A fairy tale scholar, Ann Claycomb wrote to address diminished female characters
SunLit: Tell us this book's backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?
Ann Claycomb: My first novel, "The Mermaid's Daughter" (2017) is a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" in the world of present-day opera. When I began brainstorming my next book project later that year, I knew I wanted to retell and hopefully reclaim another fairy tale. The stories I wanted to work with—from Andersen's "The Red Shoes" and "Thumbelina" to traditional tales like "Bluebeard" and "Sleeping Beauty"—all bothered me, though, because they inevitably diminished female characters, making them frivolous, small, weak-willed, or even comatose.
Then the ugly real-world events of 2016, 2017, and 2018 seemed to pile up, from Donald Trump's leaked "Access Hollywood" tape to the revelations about Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby's assault conviction. And suddenly the problems with these fairy tales became the story, as I imagined a world in which perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault found magical ways to literally silence the women they preyed on. That's how "Silenced" came about—and of course also how the book got its name.
SunLit: Place this excerpt in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole? Why did you select it?
Claycomb: "Silenced" is a difficult book to offer an excerpt from, both because there are some big "reveals" in the story and because some of the subject matter is so challenging, though this is neither a graphic nor a bleak book. The scene I selected takes place more than halfway through the story, after the four main characters—women determined to get justice for themselves and each other—have begun to suspect that actual magic may be at play. Abony LePrince, a fearless Black executive, visits the only lead they have uncovered, a somewhat mysterious local bakery whose proprietor may be able to help.
SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write? And once you did begin to write, did the work take you in any unexpected directions?
Claycomb: I'm a fairy tale scholar (I wrote my masters thesis on "Beauty and the Beast") and so one of the main drivers of the writing of "Silenced" was all the fairy tales that I know—from the familiar to the more obscure—that foreground restrictions on how women should behave. That part was easy—and often fun. The less pleasant influences were the misogynistic real-world events that took place as I wrote and then edited the manuscript, from the unfolding events of the #MeToo movement to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the continued mistrust, belittling, and undermining of female leaders at all levels and in every sector.
Are there lessons you take away from each experience of writing a book? And if so, what did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Claycomb: Each book definitely teaches you some things about your own voice, your writing process, and what matters to you. I admire many writers in various genres who can do all kinds of things I can't—from creating whole imagined worlds to taking on some of the existential questions we face in this real one. But writing "Silenced" reminded me that I have stories to tell, too, and maybe ways of telling them that are both uniquely my own and appealing to readers.
SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?
Claycomb: "Silenced" was hard to write at times, because the subject matter could so easily have turned dark. The three things I was determined to do were first, not allow this to become the male perpetrator's story, the way (for example) "Silence of the Lambs" is Hannibal Lecter's story as much as it is Clarice's; second, to make sure it was clear that the women wanted justice rather than revenge; and third, to infuse their story with the genuine warmth, hope, and humor that real-world survivors draw upon.
SunLit: If you could pick just one thing – a theme, lesson, emotion or realization — that readers would take from this book, what would that be?
Claycomb: I hope that readers take away the simultaneous truths about how deeply ingrained misogyny still is into the fabric of our culture and how strong, smart, determined women working together can start to rip it out.
SunLit: In a highly politicized atmosphere where books, and people's access to them, has become increasingly contentious, what would you add to the conversation about books, libraries and generally the availability of literature in the public sphere?
Claycomb: As both a writer and a reader, I've learned as much from the books I haven't liked as from those I've loved. That includes both books that have made me face what I've come to see as uncomfortable truths and books whose central premise I continue to reject. Denying readers access to books is denying them the opportunity to be readers, to have voice and power in all kinds of conversations, about the past, present and future.
SunLit: Walk us through your writing process: Where and how do you write?
Claycomb: I write on a laptop at the kitchen island or on my living room sofa, whenever I can find time, which is often just a few hours each month since I also have a full-time job, a partner, three kids, and various animals in the house. I like writing in the kitchen because when I get stuck I can easily start a batch of brownies, which makes me feel like at least I've accomplished something that day.
SunLit: You describe fairy tales as frequently misogynistic and problematic, yet you've written two novels centered around fairy tales. How do you reconcile these two facts?
Claycomb: The messages in Western fairy tales are often extremely repressive of women and as a culture we've internalized a lot of these messages; we associate femininity with meekness, servitude, and certain kinds of beauty (including fair skin). But we can't escape these stories: when people get married, we still talk about them finding their "happily ever after."
And I love the tales themselves, with their talking animals and enchanted foods and promise of magic. So in "The Mermaid's Daughter," I turned the passive, tragic "Little Mermaid" into a temperamental soprano with a long-suffering girlfriend—but I still sent them on a magical quest. And in "Silenced," I set out to expose the misogyny of numerous fairy tales, then let the women at their centers write their own endings.
SunLit: Tell us about your next project.
Claycomb: Never ask writers this question! It's terrifying! That said, I am currently sketching out two possible projects, both in the same vein of real-world settings with magical elements. One of them may involve Elvis's Vegas residency and the CIA but we'll see . . .
Just a few more quick questions
SunLit: Do you look forward to the actual work of writing or is it a chore that you dread but must do to achieve good things?
Claycomb: It depends. Mostly the latter—the process is grueling and awful and the cats glare at me a lot. Occasionally, there's this wind that comes in under you and picks you up and makes it feel brilliant—but that usually only lasts for an hour at most.
SunLit: What's the first piece of writing – at any age – that you remember being proud of?
Claycomb: An essay that I wrote for my 10th grade English teacher, who told me that it was "very 'New Yorker'-esque." I had no idea what that meant, only vaguely that "The New Yorker" was a famous magazine. But I asked for a subscription for my birthday that year.
SunLit: When you look back at your early professional writing, how do you feel about it? Impressed? Embarrassed? Satisfied? Wish you could have a do-over?
Claycomb: I think that we can only be the writers we become by writing what we wrote before, reading what we wrote before, and experiencing every bit of the inevitable imposter syndrome. I still love some of my own earlier work and also like seeing the throughline from there to here.
SunLit: What three writers, from any era, can you imagine having over for a great discussion about literature and writing? And why?
Claycomb: I'd invite three extraordinary feminist fantasy/sci-fi writers over: Julian May, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Juliet Marillier. They all wrote while also raising families and I'd be fascinated to hear from them both how their writing enriched their lives and how they managed to believe they could write speculative fiction while doing this far more traditional "women's work."
SunLit: Do you have a favorite quote about writing?
Claycomb: "I wrote 500 words, can I have a cookie?" ("New Yorker" cartoon)
SunLit: What does the current collection of books on your home shelves tell visitors about you?
Claycomb: That I read a lot, especially but not only fantasy; that I reread my favorite books; and that I live with someone who has very different taste in fiction than I do.
SunLit: Soundtrack or silence? What's the audio background that helps you write?
Claycomb: This very much depends. When I was writing "The Mermaid's Daughter," I taught myself to understand and appreciate the nuances of operatic music, so I would play songs in each character's vocal range as I wrote their chapters. But usually I can't have background music on while I write.
SunLit: What event, and at what age, convinced you that you wanted to be a writer?
Claycomb: When I wrote, illustrated, and presented my parents with a copy of my first book: "The Mice and the Cats." Pretty sure I was five.
SunLit: What do you most fear as an author?
Claycomb: My books falling only into the hands of readers who just don't like them.
SunLit: What brings you the greatest satisfaction?
Claycomb: I am a hardcore re-reader of my own favorite books and my favorite compliment is from readers who say they reread my books. That's everything.
