10 Questions for Susan Mersereau
- By Catherine Fox
Michael thinks about how his wife, Anne, is known at her work for making the right call when it matters most. She gladly accepts—preemptively asks for—the totally impossible assignment. Anne always gets the job done when nobody thinks that she, or anybody, will be able to do it.—From “The Rendezvous,” Volume 60, Issue 3 (Fall 2019)
Tell us about one of the first pieces you wrote.
My first published story, “Where Two Did Gather,” appeared in a small New Brunswick journal called The Nashwaak Review. It’s about a new mother struggling to cope with her crying baby. A decade later I had my first baby and was surprised to find an uncanny comfort in that early story, almost as though I’d intentionally written it for the benefit of a future self I couldn’t possibly have known anything about.
What writer(s) or works have influenced the way you write now?
I learn everything I can from many favorite writers, mostly short story writers and poets—Raymond Carver, Joyce Carol Oates, Lydia Davis, Charles Simic, Alden Nowlan, Kay Ryan. It feels foolish to try to list them. I remember being introduced to Mavis Gallant’s short stories in school in Canada, but it’s only been over the past few years that I’ve really become a devotee. Like me, Gallant was born in Canada to an American mother. She grew up in both countries, but then spent a lot of time living in neither. I often think of her writing all those years in her little house in France. There is something very appealing about belonging but not belonging—and about writing, as I think Gallant did, without feeling a responsibility (I guess you’d call it) to be a representative of one place or group of people.
What other professions have you worked in?
Mostly communications and program coordination for non-profit organizations. Right after grad school I spent a year dealing Blackjack and poker at a casino. It was an interesting experience and I witnessed some remarkable and often sad situations. It’s been fifteen years and I’ve never written a short story about a casino or gambling. I’m not sure why not. Possibly we need to save some stories in order to have something to talk about.
What did you want to be when you were young?
I wanted to be a writer. But for some reason by the end of high school that seemed like an idea I was supposed to forget about. I didn’t even know creative writing degrees existed. I studied English literature, and for a while I thought I would be a William Blake scholar. I’m grateful I eventually met a bunch of writers in Nova Scotia and fell into writing stories again.
What inspired you to write this piece?
I started “The Rendezvous” immediately after working for months on a heavy story told through stream of consciousness called “Drought.” That story is about an older woman in Sacramento who’s working through this sort of hapless plan to redeem a lifetime of mistakes by befriending a young woman in her walking club. I was happy with the story, but I felt pretty exhausted after inhabiting that woman’s mind for such a long time. I wanted to write something a little lighter next. I had been joking with a friend about typical plot elements in spy fiction and went away thinking, “Okay, let’s see what happens.”
Is there any specific music that aids you through the writing or editing process?
Definitely. I listen to Mogwai, a mostly instrumental band from Scotland. Sometimes a specific track will resonate with a story and I’ll listen just to that one over and over. For “The Rendezvous” it was a track called “Remurdered.” It has a thumping, maybe-something-will-happen sort of rhythm that worked well for this story.
Who typically gets the first read of your work?
My friend Mike Donoghue in Vancouver. He writes speculative fiction and we’ve been sharing first drafts for many years. At this point I would never share a new story with anyone else before going through his always sharp comments.
If you could work in another art form what would it be?
I would love to try out for a community theatre project someday. I can imagine a future where I’m not moving around so much and am making ties to a community. I’ll try out for whatever they’re doing and accept any part and just put everything I have into it.
What are you working on currently?
I’m excited for a new story I’m finishing about some teenagers who accidentally kill somebody on a US military base in Seoul in the seventies. It feels like new territory for me, in terms of its setting and scope.
What are you reading right now?
I’m working through some good poetry I found while traveling in Montana recently. Today it’s Jim Harrison’s lovely In Search of Small Gods. I love checking out independent bookstores in strange towns and always buy more poetry than anything else—you can always fit one more slim volume into your luggage.
SUSAN MERSEREAU is a short-fiction writer born in Saint John, New Brunswick. Her stories have appeared in Grain, PRISM international, Riddle Fence, Filling Station, and Nashwaak Review.
