Meet the Author: Kerry Chaput

women as changemakers, & seeking answers

Well, hello! This month’s author interview is with Kerry Chaput, whose debut novel Chasing Eleanor is out this month. I had a the privilege of reading an early copy of Chasing Eleanor, and really enjoyed it! (You can read my thoughts here). Kerry is an award-winning historical fiction author. She believes in the power of stories that highlight young women and found families. Born and raised in California, she now lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where she can be found on hiking trails and in coffee shops. Connect with her at www.kerrywrites.com.

1. What is your favorite part of the writing process, and least favorite part of the writing process?

KC: I’ve learned to enjoy the whole messy, challenging experience of novel writing. With my first few manuscripts, I hated editing because I didn’t understand how to do it. It’s incredibly daunting to learn just how much work a manuscript takes to reach its final stages. As a new writer, I felt like there must be some secret formula I hadn’t learned yet. The more I wrote, the more I realized each manuscript has its own journey, and my job was to learn. I now approach writing as a constant learning process, and each stumble as an opportunity. Publishing can be a wild ride, full of excitement and heartbreak, and everything in between. I made a promise to myself to show up every day for the love of storytelling, regardless of the outcome. That mindset has helped me navigate the author life, where so much is out of my control. The only thing I can do is write and learn.

2. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

KC: I attempted my first story at age twelve, and no surprise, it was historical fiction! Something in a 1950’s diner, I remember. Although I loved the process of writing, I never imagined it could be part of my life. Write stories and share them with people? That wasn’t something that was done in my practical Scottish family where art was frivolous, and we were taught we should never shoot too high in our aspirations. I struggled with reading growing up, mostly due to undiagnosed anxiety, so English teachers sort of dismissed me when I said I enjoyed writing. By the time college rolled around, I knew my only option was to let go of that “silly” dream. My parents chose healthcare for me (they combed through the handbook of majors and told me which I could choose), and I spent nine years in school to become a physical therapist. It wasn’t until I turned forty that I dared allow myself to remember what I wanted before the world told me no.

3. How and when did your interest in and admiration for Eleanor Roosevelt begin?

KC: In high school. I completed a project on influential women in history and felt an immediate admiration for Eleanor Roosevelt. I read her quote, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Those words lit something inside me. Before that, I never felt I had control over anything. She fascinated me for so many reasons. She was quietly brave with a soft voice and fierce convictions. She fought for civil rights and women’s rights with such ferocity at a time when wealthy women weren’t supposed to speak out of turn. While drafting the manuscript that would become Chasing Eleanor, I came across an article about Eleanor Roosevelt visiting the inn my character worked at (at the exact month and year I set the book in). The story clicked, and I wanted my character Magnolia to admire and look up to Eleanor just like I have for years.   

4. In Chasing Eleanor, you balance the harsh realities of life during the Great Depression with hope and optimism. How did you find that balance?

KC: Magnolia Parker is a young woman full of grit who discovers that sometimes life isn’t fair. Bad things happen even with good intentions and a big heart. Magnolia needs to learn to forgive herself for things she couldn’t control, and she does this through her found family. I find it so beautiful when lost kids heal each other through a shared adventure. My favorite thing about young adult books is how hope often rises from the ashes of great loss.

Much of my research involved memoirs of the time. Over and over again I read stories of broken families and hunger and loss, but I noticed a common theme in all those memoirs, and it was this: who are you when you have nothing left? It’s the reason I’ve always been fascinated with The Great Depression. Faced with life’s harshest misfortunes, true humanity rises to the surface. For all the heartbreaking things people endured, so many have stories of love and light. When I worked with the cover designer, it was important to me that the kids walk toward the light. 

5. What kind of books do you gravitate toward in your own reading life?

KC: I will be a historical fiction reader forever and always. I love anything with the found family trope, and lately I’m really into historical fantasy, especially anything with a witchy vibe. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is one of my favorites of the past few years. I want books that highlight underutilized voices in women’s history (Sadeqa Johnson’s The Yellow Wife) or breaks convention about how we perceive the role of women as changemakers in history (anything by Kate Quinn or Kristin Hannah).

6. Tell us about someone who has inspired you creatively.

KC: My favorite author these days is Ruta Sepetys. I’ve read three of her books this year, and her writing blows me away. She’s one of the only authors I’ve seen who has committed to telling fascinating stories of history through the lens of teenagers, and she does it in a way that feels brave and important. There’s a maturity in her young voices. She never talks down to her readers but instead asks them to rise to the challenge. I read I Must Betray You on Mother’s Day last year, and I held up our dinner plans because I couldn’t put the book down until I had read every last word.  

7. What’s one of the best pieces of advice you’ve ever gotten? (not necessarily about writing, but it can be!)

KC: My brilliant critique partner and friend helped me many times during the drafting and rewriting of Chasing Eleanor. I initially struggled with this story, and even threw the first draft of 78,000 words in the trash. I couldn’t find my footing, and it was her who helped me understand why I was struggling. I was too close. This story is inspired by my own experiences and when I couldn’t find Magnolia’s true struggle, she asked me one of the most important questions I’d ever been asked. Who are you without your trauma? She was asking about Magnolia, but really, she was asking me, the author who needed to cry and let her tears fall onto the page. The next day, I took a deep breath, and wrote Magnolia as a full, complicated person who had much more to offer than her trauma. I still don’t know the answer to that important question, but I work every day on trying to find it. 

Thanks, Kerry!