Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest Deborah Gaul author of Synchronicities on the Avenue of the Saint.

Deborah Gaal abandoned a love of theater to take over the family flooring business and ended up running a wholly-owned subsidiary for E.I. DuPont de Nemours (DuPont).

After leaving DuPont, she coached entrepreneurs and corporate execs in addition to creating and guiding leadership seminars for women.

Finally, she returned to her dream of living a creative life by writing. She is a repeat recipient of the San Diego State University Writer’s Conference “Editor’s Choice Award.” Her debut novel, The Dream Stitcher, was a finalist in the 2018 National Jewish Book Awards in Debut Fiction, and won the 2019 Indie Reader Discovery Award for Literary Fiction.

She has raised four children and lives in Southern California with her husband, an exuberant Chocolate Lab, and two feral cats. When she is not writing, you can find her on the lawn bowling green. 

Norm: Good day Deborah and thanks for participating in our interview.

Do you think about your reading public when you write?

Norm: Do you imagine a specific reader when you write?

Deborah:  No. I truly don’t think in those terms. 

Norm: How do you deal with criticism?  

Deborah: It’s ironic that I was drawn to writing, because dealing with criticism has been a lifelong challenge for me.  I remember my 1st grade teacher complaining to my mother that I was particularly bad at handling criticism, that I would cry at the slightest correction.  

Perhaps that’s why I chose writing, so that I could work on this aspect of my soul's development.  Of course I cherish people who “get” what I’m trying to say, or give me the occasional rave, it’s human nature to be intoxicated by a compliment.

But I also value critique from people who say, “I didn’t relate to this story,” or “The writer missed the mark.”  The truth is, all perspectives are valid, and all perspectives should have equal weight.  My job as a writer is to get out of the way and tell a story in whatever way the story wants to be told.   

Norm: How do you choose the names of your characters?  

Deborah: Sometimes I start my novel draft by sticking a name onto a character.  I simply reach up into the ether and grab one. As I write toward the story, the temporary name I’ve given a character either seems to fit, or I know I have to change it.  Or sometimes the character will let me know he or she doesn’t like their name.  

But, there always turns out to be some rhyme or reason for the choice.  I liked the choice for Noah, because of the biblical references.  (That’s probably no surprise.)  I liked the name Sally, because the phrase “Sally forth” kept floating through my brain.  My character Sally seems like the kind of woman who blindly bounds forth without a great deal of soul searching.  

Norm: Do you ever dream about your characters?

Deborah:  Yes, it’s one of the more annoying aspects of my writing process.  When I’m drafting, the characters wake me up in the middle of the night, and often I’m running to the computer to download dictation before I can fall back to sleep.  It’s an exhausting process.  And since it takes me several years to draft a novel (not to mention editing!) I’m pretty tired by the time I’ve declared the manuscript finished.  

Norm: How did you become involved with the subject or theme of Synchronicities on the Avenue of the Saint?

Deborah: I was dealing with a family member who was suffering with bipolar disorder.  I feared I might lose this loved one from either drugs, alcohol, homelessness, suicide, or simply a state of crazy from which he might never return.  

When things were at their darkest, I read a paragraph in an alternative medicine book about an African shaman, Dr. Malidoma Some,  who took an 18-year old bipolar patient to live with his tribe in Africa.  

The tribe believed that anyone with mental illness was a “healer in the making,” and rather than seeing this young man as damaged, he was revered.  As a result the patient healed, returned to the United States, and earned a medical degree at Harvard.

 This story gave me hope.  I read books written by Dr Some, who was not only an elder of his tribe in Burkina Faso, but he had doctorates from both The Sorbonne and Brandeis University.  

I ended up connecting with Dr. Some, spent time with him in the woods of Oregon learning "African Indigenous Technology,” and the story’s plot took shape.   

Additionally, drafting this book was an opportunity to delve into physics, a subject I’m fascinated by and only understand a smidgen.  I had no idea “synchronicities" was a discipline within the field of physics, and I was struck by the nexus of science and spirituality.  

Noah was the right person to explore that sweet spot.  Many people with bipolar disorder live on the edge of genius and crazy, and through the story, I wanted to give hope to families dealing with mental illness.  There are answers out there.  There is always hope.   

Norm: What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? 

Deborah: In my work with Dr. Some, he talked quite a bit about the idea that the modern world is disconnected from indigenous belief, and how the earth will not heal until the world of concrete and steel accepts the ancient wisdom that has always, since the beginning of time, been available to us.  

Indigenous cultures also revere the ancestors, and the ancestors guide the decisions of daily village life.  I wanted to tap into those concepts and shed light on it in novel form, so that people who might not be drawn to read non-fiction might receive that learning through the journey with these characters.  

The world is in a dark, chaotic state at present.  If it’s remotely possible, I want to contribute to healing the world by creating a new myth.  That’s a tall order.  And I recognize it sounds both silly and grandiose, even as I say it.  And of course, this book has not achieved that intention.  But maybe, just maybe, one person might find a bit of lightness and hope by reading this story and connecting to their own ancestors. 

Norm: Where did you get your information or ideas for the book? 

Deborah:I did a fair amount of research for the book in the subjects of African Indigenous Beliefs, African Mysticism, Physics, Bipolar Disorder, and Psychotropic drugs.  Oh, and a little bit (nothing extensive) on the Russian Revolution and Faberge eggs!  I research mostly from non-fiction books on various subjects, as well as the internet.   

Norm: Did you write the story to express something you believe or was it just for entertainment? 

Deborah: I write to learn what I believe.  I don’t start a draft with the idea of being pedantic, and I hope I don’t come off that way.  (Although, I’ll admit to hearing that from a reviewer.)

But I’m trying to come in touch with beliefs that are hidden deep within me that I find compelling to explore.  In this case, there was a lot I came in touch with:  my belief that everything is connected; that synchronicities are the markers that keep us on the path; that indigenous belief is eternal and vital to the human psyche; that there’s no such thing as crazy.  

Norm: What was the most difficult part of writing this book and what did you enjoy most about writing this book?  

Deborah: I had a difficult time getting clear about what I was trying to say.  I had to let the manuscript go cold for quite a while before the overall arc of the story and the message took shape.  

The most enjoyable part of the writing is hearing how the characters banter with each other.  I particularly got a kick out of Hadassah.  She had no problem creating trouble from beyond the grave.  

Norm: What was one of the most surprising thing you learned in writing the book? 

Deborah: I am continually learning how little I know about the human condition and the craft of writing.  Both—being human and writing—are daunting journeys.

On a lighter note, it surprised me that I wanted to write in Yiddish.  It felt good to reconnect with a language that’s been virtually lost to me.  I felt it honored my ancestors, and it was also great fun.   

Norm: Did you write the book more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two? Please summarize your writing process.  

Deborah:  My process is mostly intuitive.  I meditate to settle my mind and grab images from the ether, and then I download those impulses onto my computer.  I don’t question where the story takes me, but I’ll research to make sense out of the intuition that’s fueling me.

If I can’t back up the intuition with some logical grounding, then I have to scrap it.  For instance, some of the scenes that are the most fantastical in the book are backed by grounded research.  That may seem strange, but it’s true.  I don’t want to go into the specifics of scenes I’m referencing, as not to create a spoiler.  Ask me, dear reader, after you’ve read the book.  

Norm: Did you know the end of your book at the beginning?  

Deborah:  No.  I didn’t know the ending in either of the novels I’ve written until I was two-thirds through the draft.  I can’t tell you how annoying that is.

 I wish I were the kind of writer who sets down every single scene before I start crafting.  It seems like that would be so much easier.  But I’m a fly by the seat of your pants writer—a “pantser”, in writing lingo.  And try as I might, my writing brain doesn’t work any other way.  I have to write toward the story,

Norm: How did you create the character of Noah Friedman?

Deborah:  Noah came out of my journey with my family’s experience with bipolar disorder.  I just loved creating him, and I miss him deeply.  

Noah is wired to what’s going on in the universe.  He can’t turn off his antennae, and all of that awareness can be crazy-making.  He’s bipolar, but he’s probably a bit on the autism spectrum as well.  He comes off as weird, and he’s often misunderstood.  

But he’s an old soul, a kind and gentle one, and he understands the human condition and what people are trying to express beneath the surface.  The world would be a better place if more of us were like Noah. I also wanted Noah to explore the dilemma of whether or not to take drugs to control his illness, which is a common struggle for anyone with mental illness.  So, I put him in a situation where his choice was taken away from him, and I wanted to explore what he might do as a result.  

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and Synchronicities on the Avenue of the Saint?

Deborah:  MY WEBSITE has an about the book section, as well as reviews and book club discussion questions. 

Norm: What is next for Deborah Gaal?

Deborah:  I’m delving into both the subject of birds, and our endless search for spirituality.  Yes, there are characters, but that’s all I can say.  It’s a little amorphous at the moment, but that’s how I always start off.  

Norm: As our interview is coming to an end, if you could invite three writers, dead or alive into your living room, who would they be and why?

Deborah:Toni Morrison:  Her book Beloved effects me 30 years after I read it.  She forever changed my DNA.

Michale Chabon:  Not only is he brilliant (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay!)  I want to talk magic and comic books.  

Richard Powers:  I want to understand how he made trees into characters.  (The Overstory.)  

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors

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