Mystic author Susan Kietzman signs new novel Thursday at Bank Square Books

April 24, 2017 12:00 am • Last Updated: April 24, 2017 1:44 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

Mystic author Susan Kietzman has released her fourth novel, "Every Other Wednesday."(Courtesy of Jenn Zibuda)

Mystic novelist explores the realities of 'Empty Nest' syndrome

Mystic author Susan Kietzman will celebrate the publication of her fourth novel, "Every Other Wednesday," with a signing and discussion Thursday at Bank Square Books in Mystic. While marketed as a "women's fiction" author for earlier novels "The Good Life," "A Changing Marriage" and "The Summer Cottage," Kietzman explores darker and more expansive territory in her latest.

Ellie, Joan and Alice are three casual friends who met while volunteering at their children's high school, and who have grown a bit apart after the kids graduated and moved on. But when a local tragedy brings them back into contact, what starts as a series of "catch up" luncheons become much more as the trio bonds in their frustrations, expectations, hopes, fears and new realities.

Kietzman, a former journalist who graduated from Connecticut College, recently answered questions about her career and "Every Other Wednesday." Here are excerpts from that conversation.

Q. Without giving away too much to the reader, there are in "Every Other Wednesday" issues of sexual identity, a school shooting, the second amendment, and addiction. Was there any one real-life incident that triggered all of this?

A. I think the Sandy Hook shooting. It's hard to live in this state in particular and not be profoundly affected by that. It's a story that will continue to haunt us — as it should. That pushed me into exploring gun control because I hadn't thought much about it before Sandy Hook, but it stayed with me.

Maybe there are too many issues in the book, but as we get into our 50s and 60s, it's a very reflective period. And something else I thought about was addiction. I could see how, if you suddenly find yourself retired or lonely, you could go to a casino at 10 in the morning and sit down at a roulette table and order a mixed drink. Addiction is something I'm always interested in exploring because it's always there and it's always close by in more ways than one. Life is so full of joy and I'm an optimist — but there's a lot of sadness and loneliness and questions, and sometimes people turn to whatever it is they turn to when they need to find their little bit of peace.

Q. In that context, "Every Other Wednesday" is conceptually and structurally a very ambitious novel. Some folks would say that any one of the three major characters and their respective plot lines could easily support a novel, and yet you've intertwined all three. Was that the idea from the start or is it something that just blossomed as you got further into the writing process?

A. The original title was going to be "Revealing Conversations" and it came from the notion that when women in this case sit down and honestly talk about what's going on in their lives, it can be a fantastically transformative process. You can sit down with especially more than three people at lunch and have superfluous conversations, but I wasn't interested in that. But I am interested in looking into a friend's eyes and realize they're telling you something from their soul. It doesn't happen all the time, obviously, but you can have that connection with someone. With Ellie and Alice and Joan, as much as they have things they don't want to reveal, they're always on the cusp of revelation — and circumstances and developments cause them to become one another's confidantes even more than their husbands are. The spouses and the families are in the background for a reason; these women are being bolstered and held up by one another.

Q. Another aspect of these friendships is the "empty nest syndrome." The main characters originally met in the context of being mothers of children and the relationships centered around the specific context of school days. Now, the kids are grown up and at college or beyond. The novel captures that as a jarring new reality.

A. When you've raised kids for 25 years and that's your foremost job and suddenly it's over, that's a very difficult process. We think of "coming of age" as happening to teens or at prep school or over one summer on the Cape. But it also happens when you get that first job or you're dealing with the death or a parent. Over the course of life, we actually experience a lot of "coming of age" moments. We don't know who we are at these points and we wonder where we're going or how we're going to get there. These friendships are part of the process of negotiating that.

Q. At the risk of simplifying, your first three books could be described as women's fiction or family fiction. But "Every Other Wednesday" is a darker book with some very serious issues and some pretty tragic developments. Was this a conscious development?

A. At the beginning, when I found out my work was going to be marketed as women's fiction, I wasn't sure about that. It's a great genre. Let's face it. In publishing, women are often the readers, the book club members, the buyers, they trade books with friends ... How could I not like that? The part that isn't as pleasing to me is that I think a lot of men are as interested in friendship, family dynamics and some of these issues as women are. And they might not think to look for something to read in the "women's fiction" section.

Q. I guess that publicists and book store owners have to categorize titles according to genre is a necessary evil of sorts. Is that fair to say?

A. Genres help people find books and publishes market books and I get that. But they sometimes limit us as readers and I get that. There's a lot of good in that and you should read what you want to read. But sometimes that's limiting because they make it so easy. I also think that, if we sometimes read to expand our minds, we should pick up books we might not normally read. When you read something different, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Q. Over the course of four novels, you've segued from someone with a day job into the esteemed and rarified air of a full-time novelist. Was this something you always dreamed of or something that happened by accident? And was there a "Presto!" moment when you knew it was going to happen?

A. I'd long dreamed that I would be a novelist — that's what I'd do for a living — but even now I can't look in the mirror and say it. I literally can't say "I'm a novelist." I can't do that. I can tell people I'm a writer if they ask, but even then it's very uncomfortable.

Q. Why do you think that is?

A. Well, first, I'm lucky. I know that. It's a difficult business. But the thing that brought (full-time writing) isn't about huge success (laughs). It's about social media. There is a lot of pressure on authors to have an online presence and self-promote; it's become a very big part of the job. When I got the contract for the fifth book — the one I'm working on now — I had to step up and make a decision. I had part-time jobs at Mystic Seaport and teaching at Three Rivers, and I didn't have time to do the social media to support the earlier books. Plus, to be honest, social media just isn't something I'd been involved with personally. It wasn't an interest.

But I realized with my writing I couldn't take that position anymore. If I wanted to be a successful writer, I had to go for it. I left the Seaport at the end of last September and I've been working the social media angle hard in addition to writing. It's an aspect I'm still getting used to because, in social media, you spend a lot of time thinking about and promoting yourself. I guess I've put one foot into the modern world, but I'm still trying to find balance and I'm still not sure what that looks like.