Friday, August 27, 2021

The Girls in the Basement by Maddie Dawson

 LUCY BURDETTE: I've read all of today's guest's books and I have the new one on my bedside table. It's exactly the kind of book that helped get me through the pandemic--and that unfortunately, the kind we still need! I'm happy to have her back to tell you how writing this book got her through the past year and a half as well. Welcome Maddie!

Maddie DawsonThank you so much for inviting me back to Jungle Red Writers. I always love to come hang out here.  


Oh my goodness! It’s been quite a year and a half, hasn’t it? Like many of you kindred spirits, I spent a lot of it in my pajamas—writing, writing, writing, peeking at the news, crying, writing more, changing to different pajamas, writing, watching news, crying, writing, baking bread, ordering new pajamas online, writing, declaring that writing can’t exist in such a world, baking more bread, writing, crying, writing, and then one day, to my own surprise, writing the words THE END on the thing I’d been writing.


Which was a novel called THE MAGIC OF FOUND OBJECTS. 


To be honest, the pandemic lockdown came for me at the perfect time: I had a mere four months before the first draft of the book was due to my editor, and in early March 2020, I was still in happy denial, still cavorting around telling myself the book would finish writing itself just as soon as it was in the mood, hahahaha. (I am guilty of magical thinking.) And then—bam! Pandemic time! Lockdown! Suddenly the good of America—maybe even the world—depended upon my staying home and doing my work.


I had thought the novel I was writing was a simple little romcom—the story of a New York woman who has to decide between two men. How fun this will be, I said. Piece of cake, I said. Throw in some fun banter, a sweet little pug named Mr. Swanky, and a Manhattan rent-controlled apartment—and this will be done in no time.


Ha. 


My friend, the fabulous author Barbara O’Neal, claims that our novels are really constructed by “the girls in the basement”—our subconscious mind sending up the real story while we prattle along, following our outlines, working on the surface.


And sure enough, while I’d been out eating lunch with friends and watching movies and doing yoga, the girls in the basement had been doing a deep dive into what love really means. Oh sure, they said, I could keep the dog and the Manhattan apartment, but this, they said, was a story about so much else. 


Slowly, throughout the pandemic, they sent up bulletins for me. Their preferred work time was two in the morning, when I’d wake up to hear them knocking around in my head, ready to tell me a new part of the story. Other times they fell silent while they excavated new details. They didn’t care so much about eating and sleeping. Or reading the news. They had a story to tell me, and they were determined to get it out there. 


And so they did.  


The Magic of Found Objects is about a woman, Phronise Linnelle, who was conceived at Woodstock in a serendipitous liaison between a free-spirited hippie and a farmer’s son—two people who probably should have never even met. After her parents split up and her father marries his former high school girlfriend—the woman he should have been with all along—Phronsie struggles to keep alive the magic and love she has for her real mom, who is beautiful and artistic and who believes the universe guides her every move. Phronsie lives with her father and stepmother and twin brother on the family’s struggling New Hampshire farm, where life is normal and structured, and she come to appreciate that life is so much easier when it’s rational and safe and not fraught with dreams of art and magic.


Now grown up and living in New York, divorced from a man she adored and sick of the forty-four internet dates she’s been on, and feeling once more betrayed by her mom, she can’t help but say yes when Judd, her best friend from childhood, suggests that they give up on romance and marry each other. So what that they’re not in love? Maybe that’s for the best. No hearts will get broken. 


In a diner at one a.m., with a twist-tie ring to seal the deal, Phronsie and Judd embark on a plan to show everyone that the best marriages come when people are genuine friends and that romantic passion is overrated.


But from there, the story took on a life of its own, as novels do when you’ve let the girls in the basement do the telling. They always know what’s right, and what has to happen next. They know better than you what the ending needs to be, and what has to happen to get there.



This book—seemingly just a story about “boy meets girl in kindergarten, then thirty-one years later, boy gets girl, and girl overthinks the whole situation”—turned out to be about magic and practicality; about mothers and daughter and stepmothers; about farm life and city life; about the way two mismatched people can fall instantly in love and change the trajectory of their whole lives and maybe not for the better; about growing up feeling you don’t belong, and then finding your calling, or what is possibly your calling if you even believe in callings, which you’re not sure about. And going on forty-four internet dates. And meeting a guy who carries some gnomes in his pocket. (The girls in the basement were really adamant about the gnomes.)


Aaaaand… it’s, of course, a book about Woodstock and the mud and the music and coming together of half a million people on a farm fifty-two years ago this week. Peace and love and all that. A place where people showed up and discovered they were all connected somehow. They all knew the same songs. Loved the same bands. Wanted the same things. 


There was a lot of nostalgia to wallow in as I sat enmeshed in pandemic life. It wasn’t lost on me that life had once been electrifying, and that strangers from all over could once meet, join together, sing, listen to the music, slide in the mud, and then fall into each other’s lives with such abandon and freedom. 


That’s the gift of fiction, isn’t it—the way it spirits us away, reminding us of what we’ve always known, but maybe have forgotten. Reassuring us that we are not alone, and that although our families are flawed and sometimes our lives are quite ridiculous, everybody else’s are too, pretty much. And sometimes just giving us a place to escape to where there’s mud and music and fun and magic. 


The girls in the basement are busy working on another book now. I get daily bulletins and alerts, for which I’m grateful. I’m no longer in pajamas full-time (and hoping I won’t have to be again), but I’m still quiet, and listening with all my heart. So far they’ve said nothing about any gnomes, but I’m ready for anything. 


LUCY: Love hearing about your process Maddie! I think I need to borrow those girls for my basement for a while...Readers, what book or books have gotten you through the worst times in the past two years?


About Maddie: Maddie Dawson, a transplanted Southerner living in the Northeast,  is the Washington Post bestselling author of nine novels. She specializes in humorous literary fiction, about people stumbling toward love, family, connection, and hope—and usually finding it in the most unlikely circumstances. Her books have been translated into fifteen languages.


Find Maddie at her website...or on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram

46 comments:

  1. Ah, Maddie . . . “The Magic of Found Objects” sounds absolutely delightful [blessings to the girls in the basement] and I’m looking forward to reading it.

    Lots of baking and lots of reading made the pandemic a bit more bearable . . . I especially enjoyed reading the Jungle Red ladies’ books . . . it’s a wonderful feeling to pick up a book and KNOW it’s going to be spectacular . . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And people like YOU got us through Joan, because we knew our work would be appreciated!

      Delete
    2. Hi! This is really Maddie! (Can’t persuade Google to let me post under Maddie name: like Lucy, I’m two people, Maddie and Sandi). Thanks so much for reading and for keeping writers sustained through these crazy times!

      Delete
  2. This book sounds like a lot of fun. Congrats on the new book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Mark. Maddie here. Thank you! It was a if fun to write!

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I messed up my comments first time, so here goes again.

    Maddie, this book sounds magical indeed. It is sure to be one of those books readers fall in love with.

    During the pandemic, which is still keeping me in with the new high numbers from the Delta variant, I've been comforted by the authors I can always rely on to give me great stories. Elly Griffiths, Hank, Rhys, Julia, Lucy, Anne Cleeland, Louise Penny, and Catriona McPherson, and some others. I was also lucky to find some new authors, including Annette Dashofy (now a dear friend), who writes the Zoe Chambers mystery series. Zoe and Pete were there for the worst of my despair and helped enormously.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too on favorite books, Kathy. I don't know how people who don't read make it through the hard times in life...

      Delete
    2. I agree! Reading sustained me! And thank you for your kind words about the book!

      Delete
  5. Congrats on the new book. Reading has been a struggle for me, but whatever book I picked up, was a blessing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also had a limited attention span, but reading authors I loved helped me make it through!!

      Delete
  6. The girls in the basement, indeed! That's what I call the magic of writing, but I was never quite sure where the girls lived. ;^) I've shared your post with a local cross-genre writing group - we were talking about channeling just last night.

    I'm glad to hear another author was writing madly during the pandemic, because many have said they just couldn't. For me it was a great respite to shut out the messy scary world and lose myself in my manuscripts (a couple of which I write as Maddie Day, so we even share a name).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is really Maddie, who is also Sandi. You know what it’s like having a pen name. And the website won’t jet be lost as Maddie! I’m hoping Maddie Day and Maddie Dawson can get together sometime. I feel like we have lots of friends in common. Also!! It was totally Barbara O’ Neal who knew where the girls live! ❤️

      Delete
  7. Oh, I loved this. Loved the "girls in the basement" description.(Mine need an alarm clock today) Look forward to reading the book. It sounds like just what I want right now. Good luck with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Triss!! Mine totally need an alarm clock today too! In fact, I’m going to have to go down there and see if they’re even home today!

      Delete
  8. Maddie, welcome to JRW and congratulations on your new book. I love the title! Thank you for letting us in on your process and revealing the magic coming from your basement.

    Although I had begun to read cozies a year or two before the pandemic began, I really found that cozies and romances were the ticket to a calm place, away from the news and the drone of disinformation that caused so many to shun vaccines and masks. At the same time I discovered Audible and am totally hooked on listening to books, especially favorites which I've already read. Mostly, this blog has gotten me through. The JRW authors and their books, my fellow bloggers, the topics here, the new authors I have found, and First Chapter Fun have been my spark every day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you! Books that provide an escape are my friends now! Away from the news!! And thanks for your kind words about the cover. I love it too. This artist is amazing!!

      Delete
  9. I love my "girls in the basement" - they've kept me out of trouble (meaning "don't worry if you don't know what the story is about, we do") many times. The book sounds fun.

    I have a long line of crime fiction that's sustained me for the past however many months it's been.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Liz! I have had trouble trusting them to do the right thing…but I’ve tone, they’ve always been correct, and every time I’ve fought them, I’ve gone until the weeds pretty quickly. That being said, I think they may have gone on vacation today!! (Sorry this winter Jerry MeComment as Maddie/-Google is only letting me be Sandi right now!)

      Delete
  10. Maddie, so happy to find you here at Jungle Red! And I love the idea of "the girls in the basement." It's so true for me, too, constantly dredging up ideas and characters that sprout from lived experience. The pandemic has definitely steered me to rom coms, lighter but no less 'true' stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Hallie! (Maddie here…really!) wouldn’t it be fun to bring out all the girls in the basement sometime and get a god look at them? They know all!

      Delete
  11. Love the concept of the girls in the basement. Yes, I think that's the perfect name for them. Can it possibly been 52 years since Woodstock? Doesn't seem possible. Looking forward to reading The Magic of Found Objects.

    The books that have gotten me through this pandemic? I resolved to read all the books on my Kindle -it took me a while to realize that was impossible - I'd finish one and buy two more from the same author. The endeavor reminded me of my goal as a child. Read all the books in the library. I didn't take into account all the wonderful new books that needed to be read.

    Peace, Love, Rock and Roll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, Kait, that's happened to me, too. I have so many books on my Kindle and on my bookshelves too, (thanks JRW & FCF) that I have vowed to stay away from the library for 2 months!

      Delete
    2. I cannot even contemplate all the books on my Kindle!

      Delete
    3. My kindle is the same way! And yet I prefer paper books…so, like you, I have a zillion books everywhere! I suppose there are worse vices…

      Delete
  12. If I hadn't had that same, crazy "automatic writing" experience (but with non-fiction), I'd think you were all mad. But it's real--and insanely wonderful, to have, okay, let's go with girls in the basement, just take over and write the story.

    But mine went into hibernation a few years ago, and they appear to be too frightened to come out and play again. Can't say I blame them, but it is a little inconvenient.

    Like Judy, I've listened to tons of audiobooks this past 18 months, in addition to my already multiple hours of daily reading. They help to keep the worst of the anxiety at bay. Did you know you can listen to a book while vacuuming, if you have a central vac system? And I'm not sure my neighbors would recognize me without my headphones while I'm working in the garden.

    The Magic of Found Objects sounds great. Looking forward to meeting Phronsie and friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (Maddie here. Really!) It is weird to talk about how writing happens. I read once that writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia, Hearing all these voices in our heads. I hope your girls come back. You could coax them with chocolate maybe…

      Delete
  13. As someone who normally reads three or four books at a time it came as a shock to me that I could barely concentrate on a news item during the shutdown. My birthday was just a few days before everything closed, and I received books and bookstore gift cards. (I used the cards immediately.) But I couldn’t concentrate on reading anything new. I reread old favorites and I reread books of humorous essays that I keep on hand as comfort reading or bedtime reading. And thanks to JRW and First Chapter Fun, I kept on buying books, sending away for them or buying them for my Kindle. Now I’m finally reading my way through my largest ever TBR pile. It’s good to be able to read again. For so many months it felt like I had been abandoned by a best friend.

    DebRo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that's a perfect description DebR--abandoned by a best friend!

      Delete
    2. I’ve heard lots of people say the same thing, Deb. And I also took comfort from books I’d read before and humorous essays I knew would get me through. Nora Ephron helped a lot! Good luck with your TBR pile!

      Delete
  14. This sounds like just the book for me! Woodstock! I was only there vicarious having just married the wrong man and moved to a different state. But the story about the girls in the basement and their shenanigans to get you to write the 'real' story is a great one too and I would like to know more.

    What has gotten me through the pandemic is reading, reading, reading. Thank you, Reds! I'm slowing down just a little bit now so I can also work on jigsaw puzzles which for some reason just didn't appeal to me at the height of the misery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (This is Maddie.) It was so much fun researching Woodstock and reading all about it, as well as talking to people who went! Nothing like it will ever happen again, that’s for sure. Thanks for your sweet comment. I hope you like the book!

      Delete
  15. Maddie, I'm with Lucy--send those girls to MY basement! But, seriously, The Magic of Found Objects sounds like the perfect book to help get me through the current stage of craziness here (north Texas, where unvaccinated people are clearing the shelves of sheep de-wormer...) Reading has kept me sane the last year and a half. Actually, I suspect reading has kept me sane my whole life! But I have read more rom-coms than usual, and done a lot of series bingeing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sheep de-wormer Debs?? Banging head on table...

      Delete
    2. (This is Maddie), Texas does sound like it’s being very, very creative lately, LOL! But sheep de-wormer is perhaps a new level! Sending you all the good luck!

      Delete
  16. It sounds like the back to school essay, how I spent my summer. Instead it's how I'm still spending the pandemic. Reading. Lots and lots. Mysteries. Historical fiction. Rom-coms. Love them all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed! At least we have reading!! I have a dish towel a friend gave me that says, “Reading gives us someplace to go when we can’t go anywhere.” That’s my mantra!

      Delete
  17. I burst out laughing at “girl overthinks the whole situation. “ that is perfect. And I do remember my college roommate and I had plans to go to Woodstock, but then we got too lazy. I wonder if that was for the better.
    Congratulations… This book sounds wonderful!.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. do you think it was for the better Hank? I would love to hear! Our good buddy Ang Pompano was on his way to woodstock with now-wife Annette. she mentioned to him that her father would probably kill them both, so they turned around and went home!

      Delete
    2. My husband's twin brother was there, with three of their friends. 52 years later, the only one of the three still living is still mad at my brother-in-law for whining so much that they left early, and missed seeing the Stones and others who played all night.

      Delete
    3. (Maddie here.) Thank you, Hank! I totally relate. I was living in California so Woodstock wasn’t even a possibility, but would I have attempted it if I was in NY? Not sure. It sounded crowded! And maybe like it would be…well, exhausting! I’m the type of person who wishes she wanted to do things like that! But would probably not!

      Delete
  18. My brother was there and we saw him on a PBS special on Woodstock, sitting naked in a circle with a bunch of other free spirits. Ah-h, it was the '60's!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! This made me laugh out loud! That must have been a fun surprise!! For him as well as the rest of the family!

      Delete