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QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Victoria Lustbader answers readers' questions about her interest in nature conservation and the benefits of being married to another writer.

Donna from Philadelphia, PA: I am curious to know what it is like to live in a two-author family. Does it help or hinder the writing process? Does it serve to make you work better because there is another author there to critique it?

Victoria Lustbader: For us, I would say there are only benefits to us both being writers. For me, even after working with writers for years, the reality of living with one was an entirely different animal. Eric wrote almost constantly, and seemed gone most of the time. Having an intellectual understanding of why and where he went didn’t help me feel less abandoned. It wasn’t until I was writing myself that I understood viscerally what it meant to be partly living every moment in the world you were creating, and to appreciate what a joy that was. And to realize that it didn’t make a writer’s connection to the real world any less substantial.

Both the creative process and the business end of writing can be lonely and dispiriting one moment, and exhilarating the next. With both of us on the same rollercoaster --- although in separate cars most of the time! --- we empathize with one another down to the bone. I think we understand one another better --- understand where the other disappears to when the writing is going well --- and we’re kinder to one another.

We often do read and critique each other’s work as we go, and it does indeed help make our work better in early stages. It’s wonderful to have someone right there, when you’re stuck or in doubt, whom you can trust to be smart and helpful. We write very different sorts of books, have different strengths and weaknesses, and really complement the other’s way of thinking about a problem. We are not in competition in any way, but early on, I couldn’t help but compare his output to mine [huge and fast to small and slow!], and his success to mind [ditto], and feel a bit frustrated or diminished. When I gained confidence in my own patterns and progress, that fell away.

Andria from Midland, MI: In light of your interest in the Nature Conservancy, do you plan on making the environment have a more important role in future novels?

Victoria Lustbader: I can’t see that I would ever write something with a specific theme related to conservation --- that is, with a message about the environment at its core. However, at this point, I would say that my own relationship to the environment is of a more spiritual nature. I believe that a meaningful connection to our natural world is essential if we are to understand ourselves, why we’re here, and where we fit into the circle and cycle of life. Without some sort of connection, an understanding that we are part of a beautiful and perfect whole, we are forever isolated and separate, cut off from the vastness of life outside ourselves.

Without doubt, those feelings about the natural world and our place in it will find its way into the stories and lives of my characters. The peace and comfort that can come from a love for and intimacy with the natural world will certainly play a part in my characters’ journeys. And I suppose that is a sort of message in itself.

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