. It was very painful to start over. But you must persist to find the agent and editor who will fall in love with your project. Just like with dating or looking for a job, it takes time to find the right one.
Anu: How do you juggle different responsibilities and manage time while working on your craft?
Janet: For many years, I led writing workshop and taught a class on the city of Paris through the lens of literature, art, and music. Working with young people gave me energy and gave me hope for the future.
Anu: What are some of the things you enjoy doing outside of writing?
Janet: Before the world changed, I enjoyed meeting friends for coffee. Restaurants have been closed in Paris for a few months. I still enjoy going to The Red Wheelbarrow bookshop. It is my favorite place in Paris. I love to read and to write letters.
Anu: Do you have any go-to tips for refilling that creative well?
Janet: Some days, everything I write looks wrong, sounds wrong. When that happens, I get up and go for a walk or bike ride. I read a book in a completely different genre. And I start refreshed the following day.
Anu: What do you love about writing? What do you find difficult? Has either changed over the years?
Janet: I love holding a pen and putting thoughts on paper. I have always been a writer, even it if has only been the last ten years that I am an author. The rejection and silence that writers face is never easy.
Anu: What’s your favourite non-writing part of the publishing process?
Janet: I love hearing from readers. I am fairly new to Instagram and am astounded by the creative photography and essays in posts. I feel very grateful to Instagrammers for their generosity and kindness. My mother liked the posts about The Paris Library so much that she created an album of Bookstagrammers’ gorgeous photos.
Anu: What has it been like having a book out during a pandemic?
Janet: I am amazed at the effort everyone has put into adapting. I have enjoyed attending Zoom readings for writers all over the world. I watched Genevieve Graham talk in Canada while I was sitting at home in my pajamas in Paris. I’m glad that we can still connect.
Anu: Is there any advice you wish you’d gotten when you first started out? Or just any advice for aspiring authors from your own experience, something that’s really helped you in your writing and publishing journey so far?
Janet: I wish I had had some help writing essays and wish that I were better at writing shorter pieces.
To writers, I would say: Keep writing and don’t give up. Getting published can take years. Be proud of yourself for the queries that you send out. It is brave to share your work out to strangers.
---
What's the last book(s) that you read that you'd recommend and why?
I enjoyed The Paris Librarian by Mark Pryor. Because I enjoyed spending time in the American Library in Paris and thought he did a beautiful job of capturing the atmosphere.
What's the last TV show or movie you watched that you'd recommend and why?
I loved the first seasons of the TV show Nashville. The theme of female ambition was really interesting.
What's the last song you listened to that you'd recommend and why?
Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” because I love her voice and passion.
---
Thanks Janet for speaking to us all the way from Paris!
Here are some photos she kindly shared with me:
1. Dorothy Reeder, who was the Library director during WWII
2. A then-and-now photo of the two Library directors, Dorothy Reeder and Audrey Chapuis.
3. A photo in the Paris edition of the New York Herald about the arrival in Paris of the Maharaja of Tripura and his sister, the Yuvaranee of Baria. This is referenced in a conversation between two of The Paris Library's characters who is reading the newspaper in question.
As always, I've included both mine and Janet's social media links below. There are buying links as well, which include links through my own online affiliate shop for Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores. I have a separate section on there titled "The Storyteller newsletter" so you can access the relevant buying links for all the authors I've had on here so far.
In Issue #18 heading your way on March 1, you'll be meeting Rachel Lynn Solomon (website), a thrice-published and lauded Young Adult writer whose first foray into adult contemporary romance is the recently released The Ex-Talk. We talk about switching genres, writing rom-coms, the day-to-day challenges of writing, the publishing process, and more.
If you enjoyed this and know someone who would, as well, please forward this to them! I'm also always up for a book (or general) chat so feel free to turn this into a conversation at any time by replying to the email, even if just to let me know your thoughts on an issue or if you have any feedback, but also if you must share with someone how awesome something is that you've recently read, watched, or listened to.
Thank you and until next time!
Anu
Currently reading: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Currently watching: This is Us (season 5), Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (season 2), One Tree Hill (season 3 rewatch)
Latest writing: If you missed out on reading my first publication of 2021, you can read it in Issue 1 of Tether's End Magazine here.
---
Website
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Buying links
Bookshop
Amazon