Interview with Jacqueline Sheehan
1. Can you give a short description of you latest novel, Picture This?
Picture This begins where Lost & Found left off, back on Peaks Island, Maine, Devastated by her young husband’s sudden death, she had been on a downward spiral until she took a job as an animal control warden (a far cry from her career as a psychologist) and she saves a black lab, Cooper. Now she’s ready to try at love again with Hill, the gentle archery instructor. But a phone call from a troubled girl looking for her biological father shakes Rocky’s newfound joy. Could the girl hold a tendril of her husband, or is something else happening that Rocky is unable to see?
2. Do you have a lot of input on your covers? If so, how do you choose the final dog?
Harper Collins is collaborative about covers. However, the people who design the covers are specialists at design and marketing and I bow to their expertise. I write books and they live in the world of design. We looked at 100’s of photos of dogs. The chosen dog had to carry himself in a certain heroic manner that one could see in a photo. I also really wanted eye contact with the dog since this is one of the truly disarming characteristics of dogs; they seek out eye contact with humans to transmit information.
3. How important are dogs in your personal life?
Cooper is a combination of two spectacular dogs in my life. I had a golden retriever that was a true companion on my hiking and camping expeditions as well as being comfortable on the streets of Chicago. He was loyal, sensitive (he once nursed a stray Siamese cat back to health), and hilarious. The second dog belonged to my sister. He was a black lab and he had a very heroic personality, as well as being able to dribble a soccer ball between his front feet while running full speed. I do not currently have a dog because I travel far too much. I do have two cats, one of whom acts more like a dog than most dogs.
4. You write both fiction and historical fiction. Is it difficult to switch from writing in the different time periods?
In a weird way, most fiction is historical fiction unless we are writing exclusively about the present or the future. Most of what memoirists write could be called a type of historical fiction. But I do see what you’re asking since I’ve written two books set in the 19th century and two books in contemporary times. Most writing requires research, but contemporary literature has the luxury of being the recipient of daily news, dialogue, experiences, etc. When I’ve written about the 19th Century, I’m exacting about details that are time/culture sensitive and I do have to immerse myself in the time period. It can be jarring to spend all day writing about starvation in 1844 Ireland and then go grocery shopping at the mega market at the end of the day.
5. Are you working on a new project?
I am now working on the book that was set aside for two years. I am re-introducing myself to the characters, and I find that in my absence, some of them have continued on without me and I’m rushing to catch up. The first part of the book is set in 1990 Guatemala in the Mayan highlands.
6. Is there a certain area where you do the majority of your writing?
Yes. I recently added a writing studio to my house that over looks my garden, and further on, a meadow. I think it is important for the eyes to be able to rest on something beautiful and that is exactly what I have.
7. You are a New Englander—what could you say to persuade us to visit New England.
Only one thing. Lobster rolls. I just returned from touring in Maine and in 24 hours, I had two lobster rolls. I would have had three except for a thieving sea gull who stole one.
