Q&A with Victoria Patterson discussion

Post here to discuss themes in This Vacant Paradise.

Hello! Not sure where this question should go--but I'm curious about how you approached writing about affluence and the affluent community of Newport. How did that influence your process of characterization?

Hi Edan, thanks for starting. Reading Edith Wharton and Henry James helped tremendously. I also read books about class--about the different ways we identify our class, either consciously or unconsciously. Why don't we talk/write about these things more? Especially with all that's happening in U.S.--the crazy divide between the wealthy and poor. Where we stand--where we're complicit, etc.

I did live in Newport in my teen years, and my mom still lives there. I also visited Newport often as a kid. So I could draw on all that experience. I kid you not: it is a different world. That conservative Republican Christian very white environment seemed ripe for the picking apart. Reagan called Orange County the place "where all good Republicans go to die." But I wanted the novel to be entertaining and funny and ultimately have a deeper message.

As far as characterization: For Esther, I really did have to imagine what it would be like to be ultra-concerned with looks and money--to have my main source of power be my looks, and to know that those would diminish with age. Esther is practical. She knows her time is limited. And I forced myself to go deeper with her. But I had to think about some of my worst tendencies/qualities, and heighten them. Also, some of my worst fears.

One more thing: money can have an insidious effect on a person, as does place.

This is a very long answer (maybe because I was glad to get your question! Thank you!).