Frequently Asked Question about Waiting for Spring

Are you an artist, like Tess?

Well, it depends on what your definition of art is. This is an example of my work, entitled “Arms Up, Arms Down, Arms behind Your Back”:

Seriously…no, I’m not. Like Tess I sometimes struggle to express myself verbally. Instead I have my keyboard. She has her paintbrushes. I did do a great deal of research before I put those brushes in her hand, though. I have a close friend who is an artist (her stick figures are much better than mine), and I peppered her with so many questions that she stopped answering her phone when she saw my name pop up on the Caller ID. Next I read several books and visited lotsa websites to fill in some of the blanks. Finally, I bought a canvas, easel, and a bunch of acrylic paints and brushes and went to work. The result was hideous, and was subsequently destroyed, but it did give me a feel for the process. And it gave me one of the biggest headaches of my life. I was kinder to Tess, and let her paint with the windows open.

Are New Mills, Brookfield, and Westville real towns in Maine?

Nope. Struggling mill towns are a sad reality up here, so it wasn’t difficult for me to create this fictional world, but Portland and Mt. Kineo (located in Rockwood on Moosehead Lake) are the only real locations visited by the characters in WFS. (Hallowell and Bangor , which are both mentioned briefly, are real as well).

Is the story about the Indian Princess who jumped to her death from Mt. Kineo true, or did you make it up for the book?

Sort of both. I’ve heard many versions of the story, wherein a woman (of Polish, Russian, or American Indian descent, depending on the version) is rejected or abandoned by a lover or husband, and as a result kills herself by jumping from Mt. Kineo into Moosehead Lake. Sometimes the woman is a princess, sometimes just a woman of wealth. I decided on the princess because it sounded kinda romantic, and because I felt that Tess wouldn’t have been as affected by the story if it was simply a rich woman, given her attitude towards money and those with an abundance of money. I decided on the Indian version because:

a) my hubby is part Mic Mac, and I thought it would be cool to give a very indirect nod to him.

b) there are other Indian legends about Kineo’s being haunted, so it seemed very natural that a local waitress would tell that version of the story to Tess and Jason.

c) I thought ”Indian Princess” sounded better than “Russian or Polish Princess.” (No offense intended to Russia or Poland, nor to any of their inhabitants, princesses or otherwise).

Is Waiting for Spring in any way autobiographical?

Not factually autobiographical. Perhaps, in some ways, emotionally so.

http://rjkeller.wordpress.com/2008/10/05/i-am-not-tess-dyer/

Do you, like Tess, hate the New York Yankees?

Yes. With the fire of a thousands suns.

What about Yankees fans?

I’ve met many Yankees fans who are fine, upstanding citizens. We simply choose not to talk about baseball. After all, there are plenty of other safe topics – like politics and religion - to discuss.

See more reader questions and the author’s answers on R.J. Keller’s website at: http://rjkeller.org/waiting-for-spring/faq/