8/9/2019 Fragile by Lisa Unger - The Heart of the Story

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FRAGILEBy Lisa UngerThe Heart of the Story

Once upon a time, an editor I had respected and fromwhom I had learned quite a bit suggested, as she turneddown my novel, that I make some decisions aboutmyself. In fact, what she said precisely was, Lisa, youhave to decide what you are. Are you a literary writer?Or are you a mystery writer?

I was a little confused because I didnt reallyconsider myself either one of those things. In fact,I had never endeavored to define myself as a writerof anything but story. Sure, I had dark leanings. Myprotagonist at the time was a true -crime writer, and shegot herself into a great deal of mayhem. As a reader, Ihad always loved crime fiction and thrillers. But it wasalso true that when it came to reading, I had loved manyother types of fiction and viewed myself, more thananything, as a literary omnivore.

When I began my first novel at the age of 19 nineteen,I didnt sit down to write a mystery novel or a literarynovel. I was just writing what I wanted to write . . .and that was a story about a troubled woman who hadchosen a dark profession to try to order structure thechaos she perceived in her life and in the world. Therewas a psychic healer, a former FBI agent, and a highbody count. So, yes, I supposed when the book wasdone, it was in fact a mystery -- or a maybe a thriller.Possibly, it was crime fiction. The point is, when myfingers were at the keyboard, the question of what spaceit would occupy on the bookshelf simply never occurredto me.

It took me ten years to finish and finally publish thatnovel. It was a Good good thing I had an early start.And then I published three more mystery novelsunder my maiden name, Lisa Miscione. They weresmall books, based on an idea that I had when I wasreally too young to be writing books. Though they willalways occupy a special place in my heart, I consider

them the place where I cut my teeth, honed my craft,and became a better writer. I think you can still findthem floating around in the used book etherused-bookether.

Between the third and the fourth book in that series,I wrote Beautiful Lies. Again, even though I was apublished writer of mystery novels and had everyright to believe that book, too, would publish, it neveroccurred to me in the writing of it what it was or wasntwhat it should be. It was just the story that welled upfrom an inner place. I wouldnt have been able to stop itif I tried. That book led me to a new place in my careeranother publisher, and a new phase in my evolution as awriter.

Now, with eight novels on the shelves, one about to bepublished, and my tenth nearing completion, I still dontgive too much thought to who I am as a writer, or what

kind of books Im writing. I still write from that innerplace and honor the voices in my head. Which is why Iwas about halfway through FRAGILEbefore I realizedthat it was different from what had come before it. Andthat it was the book that I had been trying to write, inone way or another, for more than twenty years.

This story has tried to find its way out in various partialsover the years. , Always always with different voices andnever quite succeeding to resolve itself. I was surprisedwhen it surfaced in FRAGILE. And in writing this book,I learned something truly interesting: one can haveambitions to write a story but not have the talent or thecraft to tell it well. It took the writing of eight novelsbefore I had the skills necessary to tell the story, to writethe kind of book that had been simmering for decades.

Of course, also, the subject matter of this novel wasuniquely personal, based loosely on an event in the townwhere I grew up. A girl I knew, someone who attendedmy high school, was abducted and murdered. We were

The Heart of the StoryBy Lisa Unger

Crown Publishing Group

8/9/2019 Fragile by Lisa Unger - The Heart of the Story

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teenagers, growing up in a quiet, idyllic suburban town.Her gruesome death was terrifying and surreal, all atonce. And it changed forever how I saw the world; ,

though I am not sure I was aware of this until recently.I didnt realize how it had stayed with me until I wasmetabolizing it on the page. This may be anotherreason it took so long for the story to find its way, tofind the voices it needed to say what had to be said. Inother words, maybe I needed to grow up a little to meetMaggie and Jones, the characters who have the most atstake in FRAGILE.

I was surprised by the reactions of my early readers andmy publisher to FRAGILE. I am published in a placewhere people support the evolution of my writing, andwho have never asked me to define myself or to changehow and what I write. So when my wonderful editorsaid how different it was, it wasnt followed (thankfully)by We cant publish this. Still, the idea that it was sodifferent caught me off guard. Was it? I still have darkleanings. Theres still a terrible crime. There is still amystery, as in all novels, to be unraveled. It didnt feeldifferent when I was writing it. ,Though, I did have asense that it was heftier in some way, harder to manage.I felt the weight of it.

On the other hand, how could it not be different? Howcan every book not be different than from the one thatcame before? Im different every year older withnew experiences and (hopefully) more wisdom andinsight into people and the world around me. Howcould the book Im writing at 30 thirty or 40 forty, notbe different from the one I was writing at 19 nineteen?As far as Im concerned, it had damn well better be.

But thats the writer in me. With almost twenty yearsof publishing experience under my belt, not just as anauthor but also as a book publicist in my former life, Ican put on the other hat, too. Where does this bookbelong in the store? What kind of jacket does it get?Who wants to read it? And after the book is done, Imable to think about those things. They are importantmatters. After all, this is a business. And Im not, asthe romance of it all dictates, just writing for myself. Ijust dont happen to think about this when Im writing.Then, all Im thinking about is are the people that

populate my novels who are they? What motivatesthem? What are they going to do? And what are theytrying to tell me?

So the idea that FRAGILEis a departure for me amove away from one type of writing and into another,seems a little strange. I know there can be somesnobbery in the industry. If youre writing mystery orthriller or crime fiction, theres a sense that youre notwriting as well as those who are writing literary orgeneral fiction. But we have only to look to writerslike Laura Lippman, Ruth Rendell, Dennis Lehane, KateAtkinson, and George Pelecanos to know better. Idgo so far as to say that some of the best people writingtoday are writing in crime fiction. And I think if youasked most writers what kind of books they write, mostof them would pause. The answer theyd give mightnot be their own, or one that felt as if it fit completely.I certainly dont claim to know the answer when Imasked. I always nicely say, Maybe you should read mybooks and tell me what you think they are.

So, years later, I guess Im still trying to decide whatkind of writer I am. Or not. Maybe thats up to thepeople who publish me, sell me, and read me. MaybeIll just continue to follow the advice I give to my fellow

writers when they are in a place of angst about genre, orpublicity and promotion, or advertising and bestsellerlists: Nose nose to the keyboard. Because, as writers,thats where were at our best; its usually where werehappiest. Thats where I was when I wrote FRAGILEand all my novels whatever they wound up beingwhen they were done.

As the publication date for FRAGILEapproaches, Iam in my usual place of nervousness. With my noseto the keyboard, I have all the control. As FRAGILEhits the shelves, I have none my part is done. AllI can do now is hope. I hope that my longtime readerswill find everything they have come to expect anda little bit more. I hope new readers will come to mebecause maybe I have more to offer than I did lastyear. And most of all, I hope that I have been true tothe characters and situations at the heart of the story.Because, more than who I am as a writer or what theycall me, thats what matters.

Fragile By Lisa Unger

Crown Publishing Group