In Which a Librarian asks a Talented Author a Small Number of Questions:
Susie Finkbeiner is the CBA bestselling Michigan author of The Nature of Small Birds, All Manner of Things — which was selected as a 2020 Michigan Notable Book — and Stories That Bind Us, as well as A Cup of Dust, A Trail of Crumbs, A Song of Home and her newest book, The All-American. We are very happy that Susie has taken time out of her busy schedule to answer some very important questions below. If you'd like to get to know her better, she will join us via Zoom on August 15th at 6:30pm. Register at tadl.org/finkbeiner.
If you were a dewey number, what would you consider yourself to be?
Well, this is a fun and super nerdy question! There are so many possibilities here, but I'm going to classify myself in the category I spend most of my time doing since I have three teens. 667.13. Laundering.
Unless that pertains to money laundering and then, for the sake of my legal future, I do NOT fit in that dewey category.
Most authors I know seem to have little known hidden talents, do you? Maybe a musical instrument or ice skate backward better than forward?
Ah ha! Trying to uncover secrets, I see! Most of my talents involve performing (music, storytelling, acting), so they aren't exactly hidden. But there is one super ability that I typically don't reveal, even if I'm trying to impress a room full of people. That talent? Folding linen napkins into fancy configurations. I can do a fan, a swan, the fleur de lis, the standard pocket AND the angled pocket folds. This skill is thanks to my year long employment in the dining room of an assisted living facility while I was in college. I know. I know. So impressive.
What are you reading right now or what is in your pile of "to be read" books?
Ah! I adore this question! I could talk about books all day (perhaps I should also be shelved in the 800s with "literature"). The books I'm reading at this moment are Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (I'm reading that one with my eyeballs), Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (that one is an audiobook), and The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (for my book club).
Next up are The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri and The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt.
What would be your most perfect day and what time of year?
I love summer. And I especially love summer days spent at Lake Michigan with my husband and kids. We bob in the water (when it's warm enough...well, sometimes when it's still frigid), then we walk on the pier before getting ice cream. Last of all is sitting in the sand and watching the sunset over the Big Lake. Those are the best times of summer and some of the best moments of life for me.
You write about some heavy topics, the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, human trafficking...The All-American, while still full of heavy themes, must have been fun to write (I love baseball!). How do you decide what your next novel will be? Does an idea just come to you in a situation or do you have notebooks full of ideas and you close your eyes and point to one?
Would it surprise you to know that my old writing group used to call me "Sad Susie"? I do often gravitate to the heavier type of stories. I think that's because the darker situations have a lot of potential for hope to really shine through. The All-American does touch on some hard things (the Red Scare and McCarthyism were pretty dark times in our national history). But writing about women's baseball was a blast!
I'm not sure that I ever truly get to choose what I'll write about next. Usually an idea sparks while I'm reading or visiting a museum or watching dishes (dewey number 642.7)...really it can be at any time. That idea refuses to let me go. Maybe, really, it's the idea that chooses me. However it works (which will always be a mystery to me), it's exciting!
Thank you very much Susie! Your books are the best, thanks for allowing us to get to know you better.