Q&A with Lauren Francis-Sharma

Lauren, I’d like to begin by thanking you for agreeing to this on-line interview and congratulating you on the success of your debut novel, 'Til the Well Runs Dry.

I know you have a commitment on May 30th, so this interview will give the fancy hat ladies insight into some of those “burning” questions they have.

As of this date, many ladies have not completed the book, therefore thank you for agreeing to a “post” luncheon on-line interview as well!!

So let’s begin with the questions submitted in April :

Jennie Blue:

You have identified at least three protagonists in the telling of this story. What influenced your decision to take this approach? Also, I say “at least” three because Trinidad seems to also have a voice as if the land mass is a character. Was this intentional or organic?

Lauren: I began writing this book with Jacqueline in mind. It was to be her story, her exploration of her mother and her coming-of-age tale. I realized soon after starting that I needed to understand a bit more about her mother and therefore began writing back-story for Marcia. As I wrote, it became clear that Marcia was the central character in this book. Of course, given Marcia's introverted nature and the fact that I chose to write this book in First Person, it grew increasingly difficult to unravel all of Marcia's secrets without another character to lend the reader insight, and hence, Farouk became the third narrator. Yes, I agree Trinidad has its own voice. That may happen when an author takes a reader to a place that may be unfamiliar or a place that is not often the setting for novels. But I think it was particularly true here, because I too, was seeing Trinidad with fresh eyes. And my greatest wish was to bring the reader along with me.

Jennie Blue:

It was interesting to read about the history, racial divide and interaction of Hindus, Muslims and Black Christians during this period in Trinidad. Since your parents are from Trinidad, did you have family support and interaction while researching this component?

Lauren: Well...yes and no. Farouk is actually Hindu though he has a Muslim name. I did this to highlight the various components of the Indian population in Trinidad. The divide, at least at the time when the novel is set, between Blacks and Indians was about race, yes, but also equally about class and religion (though parsing those out is always difficult). My father's grandfather was a Muslim who changed his name and abandoned his family to marry my great-grandmother, who was Black. I've known this story all my life, but I also brought to bear stories from my parents about wealthy Indian families during this time, whose behavior differed greatly from poorer Indians who sometimes intermarrying with Blacks and often living in the same neighborhoods.

Celestial Holmes:

How did you select the title, ‘Til The Well Runs Dry? Is it a metaphor?

Lauren: I've never been comfortable with the title (even now!), but it stuck. My mother would say "you never miss the water until the well runs dry" when she felt we were ungrateful and unwilling to adequately recognize her efforts. As a child, it was annoying to hear, but as I began writing this book and grew into being a mother, myself, it became much more evident how we often do not appreciate what we have until it is gone. And this seems particularly true when speaking of mothers.

Sharon Huland:

How long did it take you to write ’Til the Well Runs Dry, and did you have a literary agent from the beginning?

Lauren: Four years all together. One and a half years before I signed with my agent, and then nine months expanding the book by two-hundred pages with her and another nine months cutting out two hundred pages with my editor, word for word, line by line.

Valerie Jefferson:

Many reviewers comment on this being a romantic novel. In your opinion, is “Till The Well Runs Dry more your grandmother's story vs a romance novel?

Lauren: It is certainly my grandmother's story, first. The heart of Marcia's story is my grandmother's story and this is what drove me to write this book. But I'm a sucker for a love story and I don't shy away from the elements of romance if this is how people would like to view it, as I do believe there is love in this story. It is not a fairytale love, it is a complicated love and it may not end perfectly, but I do think by the end, the readers (as well as Marcia and Farouk) feel as if they have gotten all they can get from this relationship.

Valerie Jefferson:

As you remember the transitioning of your grandmother, you mentioned reflecting upon never having discussed her past with her. With regards to your two daughters, is there anything that you want to make sure they know and pass on to their families?

Lauren: Everything that I know! The loss I feel is immense. I wish my grandmother had shared more. I wish I had not been so scared to ask more of her. I wish she had left papers, a diary, anything to help me understand who she was and why she was so closed, so afraid of us knowing more. I hope when I leave this earth, my children are comforted by the fact that I gave them all of me (at the right times, of course!) to carry along with them for as long as they are here.

Mary Calhoun:

I found the book to be quite interesting and filled with multigenerational saga, however I would like for some of the multicultural vocabulary explained and pronounced (i.e. Zabocas, Aloo, Roti, Phoulore, Toullum . .etc.) Secondly, will there be a sequel? The story cannot end with the first printing.

Lauren: Sure! Zabocas are avocados, aloo is a Hindi word for potato, roti is a flat Indian bread, pholourie are fried yellow split pea balls, toullum are sweet molasses candy....I tried to explain the words in context, but it's not always possible, particularly in First Person narratives when the characters should already know what they're eating!

As for a sequel....I don't know. I tried, but the full arc of the next part of this story has not come to me yet. So, I wait.

Annie Evans:

As a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, some of the storylines (with regards to Marcia and her children), were difficult for me to read. With young children of your own, was it difficult for you to write those chapters?

Lauren: Oh certainly! Killing Yvonne was heartbreaking and I still cannot read it without weeping. But I know for sure that even when women are leaving the children behind only temporarily, for the betterment of their family (and this can apply to any working mother), there are always consequences. The children might resent you, people may judge you, you might grapple with awful guilt and sometimes terrible things happen while you are not there. These are the burdens of motherhood. And I couldn't ignore them, even when they were painful.

Vickye Greer:

I enjoyed your novel, however I felt it ended abruptly. Did you have alternative endings that you struggled with? If so, what made you go in the direction that you did?

Lauren: Yes, many! But none of them seemed right. I tried to resolve things with Uncle Linton and it felt too forced. I tried to show Marcia, Wesley and Jacqueline in America, but it felt like another book. I tried to give Marcia her moment with Farouk's parents and it felt like a soap opera. In the end, I do believe I left enough both resolved and unresolved that it feels like real life often feels. With that said...I'm still sorry you feel this way! :)

Phyllis S. Williams:

This is more of a comment, vs. a question, I've just started reading the book, and it's hard to put aside when I have somthing important to do!!

Thanks so much to all of you for your wonderful comments and questions!!! I really wanted to Skype into the meeting, however other commitments prevent this opportunity. I will be anxious to see the questions that you have during the Fancy Hat Luncheon, and to answer them in a post-meeting interview~

Lauren Francis-Sharma, Author of 'Till The Well Runs Dry