Author: Steve Luxenberg
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 978-1-6013-2267-2

Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com, is honored to have as our guest Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret. Steve has been a senior editor with The Washington Post since 1985. Reporters working under his supervision have won numerous awards.

Good day, Steve, and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm: 

How did you get started in writing? Who or what has influenced your writing? What keeps you going?

Steve:

First, thanks for inviting me, Norm.

I came to writing through reading. In my youth, if I didn’t have a ball in my hand, I had a book. At some point, I realized that books were a free tutorial, that I could study the writing to find out how the author had pulled it off.

Later, when I found myself lured by journalism’s siren song, I thought of myself as a reporter first—a gatherer and conveyer of information—not a writer. It took years of working with the journalistic art form to think that I could make the leap into writing a book. Reading the work of others has remained my primary foundation for developing my own voice.

Norm: 

How did you decide you were ready to write Annie’s Ghosts?

Steve:

Slowly! The book had a long gestation period, like a caterpillar chrysalis in a suspended state. Hearing about my mom’s secret was the first step, but I’m not even sure I can call that a step, because of the vague way in which the secret first emerged. When I made my earliest inquiries in 2000, I wasn’t thinking about writing a book. I was just trying to find out something about this unknown aunt, Annie, whose existence had given the lie to my mom’s vivid description of growing up as an only child. I learned only the barest outlines of the story that came to be Annie’s Ghosts, but it was enough for me to know that this couldn’t be a part-time, nights-and-weekend project. Finally, in 2006, I felt prepared to take it on, both journalistically and emotionally.

Norm:

 What was the timeline between the time you decided to write Annie’s Ghosts and its publication? What were the major events along the way?

Steve:

Writing a book means convincing a publisher that you have a book worth writing. As a first-time author, and thus no track record in the book business, I felt I had to prove myself. In March 2006, I set out to write a book proposal that would show that I had a story to tell, that I had the skills to tell it, and that I had the reporting to back up what I was promising.

After seven months of research and reporting, I wrote the proposal. After Hyperion bought the book, I spent several more months on full-time reporting before switching primarily to the writing phase, which took about 11 months, minus occasional breaks to do more reporting.

Norm: 

Can you explain some of your research techniques, and how you found sources for your book?

Steve:

To stand in my mom’s shoes as she decided to hide her sister’s existence, and to understand her motivations, I had to recreate her world, and Annie’s world, circa 1940. I had to find relatives, neighbors, friends, former classmates, anyone who would have known either one of them. In my detective work, I used census records, immigration records, city directories, obituaries, yearbooks, school records and letters that my parents had exchanged during World War II.

I needed to work fast—many, if still alive, were in their eighties. In that first phase of reporting, I concentrated on finding people. I saved for later the sort of research (photo albums, historical records, newspapers, periodicals, books) that could be done at any time, without fear of losing access to them.

Norm: 

What was the most difficult part of writing your book?

Steve:

One reviewer said that Annie’s Ghosts doesn’t fit neatly into any single genre. I liked that. The book is a detective story, but it’s also a memoir and a social history. I wanted to understand the larger cultural forces at work, so that I could root my family’s story firmly in its time and place. That required balancing the various narratives, weaving them together so that they complement rather than compete with each other.

Norm:

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Steve:

Writing a book, by definition, is an isolating experience. That doesn’t mean it has to be lonely. But any author working alone, especially one on a journey of discovery, has to become comfortable with this reality: No one can ever know as much as you do, or feel the way you do, and that makes it difficult to seek advice or get feedback. I’m used to the atmosphere of a newsroom, where feedback comes at you daily and fast, often on deadline. To cope with those feelings of isolation, I leaned on friends and family, but only in a targeted, specific way, so that I didn’t try their patience and wear out my welcome.

Norm: 

In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell a good story or make a point. But how much is too much?

Steve:

During a recent online discussion, the question came up: How far should memoir writers go in reconstructing scenes and dialogue? The answer might seem obvious, but some writers have gone beyond reconstructed dialogue, arguing that invention (based on memory, of course) is legitimate — because truth, in a sense, is in the eye of the beholder anyway.

I draw a harder line than most. I favor the rough edges of memory over neat and pretty reconstructions. (More interesting, usually.) Invention? That's why we have novels.

Norm:

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing? As a follow up, do you have any suggestions for our readers to become better writers? If so, what are they? 

Steve:

It’s not possible to talk about good writing without talking about the audience and the writer’s purpose. Fiction, nonfiction, news stories, textbooks, speeches, interoffice memos, Supreme Court briefs, even tweets—they’re so different. The best examples of all those genres probably share a few characteristics: Specificity, brevity, imagery, originality, love of a good turn of phrase. Oh, and it’s probably never a good idea to bore readers.

Norm:

Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?

Steve:

Honesty, most of all. There’s a kind of implied contact between writer and reader, and that contract needs to be honored. Readers, I think, are smart. They know that most nonfiction writers don't have notes or documents to back up dialogue from long ago. So what's the problem? In a word: Credibility. As a writer, I want readers to grant me some license to tell my story. But if I present lengthy dialogue as fact, I risk losing their trust—and their interest. Bad deal for me.

Norm: 

What is next for Steve Luxenberg and how can our readers find out more about you and Annie’s Ghosts?

Steve:

I’d like to write a second nonfiction book—I’m developing the idea now—but whether it ultimately happens probably depends on reader response to Annie’s Ghosts. So far, the reviews have been wonderful and booksellers have been enthusiastic. Still, the publishing and newspaper worlds are undergoing such turmoil right now that I take nothing for granted. I want to continue writing books and editing special projects at The Washington Post, if I can.

For those readers interested in learning more about Annie’s Ghosts, my website provides a good introduction, as well as additional photos and documents not included in the book. Please come to browse, read my blog or send me an e-mail.

Click Here To Purchase Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret

Click Here To Read Norm's Review of Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret