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The story spans generations, as siblings with old wounds
wrestle with whether to sell their childhood home.
Packer has published two short-story collections and three
novels, including the bestseller "The Dive from Clausen’s Pier,"
which was adapted into a film for the Lifetime television
network. She spoke to Reuters about her process, genre labels
and the publishing world.
Q: Your characters, especially as children, like to explore.
Were you also exploring them as you went?
A: I can’t remember who it was that said it’s like driving on a
dark highway and you can only see as far as your headlights.
That idea drives all I do. I’m writing to find out what I’m
going to write.
Q: Why are houses such powerful elements of our self-identities?
A: A house has sheltered each self you’ve been along the way. In
addition to holding actual memories of things that happened in
the house, it also holds all the people you’ve been. You can
page through your identity over time.
Q: How have people labeled your writing? Do we have too many
genres?
A: I’ve heard it called domestic realism. I’ve heard it called
psychological realism. When women write it, it tends to be
called domestic. When men write it, it tends to be called
literature, but there you go. There are practical reasons for
genres in the publishing world, of course.
But I think when trying to write fiction, people become
preoccupied trying to angle their work in a certain direction.
The bottom line is we’re all in our private spaces trying to
make structures out of words, and we’re going to compel some
people and bore others. It’s just the way it goes.
Q: Some writers dislike discussing their work. Do you?
A: Not at all, though I often feel I frustrate people with my
answers. I come at it without a lot of romance. I’m very
practical.
Some writers say, "I was channeling my character." I think false
modesty creeps in ... Channeling a character is what happens
when you’re writing well.
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Lisa Von Ahn)
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