We are so excited to host an interview with our first #SRC2015 Surprise Guest Author, Celine Keating! Get to know a little more about her and Play for Me in this fun interview AND sign up to REVIEW one of our surprise SRC additions!
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR BOOK?
The biggest inspiration for Play For Me came from going on a folk-rock music “performance train trip” across Canada. For five days the different bands would perform and also jam with each other into the wee hours. I thought it would be great fun to hobnob with the musicians and to get to hear them in such an intimate setting, and wanted to write an article about the experience. What was also fun was that it drew hardcore obsessed fans from as far away as Europe! – the kind of fans who make bootleg tapes of every performance. It was quite a scene, and there was a lot of unexpected drama and romantic shenanigans among the musicians, which I was thrust right in the middle of it. Needless to say, all of this was fascinating and gave me lots of material to draw from. Coupled with the music angle as inspiration for the novel, there was another theme – the lives of women I know who put aside their own desires and creative pursuits once they became mothers. So these two strands came together in Play for Me: my personal fascination with the world of musicians, obsessive fandom, and with the power of music, with a focus on a woman who rediscovers passion in the second half of life.
WHAT IS THE STRANGEST FAN ENCOUNTER THAT’S EVER HAPPENED?
Perhaps “strange” is the wrong word, but one of the nicest, most unexpected, and yet eerie encounters was when a fan presented me with a lovely box of chocolates. Not only had she gleaned from my writing that I’m a chocoholic but she had also picked my favorite kind. That was deliciously spooky!
KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW, WHAT PUBLISHING ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF WHEN YOU WERE FIRST STARTING OUT?
I would encourage myself to send out my work sooner. I think many writers hold back, as I did, fearing our work isn’t ready. Make your work as good as it can be, but then move on. Feedback from the outside world is really important to your development, too.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER BEACH READ EVER? WHAT ARE YOU READING THIS SUMMER?
Tough question – too many favorites! To qualify as summer beach read for me, it has to be set on a coast. I love to be swept up in the languor of a summer day on a beach, to feel the velvety sand and the sting of salt on skin. My favorite of the last decade is Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan. I love stories about groups of women (in this case a group of family members) and for them work out their conflicts at a summer house. What could be more perfect?
This summer I’ve set aside one of the best books ever that I am once again determined to finish – Moby Dick!
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS SUMMER?
Outdoor music festivals! Living in the northeast, it’s only in the summertime that I get the chance to hear music outdoors. I adore the atmosphere and camaraderie of the Grey Fox bluegrass festival, and am awed by the prodigy string players at the Meadowmount festival in upstate New York. There’s nothing like listening to live music with the stars overhead.
Leave A Comment