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

Deborah Gaal abandoned alove of theater to take over the family flooring business and endedup running a wholly-owned subsidiary for E.I. DuPont de NemoursDuPont).

After leaving DuPont, shecoached entrepreneurs and corporate execs in addition to creating andguiding leadership seminars for women.

Finally, she returned toher dream of living a creative life by writing. She is a repeatrecipient of the San Diego State University Writer’s Conference“Editor’s Choice Award.” Her debut novel, The DreamStitcher, was a finalist in the 2018 National Jewish BookAwards in Debut Fiction, and won the 2019 Indie Reader Discovery Awardfor Literary Fiction.

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

Norm: Good day Deborahand thanks for participating in our interview.

Do you think about yourreading public when you write?

Deborah  Ireally don’t, although sometimes the “editor” creeps intomy consciousness and says, “Will anyone want to readthis?”  That’s a logical question, considering I don’t writemainstream fiction.  But the answer to that is, I won’t knowuntil the work is created.  And having an audience, while nice,is not the point of my writing.  

Norm: Do you imagine aspecific reader when you write?

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

Norm: How do you dealwith criticism?  

Deborah: It’s ironicthat I was drawn to writing, because dealing with criticism has beena lifelong challenge for me.  I remember my 1st grade teachercomplaining to my mother that I was particularly bad at handlingcriticism, that I would cry at the slightest correction.  

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

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

Norm: How do you choosethe names of your characters?  

Deborah: Sometimes I startmy novel draft by sticking a name onto a character.  I simplyreach up into the ether and grab one. As I write toward thestory, the temporary name I’ve given a character either seems tofit, or I know I have to change it.  Or sometimes the characterwill let me know he or she doesn’t like their name.  

But, there always turnsout to be some rhyme or reason for the choice.  I liked thechoice for Noah, because of the biblical references. (That’s probably no surprise.)  I liked the nameSally, because the phrase “Sally forth” kept floatingthrough my brain.  My character Sally seems like the kind ofwoman who blindly bounds forth without a great deal of soulsearching.  

Norm: Do you ever dreamabout your characters?

Deborah:  Yes, it’sone of the more annoying aspects of my writing process.  WhenI’m drafting, the characters wake me up in the middle of the night,and often I’m running to the computer to download dictationbefore I can fall back to sleep.  It’s an exhausting process. And since it takes me several years to draft a novel (notto mention editing!) I’m pretty tired by the time I’ve declaredthe manuscript finished.  

Norm: Howdid you become involved with the subject or theme of Synchronicitieson the Avenue of the Saint?

Deborah: Iwas dealing with a family member who was suffering with bipolardisorder.  I feared I might lose this loved one from eitherdrugs, alcohol, homelessness, suicide, or simply a state of crazyfrom which he might never return.  

Whenthings were at their darkest, I read a paragraph in an alternativemedicine book about an African shaman, Dr. Malidoma Some,  whotook an 18-year old bipolar patient to live with his tribe in Africa. 

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

 Thisstory gave me hope.  I read books written by Dr Some, who wasnot only an elder of his tribe in Burkina Faso, but he had doctoratesfrom both The Sorbonne and Brandeis University.  

I endedup connecting with Dr. Some, spent time with him in thewoods of Oregon learning "African Indigenous Technology,” andthe story’s plot took shape.   

Additionally, draftingthis book was an opportunity to delve into physics, a subject I’mfascinated by and only understand a smidgen.  I had noidea “synchronicities" was a discipline within thefield of physics, and I was struck by the nexus of science andspirituality.  

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

Norm: What were yourgoals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel youachieved them? 

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

Indigenous cultures alsorevere the ancestors, and the ancestors guide the decisions ofdaily village life.  I wanted to tap into those concepts andshed light on it in novel form, so that people who might not bedrawn to read non-fiction might receive that learning throughthe journey with these characters.  

The world is in a dark,chaotic state at present.  If it’s remotely possible, I wantto contribute to healing the world by creating a new myth.  That’sa tall order.  And I recognize it sounds both silly andgrandiose, even as I say it.  And of course, this book has notachieved that intention.  But maybe, just maybe, one personmight find a bit of lightness and hope by reading this story andconnecting to their own ancestors. 

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

Deborah:Idid a fair amount of research for the book in the subjects of AfricanIndigenous Beliefs, African Mysticism, Physics, BipolarDisorder, and Psychotropic drugs.  Oh, and a littlebit (nothing extensive) on the Russian Revolution and Faberge eggs! I research mostly from non-fiction books on varioussubjects, as well as the internet.   

Norm: Did you write thestory to express something you believe or was it just forentertainment? 

Deborah: Iwrite to learn what I believe.  I don’t start a draft with theidea 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’mtrying to come in touch with beliefs that are hidden deep within methat I find compelling to explore.  In this case, there wasa lot I came in touch with:  my belief that everything isconnected; that synchronicities are the markers that keep us onthe path; that indigenous belief is eternal and vital tothe human psyche; that there’s no such thing as crazy.  

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

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

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

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

Deborah: Iam continually learning how little I know about the human conditionand the craft of writing.  Both—being human and writing—aredaunting journeys.

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

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

Deborah:  My processis mostly intuitive.  I meditate to settle my mind and grabimages from the ether, and then I download those impulses onto mycomputer.  I don’t question where the story takes me, butI’ll research to make sense out of the intuition that’sfueling me.

If I can’t back upthe intuition with some logical grounding, then I have to scrap it. For instance, some of the scenes that are the most fantasticalin the book are backed by grounded research.  That may seemstrange, but it’s true.  I don’t want to go into thespecifics 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 theend of your book at the beginning?  

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

 Iwish I were the kind of writer who sets down every single scenebefore I start crafting.  It seems like that would be so mucheasier.  But I’m a fly by the seat of your pantswriter—a “pantser”, in writing lingo.  And tryas I might, my writing brain doesn’t work any other way.  Ihave to write toward the story,

Norm: How did youcreate the character of Noah Friedman?

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

Noah iswired to what’s going on in the universe.  He can’t turnoff his antennae, and all of that awareness can be crazy-making. He’s bipolar, but he’s probably a bit on the autismspectrum as well.  He comes off as weird, and he’s oftenmisunderstood.  

Buthe’s an old soul, a kind and gentle one, and he understandsthe human condition and what people are trying to expressbeneath the surface.  The world would be a better placeif more of us were like Noah. I also wanted Noah to explorethe 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 Synchronicitieson the Avenue of the Saint?

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

Norm: What is next forDeborah Gaal?

Deborah:  I’m delvinginto both the subject of birds, and our endless search forspirituality.  Yes, there are characters, but that’s all I cansay.  It’s a little amorphous at the moment, but that’show I always start off.  

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

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

Michale Chabon:  Notonly is he brilliant (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier andClay!)  I want to talk magic and comic books.  

Richard Powers:  Iwant to understand how he made trees into characters.  (TheOverstory.)  

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

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