Q: Laine and Jaya cope with their unhappiness in similar ways, but choose different catalysts. Laine focuses on reading whereas Jaya uses technology to escape her surroundings. What drove you to make these two so similar?
A: Laine and Jaya have obvious escapes; Daly's escape into herself is less prominent. They all distract themselves from the reality of their lives through their preferred devices. Laine longs to ease the pain of widowhood, while Jaya tries to avoid acknowledging how out of place she feels in her own culture. Laine feels grief while Jaya feels guilt, yet the end results are similar, once again harkening to the shared experience of alienation.
Q: You once mentioned that initially Mishti and Meghann were supposed to be foils of one another, but there are similarities between Meghann and Priya. Both are new mothers, though Meghann is single. Is there a stronger reflection in Priya or Mishti of what Meghann will become?
A: Meghann is a young girl forced to grow up quicker than the world would normally allow. Her natural inclinations are similar to Mishti's; she's a fun and enthusiastic girl. The weight of her pregnancy and the resulting abandonment by her parents shifts her focus, however. Rather than begrudging the child growing within her, she takes strength in it, becoming the quintessential mother figure. In this way, she is far more similar to Priya.
Q: Who was your favorite character to write in A Colorful Life? Why? Did you base this character off anyone?
A: I guess most people would expect me to answer Kashi, and then explain how I based him on my (then) husband. He was a joy to write, but Meghann was a surprising favorite as well. In fact, I set out to present a character with unexpected strength. To an outsider, Meghann is the epitome of a life wasted, but as the reader gets to know her, they see how wise she really is. In a lot of ways, Meghann is the hero of the novel. She brings Daly and Laine back together and offers Daly comfort and security both directly, through physical support, and indirectly (as witnessed at the otter exhibit during Daly's first date with Kashi).
Q: Art is central to Daly's character, just as much as literature is to Laine's. What were some of the reasons and inspirations behind giving Daly artistic talent? Do you feel her art owns her, or she owns her art?
A: Art is Daly's passion, her life force, the thing that keeps her going when nothing else seems to get the job done. Daly assumes it controls her as mentioned in her allusion to "art as a terrorist" in chapter two. The truth is, she's always in control; art is an easy and natural way for her to acknowledge her emotions. I relate to the creativity and conflict present in Daly's soul. I wanted her to have these traits without modeling her after me and my skill. Daly never felt like a writer to me.
Q: Other than art, love, and her relationship with Laine, what do you feel were some of Daly's strongest challenges? In comparison, what were some of the greatest obstacles in writing Daly as a character?
A: Daly had to get out of her own way. She was too afraid to pursue what she wanted for fear of rejection. This holds true in her extended community college experience and the end of her relationship with Rick. It also affects her early encounters with Kashi. Sometimes, it was a struggle to write such an emotionally repressed character. In early drafts, my trusted beta readers questioned whether Daly might have Asperger's Syndrome. The effusive characters like Kashi and Mishti write themselves; it takes far more time and understanding to bring a Daly or a Laine to life.
Q: A Colorful Life has proven to be an incredibly personal story for you. Not only did you base the character of Kashi off your (then) husband, you also integrated several personal anecdotes and feelings from your travels to India. Although the story was meant to reflect and celebrate your relationship with your husband, the two of you divorced during the final stages of editing this novel. How has all of this affected you, and why did you push forth with publication despite this hardship?
A: This has been such an emotional journey for me. I often joke that A Colorful Life was my prophetic autobiography. If you read the story and consider the events that followed, the metaphor should be perfectly clear. This is also the first novel I ever wrote. It's the book that taught me how to be a writer. I made all my mistakes and discovered the publishing world with A Colorful Life in hand. By the end, this novel saw more than eleven unique drafts and ended up being my third published novel, despite the fact it was written first. The divorce happened while my literary agent was shopping this novel to publishers, and I knew almost right away I couldn't wait another two to three years to get it out there. Divorce is amazingly difficult, and I had no desire to return to this fictionalized version of my own love-lost story after I put in the hard work to recover and move on. I hurt now; I wanted to publish now. What's a little more pain, I ask?
About the Author
Melissa Storm is a mother first, and everything else second. She used to write under a pseudonym, but finally had the confidence to come out as herself to the world. Her fiction is highly personal and often based on true stories. Writing is Melissa's way of showing her daughter just how beautiful life can be, when you pay attention to the everyday wonders that surround us.
Melissa loves books so much, she married fellow author Falcon Storm. Between the two of them, there are always plenty of imaginative, awe-inspiring stories to share. Melissa and Falcon also run the business Novel Publicity together, where she works as publisher, marketer, editor, and all-around business mogul. When she's not reading, writing, or child-rearing, Melissa spends time relaxing at home in the company of her three dogs and five parrots. She never misses an episode of The Bachelor or her nightly lavender-infused soak in the tub. Ahh, the simple luxuries that make life worth living.
Learn more at www.MelStorm.com.
A Colorful Life: Drawn in Broken Crayon Page 25
