Having been a guest on the site in the past, I'm pleased to welcome author Jennifer Anne Gordon back once again to talk about the writing process and some details about her new work "The Japanese Box."
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, let's talk about your new collection "The Japanese Box." Where did the concept of this come from?
Jennifer Anne Gordon: The story of The Japanese Box was actually started in a grief writing workshop led by the incredible Diane Zinna. The story started as a personal essay. I realized that I was using some interesting horror and ghost imagery, and I started to lean into that more—and while doing that the essay became more of a piece of fiction. Though it is probably my most personal story I have written to date.
Me: How did the concept of the universe within each of the stories here come about?
JAG: In my head everything I write is all in the same universe, which is my universe. Especially with The Japanese Box starting as creative non-fiction, it made sense to have them all based on my reality, just darker and more haunted. I also tend to have the setting for most of my work be in New England, where I live. This collection has two stories set in the Midwest, where I lived for about 12 years in the early 2000’s. That felt new to me, but I still feel like the world is the same for all the stories. It’s a heightened, reality.
Me: What kind of relationship did you envision for the characters to have here as the story went along?
JAG: With the stories of The Japanese Box, and The Lithium Moon, they are very internal stories. In The Japanese Box the main character ages from about 10 to in her 40s. Her main relationship is with herself and how she changes over time—that being said she also has a complicated relationship with her invisible twin. In The Lithium Moon the main character Simone is going through some personal trauma and grief. She does have a relationship that is falling apart, but her journey is her own.
In Simulacrum, this IS a story about a dysfunctional relation ship between a sociopath and a narcissist, it’s dark dark comedy, and probably one of the times I just went for the ridiculousness of relationships—especially with these two characters who are in their early twenties.
Me: Was there any difference in how you approached the concept of the stories within the collection?
JAG: They all have such a unique feel to them. I initially wrote Simulacrum as a comedy, but also thought it could be a serial killer origin story…and maybe it’s both of those. “The Lithium Moon” started when I wanted to play with the idea of a werewolf story, but I wanted to do it in a way that was very much mine. So it is a very emotional story, not what one would consider a traditional werewolf story. I wanted to use elements of psychological fiction, and experimental style, and still have it at its heart be about someone who for reasons only she understands, is very attached to full moons.
The other two pieces in the book, “The Japanese Box”, and “What Stage of Grief is It?” both started as a place of truth. The Japanese Box ended up becoming closer to fiction, while the Grief poem is very true, but again I used some horror imagery in a piece that made it fit right in with the collection.
Me: What, if any, issues did you have while outlining or writing did you encounter?
JAG: I think the pressure for this was very low, as I was just writing pieces and it was not until later when I was talking with Daemon Manx of Last Waltz Publishing, and my agent Paula Munier of Talcott Notch, that we realized we had kind of a special collection happening here. So really this is a collection of pieces that I wrote out of pure love of the craft of writing. I never had any big plans for any of these works, so they come from a very pure place.
Me: Have you noticed any difference between your writing style now compared to your work in previous collections you’ve written?
JAG: This is the first collection I have written, everything prior to this has been novels. I did find it very enjoyable to be able to experiment with a bit more with writing styles and voice. I think doing a short story allows for some real creative freedom because there is less of a commitment time wise—It allowed me to really play.
Me: Once it was finally written, what was the process for having it published?
JAG: I originally shared The Japanese Box (the story) with Last Waltz Publishing in hopes that maybe it could find a home in one of their anthologies. It is a LONG short story, so they asked for something else, (I sent The Lithium Moon) once that happened, we started talking about grouping my pieces together in a collection. I sent more work in, and got my agent involved in handling all the contract stuff etc. Again, it was a pretty painless process. I knew back in November of 2022 that Last Waltz wanted to publish, but it took about 4 months maybe to get everything finalized with the paperwork.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!
JAG: Thank you for having me. I can only vaguely talk about what I am working on. I will say I have a full-length novel that my agent has out on submission, which is exciting and nerve-wracking. I can’t really talk about that at all…I have a short story coming out this fall in an amazing anthology. That is in the process of being announced, but it is with Parlor Ghost Press, and it’s called House of Haunts. It has an incredible TOC, and an awesome team backing this project. Lastly I have a few essays coming out in a book titled “Letting Grief Speak: Writing Portals for Life after Loss” (written by Diane Zinna and published by Columbia University Press), this book will be out in early 2024.
Besides that I am working on a new book, it’s in the early stages, but it involves ballroom dancing, and multiple murders.
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