An Interview with Author Claire Swedberg

Books by Claire E. Swedberg:

Work Commando 311/I: American Paratroopers Become Forced Laborers for the Nazis

In Enemy Hands: Personal Accounts of Those Taken Prisoner in World War II 

Three Years with the 92nd Illinois: The Civil War Diary of John M. King

Upcoming:

In the Valley of Mystic Light

Claire Swedberg, author of three books of non-fiction, and I have been friends since our teenagers were two. Fortunately, she and her family are spending the Thanksgiving holiday with us and I've managed to charm her into a blog - interview. My questions and her answers appear below.

LJV: Your books, although non-fiction, are highly readable. Did writing these books with a narrative structure make it more or less difficult?

CES: I can't imagine telling these non-fictional accounts any way other than in a narrative in which a reader could easily forget that he or she is reading a "history book" and become completely immersed in one cohesive story with all the twists and turns you might expect in fiction. Each of the books is based on the personal accounts of individuals who played a part in historical events. With that in mind, I have focused on letting their personal stories represent a more universal experience that any reader can identify with.

LJV: Can you make an argument for non-fiction as pleasure reading?

CES: Some of the most engrossing books I have read have been non-fiction, but I can't imagine a world without fiction. The world is simply too interesting not to let it tell the story the way it really happened, but also leave room for those who have their own story to tell.

LJV: What's your next book?

CES: I am in the last phases of a book describing the birth and development of the art scene in Skagit Valley, Washington (where I currently live), in partnership with Rita Hupy, widow of Art Hupy who founded the Museum of Northwest Art.  The book follows the lives of members of the "Northwest School" through much of the 20th century to the present, but also tells the story of a community that is sustained by fisherman and farmers and their relationship with the arts.  I've discovered through this process that art, and the practical tasks of living off the earth, are closely entertwined.  Some of the artists and writers included in the story are "Big Four" members Guy Anderson, Morris Graves and Mark Tobey, as well as Tom Robbins and an impressive potpourri of current artists.

LJV: I understand you've undertaken your first novel. How's it going?

CES: Fiction writing has taken a backseat to the non-fiction for much of my career but I love the freedom related to creating my own characters, my own stories, and doing with that what I choose. What power!

LJV: Any advice you can offer to some one who is considering writing a book?

CES: I get this question a lot. Many writers would like to skip the most important phase of writing a book -- making it truly a great piece of work -- and would prefer to move directly into the seemingly more glamourous world of agents and publishers. I recommend spending a lot of alone time with just yourself and your book -- love what you're writing and, when you've finished, love what you wrote. Think it's good enough? Read through it one more time, read it outloud to yourself, add details you know you won't publish, just to know your characters even more intimately.  After that, when it is so much a part of you that you dream about your story at night and find yourself bringing it up at cocktail parties in minute detail -- that is the point when you can begin the process of seeking an agent or publisher who loves it as much as you do.