Take Five Interview: Barbara O’Neal and THE STARFISH SISTERS

We are beyond thrilled to bring you a Take Five interview with longtime contributor Barbara O’Neal. We’ve said it before, and it’s more true than ever that Barbara’s books are an auto-buy for so many of us here at Writer Unboxed. She means so much to those of us who’ve been reading her wise and encouraging posts here alongside her always nourishing novels. She shows us the way, in every facet. Her work demonstrates the skills and growth that are vital to our craft, as well as showing us the way to live the artist’s life as we strive on.

What’s Barbara have in store for us this time? “Heartfelt and layered, The Starfish Sisters is a moving story about the complicated nature of female friendship, the joys and heartbreaks of life, and the resiliency and power that women possess.” Believe us when we say, you’ll not only be turning pages, you will be moved.

Without further ado, here’s Barbara.

Q1: What’s the premise of your new book?

Barbara: It’s the story of a long and very complicated friendship. Two misfit girls meet at the age of 12 and find both refuge and conflict with each other.

Q2: What would you like people to know about the story itself?

Barbara: This was a book of the heart for me, on two levels. I started it because I kept thinking about my best friend from childhood, and how deep and rich that relationship was. So much of the bedrock of Suze and Phoebe’s friendship came from that bond. We were so very entwined, and it was by far one of the most important relationships I’ve had in my life. In general, I tend toward intense female relationships, both with my sisters and my friends, and this gave me a chance to dive into the dynamics of those complicated connections. How do we keep showing up? When is it time to let go?

The other angle is Oregon, of course. Readers here probably mostly know that story by now, but I traveled up the Oregon coast almost exactly two years ago this month, celebrating my marriage to my long-time partner, and fell head over heels in love with the place. We moved here six months ago, and I love that the book cover almost exactly echoes the view from my windows. I didn’t even know this house existed when I wrote the book. Crazy. Magic!

Q3: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?

Barbara: In a way it’s a coming of age for each of them. One stage of life is finishing, and a new one is opening up. They have to figure out where they fit with each other–or if they even do anymore–and also try to uncover what the next part of their lives will look like. That means making peace with whatever has been, and letting go of what doesn’t work to make space for the new.

But it’s mainly about the damage secrets can do. The only way to heal is to throw open the windows and reveal the truth. Sometimes, a relationship won’t survive, but it definitely won’t as long as secrets are in the way.

Q4: What unique challenges did this book pose for you, if any?

Barbara: I will not lie–this was a big plate of slippery spaghetti for a long while. I had too much material and too many threads, which is unusual for me. I tend to write like I paint–first sketches, then more layers. But this time, two lives, decades of time–it was a lot of work to decide what to keep and what to leave out. The other thing was that a love story kept pushing its way into the tale of two friends, and I kept pushing it out. Every morning over breakfast, I’d complain to my husband that I couldn’t seem to escape it, and he kept saying, “so leave it in.”  I finally listened, and it’s one of the best parts of the book, at least for me.

Q5: What has been the most rewarding aspect of having written this book?

Barbara: It’s my favorite book in quite some time, despite the struggle to get it on the page.  I love the character of Suze, and the wonderful Jasmine, and Yul Brenner and that house, that manifested the house I am now writing from. Some books just have a magic to them, and bring a special joy to the writer. I hope that translates to joy for the reader.

WU’ers, you can learn more about THE STARFISH SISTERS, which is out now,  by exploring the preview links below, and by visiting Barbara’s website.

Writer Unboxed

Writer Unboxed began as a collaboration between Kathleen Bolton and Therese Walsh in 2006. Since then, the site has grown to include ~50 regular contributors and a variety of guests on rotation throughout a given year.

In 2016, the Writer Unboxed team published a book with Writer’s Digest / Random House. AUTHOR IN PROGRESS: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published is a comprehensive guide focused on helping writers over/around/through hurdles faced at every stage of the novel-writing process. It’s received some ***** reviews; we hope you’ll check it out.

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