Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116Despite Shreve’s protests, the original UK cover (right) was replaced by a more daring image (left). Isn’t that… 48 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine did you arrive at this idea? I first learned about the fire after I read a pamphlet on the subject some time ago. Then we had that really hot, dry summer last year and the idea of a sto- ry inspired by the 1947 disaster began to catch. I got very excited about the sub- ject. A lot of Mainers have only a pass- ing knowledge of the fire. They’ll say, “My dad used to talk about that when I was young.” I came to Maine to do research, and I got access to the archives of the Portland Press Herald. Everything was on microfiche, of course! It was fascinat- ing. They had every fact you can imag- ine, first-person accounts, and a lot of wonderful photos. The description of the post-fire landscape where only the mill’s brick chimneys remain is inspired by one of those pictures. You’vesaidthatyouoftenhaveanideaortwotuckedaway to’ferment’overtime.Didyouholdthisstorybackspecifi- callytocoincidewiththe70thanniversaryofthefire? Is it really the anniversary? [Laughs] I ac- tually never realized. No, that wasn’t inten- tional. When an idea like that teases you it’s best not to wait. It needs to be written when it wants to be written. Tellusmoreaboutthetitle,‘TheStarsAreFire.’Whatdoes theHamletreference tellusaboutthestory? The idea behind the title was in part to do with Hamlet and in greater part to do with the story itself. It’s the idea of destiny. For the main character Grace, the fire literally is her destiny. It’s written in her stars. TheU.S.coverandtheUKcoverareverydifferent[inset]. Whatwasthecreativedecisionbehindthem? The original UK cover showed Grace in a red car, but the publishers wanted to change it to show a woman in a 1930s bath- ing suit. When they first suggested it, I was like “Over my dead body!” Well, you can see how that turned out. The Oprah Book Club recommendation for ThePilot’s Wife launched you into the literary stratosphere. In the years following you put out about a book a year–an incredible creative output. Did you feel the pressure live up to the hype? I’m lucky in that I never felt pressured by the success I gained from the Oprah rec- ommendation, neither from my editor nor internally. That was just a really fertile cre- ative period in my life. Thepraisewemostoftenhearfromyourlegionsoffans andfellowwritersisforyour“deftstorytelling”(Richard Russo)andyourwhollybelievablecharacters.Howdoyou takeussoconvincinglyclosetotheaction? I always seek to create a tangible sense of presence in my stories. What I tried to do was put myself in Grace’s position day-by- day–trying to feel what it would be like to be a young mother in that house, in that weather, looking after two young children alone. Her sense of desperation. This sto- ry was also largely dictated by the time pe- riod. The things she’s struggling to cope with–mental illness, what goes on in the marital bed–no one was talking about those things at that time. I tried to imagine that sense of isolation. Youhavedescribedwritingas‘akindofdaydreaming.’Do youfindimmersingyourselfintheoftentroublingand tragicsituationofyourcharactersdifficult? O ften I’m driving in the car and I’m daydreaming about part of a sto- ry, like the fire, and I stop and say to myself, “What is wrong with me?! Why don’t you find something delightful to day- dream about?” I’m not sure why my brain goes there. And it’s funny–as a person, I’m very happy and cheerful. But when I go to that well, that place of deep imagination, those neural pathways open up and out come these ideas. So it’s very easy for me to fantasize and make it real in my writing. You’vewrittennovelssetinKenyaandLondon,butyou’re aniconicallyNewEnglandauthor.Isthatacaseofwriting whatyouknow,oristheresomethingaboutNewEngland thatignitesyourcreativity? It was while writing The Weight of Water (set on the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire) that I initially became fascinated with the area. The crag- giness, the backbone. There’s something about the character of the landscape and the nature of the people who live here that attracted me. And, of course, many of my novels take place beside the sea. I used to say the sea was an inexhaustible metaphor, but really that’s not true. I think I may have exhausted it by now! HowhasMainechangedinyoureyesovertheyears?Does itstillholdamagicforyou? The magic hasn’t changed, but I’ve been amazed by the changes in Portland and “…Mental illness, what goes on in the marital bed–no one was talking about those things at that time. I tried to imagine that sense of isolation.” coUrteSy photoS