Hunting Mythical Monsters 'At The Water's Edge'

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Maddie Hyde is a Sara Gruen heroine. She's bold, she's warm and she's been cast out of Philadelphia polite society. In this case, the family of her husband Ellis, who is 4-F in the middle of World War II. To avoid the glares and scowls and to earn their own way in the world after being cut off from a family fortune, they cross the Atlantic during a high tide of submarine warfare to try to burnish their family name by trying to hunt down an older kind of monster in a Scottish village whose name I simply cannot pronounce. "At The Water's Edge" is the new novel from Sarah Gruen. Of course, she's the best-selling author of "Water For Elephants" and other huge, popular books that have been translated into 43 languages. She joins us now from member station WCQS in Asheville, N.C.

Thanks so much for being with us.

SARA GRUEN: Well, thank you for inviting me. It's a huge honor.

SIMON: And how do I pronounce Drumna...

GRUEN: Drumnadrochit.

SIMON: Drumnadrochit.

GRUEN: Yes, that's it.

SIMON: Well, all right, I think I'll leave it to you.

GRUEN: (Laughter).

SIMON: How does the fate of the Loch Ness Monster get all tied up with Maddie and Alice?

GRUEN: It's largely just looming in the background. And of course it's metaphoric for, well, sort of the obvious things like Hitler and of course what happened to some of the characters. But it's largely indicative of the monsters within us and recognizing these monsters, and once we face them, deciding how we're going to deal with them or if we're going to deal with them, is what defines us as human beings.

SIMON: Did you have a feeling for Scotland before you began this novel?

GRUEN: I did. I visited the Highlands for the first time when I was 12. And Urquhart Castle is, without question, my favorite castle in the world. And it was of course the first time I'd seen it, so that was when I fell in love with it because it's ruined. And I love ruined castles better than I love intact castles because with intact castles, you don't know what's been patched, what's been repainted, what's real, what's original. And with ruined castles, I stand on the mossy grass in the keep and I imagine all of the dramas, the human, you know, the love, the betrayal, the hatred, the wars, the killings - everything that happens in human life. There's something about that that just inspires me, so - and of course, I was 12 and I absolutely believed the Loch Ness Monster was going to reveal itself to me. I thought, it knows its secret is safe with me. And so when I came across an article four years ago that talked about both places, I was in-between books and I thought, that's just too tempting to resist.

SIMON: Do I, having read some of your biography, do I get this right - you were once a technical writer?

GRUEN: Oh, yes, for 10 years.

SIMON: Did you learn something from that work that comes into play now and then?

GRUEN: Oh, absolutely. I think it was an absolutely fantastic background to have. I always wanted to write. It's why I got a degree in English Literature. But then of course, I had a degree in English and I had to find a job. So I was very, very happy to find a living doing anything writing. Like in "Seinfeld," and Elaine writing for the J. Peterman catalog, I would've written, you know, umbrella descriptions and been happy for it. But I also have, you know, I'm sort of tech-minded and I picked - I have kind of a mathematical side of my brain, as well. So tech writing was a very natural fit for me because I could write and, you know, you are using your writing skills. And the difference of course is that when somebody enters a help file, they're already in a bad mood. They don't want to read. They're not happy. So, I was giving them exactly the information they wanted, nothing but, and in the order they needed it - get them in, get them out, get their problems sorted. But then when I was finished doing the writing part, or if I got exhausted, I was, you know, coding and compiling executable files for the help files. And so I'd just switch to the mathematical part and do debugging for a while and then my brain would be fresh again. And so, it was really - I liked it. If luck and fate hadn't pushed me in this direction, I would've still been a perfectly happy technical writer.

SIMON: Well, let's talk about luck and fate. And I'll add, even if you're reluctant to your skill as a storyteller, is it hard to top yourself?

GRUEN: I'm not trying to. I mean, it would be - if I tried, it would not just be hard, it would be impossible. So I don't tend to think in terms of, oh, I peaked at 38. I tend to think, I'm so happy about what happened with "Water For Elephants," but I know I was struck by lightning. (Laughter). You know? And it's not going to happen again and that's OK. I get to keep doing what I love to do and I'm going to - if I were writing, thinking about the audience and thinking about sales, I wouldn't turn out good stories. And the thing I love about writing fiction is allowing the characters to take over and going in unexpected directions, and really just kind of channeling the story that comes to me so that I get into a place where I feel like I'm recording instead of creating. And I have to be unaware of the entire world when I'm doing that. So, no, I took the pressure off myself. I live a very, very normal life with my kids. I do laundry every day. I mean, nothing's - I just try to keep everything as normal as possible. And I'm extremely grateful for what happened with "Water For Elephants," but no, I don't expect to top it. (Laughter).

SIMON: Do you already have the next novel, the next Sara Gruen novel, in mind?

GRUEN: I have some ideas rattling around and I'm really excited about it because it's another departure. And it's going to be hard. And it's going to - you know, I'm going to have to figure out a lot of stuff, but I've got this sort of deal with myself going on that I'm not going to allow myself to write down anything about it until I get back from tour and from promoting this book. But, I also know that my brain is working on it, that part of my brain that I don't control and that is my creative part and that I just really hope just continues to keep working, but it's doing it and I'm dreaming about it. So when I finally do open my file, it's going to feel like a treat, and I can't wait.

SIMON: Sara Gruen. Her new novel, "At The Water's Edge."

Thanks so much for being with us.

GRUEN: Well, thank you so much, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.