Q&A: Marcy Dermansky '91

Cheryl Sternman Rule '92 recently caught up with writer Marcy Dermansky '91, whose second novel, Bad Marie (Harper Perennial, 2010), chronicles the exploits of the morally suspect nanny-cum-outlaw of the title. In addition to Marie, Dermansky introduces readers to a colorful supporting cast—the innocent toddler Caitlin, the reckless Frenchman Benoît, his unsuspecting wife, Ellen, the Mexican bank robber Juan Jose—all of whom contribute in their own quirky and questionable ways to the wild romp as the story unfolds.

A film critic and writing coach when she's not penning novels, Dermansky lives in Astoria, N.Y., with her husband, writer Jürgen Fauth, and their daughter, Nina.

Cheryl Sternman Rule: How do you get yourself so intimately inside the heads of your characters?

Marcy Dermansky: My characters seem real to me. They exist in a funny sort of way, and I hear them as I walk or as I swim. This happens once I start writing. Their voices don't talk to me immediately, and I don't have the characters planned in advance. It's not a straightforward, linear process.

CSR: With your first novel, Twins, under your belt, what was the process you went through to conceive and then complete Bad Marie? Was it easier, or more difficult?

MD: I thought it would be easier, but writing a novel turned out to be just as hard the second time around. In some ways it was harder, because there were expectations of me that I didn't have to deal with the first time.  At one point in the novel, Marie thinks:“Why was success required of a person? And once you were successful, life required you to do it again and again.” That was me worrying about the same thing.

CSR: Bad Marie shows that you're clearly a fan of black humor. What about this style of writing, or character development, excited you?

MD: I think I must have a dark side. Sometimes I make jokes and people don't understand that they're jokes. I get funny looks. There's been a lot of talk about Marie not being a sympathetic character. I knew I had a dark story line, but I am surprised that people don't find her sympathetic. I do hope that by the end of the book they'll care about her.

CSR: Why did you choose to set so much of the novel in France, and to make the main male character, Benoît Doniel, French?

MD: A lot of it was just having fun. I was writing about things I love, and things that interest me. As a film critic, I went through a period where my favorites were contemporary French films. Antoine Doinel, for example, is the name of a character in a series of Truffaut films. There's a contemporary French actor that I admire named Benoît Magimel. So I used his name, too. When Marie says,“I just love saying his name,” I was paying homage to French cinema. I was writing a French movie to some extent.

CSR: I understand you have a 1-year-old daughter, Nina. What's your daily writing schedule like? MD: It can be a little chaotic, because my husband is a writer as well and also works from home. Before Nina was born, I spent my time editing the book. The copy edits were due right after she was born. And there's a lot of work even now that the book is out—doing interviews, writing articles. I wish I could tell you it's all beautiful and easy, but it's definitely been tricky.

CSR: Where do you write?

MD: I used to work at a space in Manhattan called The Writers Room, but now I write at home and in cafés in my neighborhood. In New York, with tight real estate and small apartments, if you wait until you find ideal, dreamy writing conditions before you start, you'll be so old and comfortable you won't want to write anyway.

CSR: Your work has gotten a lot of attention in the mainstream press. How difficult is it to find an audience and get your work out there?

MD: I'm thrilled to have been covered in Time magazine and The New York Times. Plus, there's social media and online networking, so if you're not getting the coverage you want, you can do it yourself through Facebook and Twitter. As a writer, it's so important to participate in your own publicity. It makes a huge difference.

CSR: What advice do you have for budding novelists currently at Haverford or Bryn Mawr?

MD: You have to be determined. And don't go to grad school if it's going to put you into debt. I had a teaching assistantship, so I was essentially paid to go to school—but don't go into debt to be a writer. Just believe in yourself—it's so corny!— but you also have to work hard. You can't treat writing like a hobby.

CSR: What do you like best about being a full-time writer? MD: My favorite part is the actual writing. I love sitting at my computer, alone with my book, making things up. It's thrilling to make up stories.

—Cheryl Sternman Rule '92 is a California food writer whose blog can be found at 5secondrule.typepad.com