Interview with novelist Jacqueline Gay Walley

Welcome to Jacqueline Gay Walley, esteemed author of The Waw. How and when did your relationship with writing begin? And how deep is the work behind the creation of a work or a story to be told?

I began writing young – my first short story when I was angry at my mother, so I went to the basement and wrote a story explaining her personality! -- and have been writing novels and other books ever since. Even plays and films.  You ask how deep is the work behind a creation and that is a great question. It MUST be deep to be worthwhile, in my opinion. A story idea usually comes from working something out in one’s psyche, or from a vision of something and, like my character in THE WAW, one follows that vision for its truths.

In The Waw, you tell with depth about a journey the protagonist takes to a new destination, to discover a real, simple world. A search for places and characters that can make you happy. How important is self-discovery for you in writing your works? And can this search, through which the protagonists move, change in different stages of existence?

Self-discovery is very important in my writing. That is the journey usually the protagonist is on. Either through a difficult love affair, or a fear of marriage or whatever. The character is coming to their own truths through humor, mishaps and pain and joy. Yes, the themes change as one ages. One has different challenges as one ages, and my books, as I have aged, have followed those challenges. My first book STRINGS ATTACHED followed a young girl growing up with a rogue father and how that affects her with men later. My book before THE WAW was called MAGNETISM about an older woman still wanting to have “juice.”  There are 7 books between those and they go through all different challenges in life.

Who is Jacqueline Gay Walley, how did her passion for memory come about? 
Is there a particular author who inspires her or whom she enjoys 
reading?

I have always been a voracious reader – and books – the style of them and their stories have informed me. I am just as passionate about music (this comes through in THE WAW where one character is an esteemed musician and is too artistic to pay attention to his being famous.)  I have been most influenced by European writers since they are interested in style and depth of feeling. Marguerite Duras and Jean Rhys affected me and indeed one of my books WRITE, SHE SAID is about these two writers coming back to life to straighten “me” out. I love Roberto Belano, David Markson, and many others.

In The Waw, your most recent book, you also express and delve into the 
insecurities of ordinary people, their reactions to certain circumstances. How did you come up with the characters in this work?

These characters came out of my imagination. Sir Leo came out of my love for music (and tennis!) Lucia, the woman writing about religious matters, is based on someone I do know and admire. Skene, the romantic lead, came out of my imagination, as did George, the coffeeshop owner who is sort of a wise man. The Wall Streeter, again, imagination.

Your next novel? Is there anything you can tell fans about the story?

I actually am working right now on a play for someone. When finished, I am considering how to make a film of THE WAW. Once decided, I will begin a new novel. I have some ideas but they are not fully “cooked” yet. One needs an idea that will hold for more than a year as I write the book so it must be something I am “taken” with. 

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