Sample Interview Questions & Answers with Bess Linnet, Author of Three Before Nine: A Story of a Childhood
You write in the book’s unusual disclaimer that Three Before Nine: A Story of a Childhood is a fictionalised memoir. What do you mean by that? How much of the story is true and how much have you made up?
Fictionalised memoir is just that— memoir, but with fictional elements. Much of Three Before Nine is based on my actual childhood, but the main character in the book, Beth Anne, is only four when the book begins and nine when it ends. So while I wrote the dialogue in keeping with the characters, none of it could be called verbatim transcription. I also imposed more of a structure on the book than any timeline my memories provided, as I don’t exactly have my calendars from the 1970s.
Speaking of memories, Three Before Nine: A Story of a Childhood is amazingly detailed. How were you able to remember back that far? I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning, let alone the fabric of a dress I wore several decades ago.
It turns out most people automatically forget quite a lot of what happened to them as very young children through a process called childhood amnesia. My brain, for whatever reason, seems to be wired a little differently, allowing me to remember more than other people. But I also did a fair amount of research. I used Google Street View extensively.
Why Google Street View?
You may have seen the film Lion? If not, you should. In that film, a man who was adopted from India as a boy uses Google Street View to find his childhood home. My own search wasn’t as dramatic as in that film, but we moved a lot when I was young, so I used Street View to try to find the houses I had actually lived in. If I couldn’t find the house itself, I could at least explore the area. In one of the towns, a building I remembered as nearby helped me find what had been my house. I was really grateful to have access to technology that could spark my memories like that.
Three Before Nine: A Story of a Childhood reveals quite a lot about the characters involved. Did your family read the book? What did they think?
I offered the final draft of the book to my family of origin to read before I self-published. Two members of my family took me up on the offer and gave the book their blessings. Some of the others have chosen not to read the book, and some may have or may not have— they haven’t told me. I’m very thankful that those who did read it were supportive.
You mention self-publishing. Why did you decide to take that route instead of pursuing traditional publishing?
Mostly because of my age. I started writing Three Before Nine: A Story of a Childhood just after I turned fifty. From what I’ve heard, traditional publishing can take years, or could never happen. I have at least two more books I’d like to write, and I don’t have the time, energy, or desire to send out query letter after query letter only to be rejected again and again. My book may not ever be a bestseller, but I knew from my treasured first readers that at least some people would find it a good read, so I wanted it to be out in the world.
Three Before Nine: A Story of a Childhood ends when the main character, Beth Anne, is nine. Did you spend the Covid-19 lockdown working on a sequel?
I didn’t, actually. I usually write in cafés, because I find home too distracting. I don’t have a room of my own, and during lockdown all four of us— five, if you count Harry the Jack Russell— were home 24/7. I’ve written poetry for many years, and that became my preferred form during lockdown. I was able to compose poems while walking the dog in beautiful Richmond Park. But I do hope to write a sequel, or hopefully even two sequels, if I can reimmerse myself in prose at some point.
Who are some writers you admire?
I recently read Bernardine Evaristo’s excellent and poetic Girl, Woman, Other. I was thrilled to hear Evaristo tell Nicola Sturgeon at the online Edinburgh Book Festival that she loved The Bone People by Keri Hulme, as that’s one of my all-time favourite books. Other recent favourite authors include Celeste Ng, Zeba Talkhani, and Kiese Laymon. As a child, just like Beth Anne in my book, I was an enormous fan of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.