Author Confessions: The Amy Dressler Edition

Ever wonder about which bits of an author's novel are steeped in reality? Author Confessions: The Facts Behind the Fiction is ready to spill the tea.

I had never met Amy Dressler before she generously agreed to a guest interview but it turns out we have a lot in common (and I'm not just talking about a love of pie and gossip columns—though each does apply).

We both write about not just what we know but also where we know.

Our locations are different (hers: the fictional Messiman College based on her own school in How to Align the Stars; mine: The Dunes, a made-up town in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains that is home base for Perfect Memory, my novel-in-progress).

We have entirely different settings in entirely different states but we use what we know to strive for the same goals in our books—rich authenticity, vivid details, and deep emotional connections that come through in the writing.

Let's dish with Amy and learn more Facts Behind the Fiction (including a photo of her actual college apartment building)...

Author Confessions (AC): Tell us about your novel…

Amy Dressler (AD): How to Align the Stars is a contemporary, feminist retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, set in a small college town in eastern Washington State. The story alternates between the points-of-view of the two female cousins.

Beatrice is a stubborn, no-nonsense astronomy professor at a small college in wine country. While working toward her tenure, she tries to avoid Ben, an annoying librarian she believes wronged her when they were students. Their rapid-fire exchanges could almost be mistaken for chemistry, if he hadn’t done that unspeakable thing so many years ago.

Her younger cousin Heron is a wistful senior in college. The opposite of Beatrice, she is a hopeless romantic, pinning her hopes on a future with her boyfriend. After he proposes on a magical night at her father’s winery, Bea is worried her younger cousin is making a mistake. Heron responds to Bea’s criticism with a matchmaking scheme designed to show Bea the upside of romance.

Bea and Ben are the subjects of a hilarious opposites attract experiment, while Heron begins to question whether marriage is the right choice. Her world comes crashing down when she is at the center of a campus scandal, reigniting anxiety from her mother’s sudden departure so many years ago.

As Heron and Bea deal with the fallout from the scandal, each finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about the best course for the future. Eventually, each woman must make a choice: Bea between the comfortable role of merry spinster or a fulfilling partnership; Heron between marriage or reaching for a new dream.

AC: What’s your take on the idea of “write what you know”?

AD: I used this idea to talk myself into writing a book. I didn't think I could fit writing into my life if I had to do a lot of research, so I told myself I could write stories that relied on things I know about. And then I started writing and threw the idea of sticking to what I know out the window because, although I know a lot of interesting things, I don't always know the right interesting things for the stories I want to tell. I was probably always kidding myself; I'm a former librarian who went into that field because I loved going down research rabbit holes as a student. Of course I was always going to chase those same weird little trails as a writer. I still don't feel like I have the time I would need to devote to a research-heavy genre like historical fiction; maybe I can tackle that someday after I retire.

AC: Why did you write this book and why now?

AD: I have always really loved Shakespeare's comedies, especially Much Ado About Nothing, in traditional and more creative interpretations. The Branagh/Thompson film is one of my favorite movies and I rarely pass up an opportunity to see the play staged. Although this is far from the first contemporary novel to adapt the story, I thought Much Ado was a good match for the type of book I wanted to write--it's got everything! Great banter, plots and schemes galore, close bonds between the female characters, scandal. There's a particular aspect of the plot that has always bothered me and I thought perhaps I could write my version in a way that addresses it.

Setting a story like this at a college felt like a great way to tell the stories of two different age groups because the campus is populated by students and faculty. I made my Beatrice character an astronomer because she has a fantastic bit of dialogue about being "born under a merry star." Giving Heron an interest in astrology provides a great contrast, and rings true to current trends among that age group.

I also wanted to bring a body-positive story to one of the great classic heroines, by making Bea plus-sized. Stories like this one helped me see new possibilities for myself, and I hope I can do that for other women like me. This book is for the girls who never got to be the lead in the play because they "didn't look the type."

AC: Did any experiences or events from your life shape the plot?

AD: I set this book at a college very much like the one I attended, and a town very much like the town the school is in because these are places I love and I thought readers would enjoy them. I found it too limiting to stick too closely to the real places, so big chunks of Messiman College and the town of Millet come out of my imagination.

Bea's story describes several incidents of body shaming she experienced from childhood into the present day. Some of these were loosely inspired by things I've experienced, although I tried to bring the way these things made me feel into the story without dwelling too much on the specifics. It was important to me to accurately portray what it can feel like to exist in the world in a fat body--especially the idea that no matter how hard you work to accept and love yourself, there will always be hurtful messages coming at you from outside. I wanted other people who have these experiences to feel seen, and I wanted those who haven't to have a glimpse into what it feels like.

AC: Are any characters—or aspects of characters—based on you or anyone you know?

AD: They really aren't! Bea's story has a few parallels to mine, but she is much bolder than I am, as well as more career-oriented. I pick so many physical and personality details from so many different people that I can't really say any of my characters are based on real people. But I hope they seem real!

AC: Do you find yourself drawn repeatedly to the same or similar themes?

AD: Very broadly, yes. My books are always about women reckoning with a life change, and that involves conflict in their work, family, friendships, romantic partnerships, and emotional health. 

AC: Any minor details in the book that reflect your real life?

AD: Heron's apartment building is a lot like the one I lived in during my senior year of college. It was a neoclassical mansion that had been converted into apartments. It was a bit run down but the fancy entryway and grand staircase had been left intact. My apartment was HUGE and had a strange layout; the bathroom and kitchen were obviously afterthoughts. It was across campus from the fraternity houses, though. 

A photo of Amy’s college apartment building, taken in 2016.

Like Heron and Charlie, I took a Book Arts class my senior year of college. I was an Art History minor and needed one "studio art" credit. I can't draw a thing, but I love books, so I thought it would be a perfect fit! The class was a lot of fun. Oddly enough, my final project was a typeset, illustrated booklet of Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer.' There's a lot of that poem in Bea. She knows and appreciates the science, but sometimes she just wants to "look up in perfect wonder at the stars."

AC: Is there anything you’ve wanted to learn about that you’ve used fiction as an excuse to do so?

AD: For How to Align the Stars, I let the story guide my research. However, my next book, The Advisory Role, is about an advice columnist. Advice columns are one of my guilty pleasures, so it's been delightful to let myself binge-read as many as I like in the name of "research." There is also a lot of food in that book including a pie that is raved about by all the characters, so of course I had to develop a recipe. If accurate writing means I have to eat pie, so be it.

So far, my books are set in Washington State but I took an absolute dream of a trip to Ireland last year for the purpose of feeding my writer soul, and am waiting for the right story set there to reveal itself to me. 

AC: Any “Confessions” you’d like to make?

AD: How to Align the Stars is full of astronomy, wine, and dressmaking, but:

• I took the bare minimum science requirements to graduate. I am pretty sure I got a C in astronomy.

• I am not a frequent or sophisticated wine drinker. I enjoy a good prosecco cocktail or nice chardonnay but only occasionally. I can't stand red wine.

• Heron is a skilled sewist, but I can barely sew on a button. (I didn't even know "sewist" was a word until I consulted some friends who sew about my rough draft!)

As far as I know, no one has noticed yet that I gave Bea and Ben the last names of some classic TV banterers. 

Behind the Keyboard: AKA The Top 10 List

1. How long did it take from the book’s beginning to The End?

About a year, including some long breaks while the draft was with alpha/beta readers.

2. How many drafts?

5-ish. I can't do a precise count because at a certain stage I do several passes through the manuscript, focusing on different aspects like themes, characters, dialogue, or setting. 

3. Do you use a daily word count / time period / etc to know when you’re done for the day?

On weekdays, I have 1.5-2 hours and get as much done as I can during that time. My weekend schedule is looser and I go with the flow.

4. Type or handwrite?

Type! My handwriting is a horror.

5. Plotter or pantser?

Loose plotter.

6. Beverage or other pre-writing routine of choice?

I write right after I finish work so I usually grab a fizzy water and move from my desk to a comfy spot on the couch or outside.

7. Do you read outside your genre? If so, what?

I read widely--mostly general fiction with occasional dives into genre--any genre. I always have a poetry book going and sometimes a nonfiction book, but I can't stand to be in between novels. If I finish one at bedtime I must read at least a few pages of the next before I can go to sleep.

8. Most exhilarating aspect of writing?

That "Who wrote this? It's good!" moment that happens if it's been a long time between writing something and rereading.

9. Most challenging aspect of writing?

The gap between what I want to accomplish and what I have time and energy for.

10. Favorite resource for writers?

Other writers.

AC: Thanks so much for "confessing," Amy Dressler!

To enter our drawing for a copy of How to Align the Stars, drop a comment below (U.S. residents only). And remember, if you enjoy a book then leaving a good review is the best gift you can give an author.

To learn more about Amy, visit her website at amydressler.com and follow her on social media (she is on most social media as @amydresslerwrites and is most active on Instagram). She also publishes a monthly newsletter on Substack.