Visiting with Cheryl Spanos

by Claire Guyton, Art + Life Editor

Editor’s Note – Given the influence of Greek culture on Cheryl’s story, I suggested she share a few favorite photos of a recent trip to Greece. They accompany her replies to my questions about inspiration, process, and favorite reads.

What inspired “Bones in the Cellar”?

“Bones” began as a writing exercise. The story of two children, a scary blacksmith, and a dare developed from a short, initial prompt. But even I didn’t know what Mr. Pappas was hiding in his root cellar. The story sat half-finished for months, until a curious burial custom provided the inspiration for the rest. In Greece, where land is at a premium, the dead are not permanently interred in a cemetery. Instead, remains are exhumed after one year, then boxed and stored by the Orthodox Church.

Tell us about your writing process—either generally or specifically with regard to the birth and development of this story.

All my stories start with an idea or scene that plays out in my head. Sometimes I know where the story is going, but often I only have a vague idea of how it’s going to end. I let the story unfold and the characters go where they want. At some point I reach an “aha!” moment, and then I know how the story will end and I outline the rest. Of course, this can lead to dead ends and false starts, but it can also lead to surprising places.

Is there something you would love to write about but you can’t? Or something that you did write about but you wish you hadn’t?

There are lots of funny stories that I could tell about my kids, but I have to be very careful there. That doesn’t mean that I don’t borrow from real life, but I do make a conscious effort to avoid revealing things about my children that could embarrass them.

Something that I did write about but wish I hadn’t? Not yet. I’ve learned something from everything that I’ve written, even the stories that didn’t work. But that doesn’t mean that I would try to publish every one. Some stuff is so bad that I’ll never show another soul. And some writing is just for me.

Do you have any guilty reading pleasures?

Given a choice between a MG/YA novel and a “grown-up” read, I’ll take the MG/YA almost every time. I discovered these so-called “children’s” novels while reading to my own kids. Nowadays, I can borrow from their bookshelves or scour the children’s section of the library or bookstore with them. I’m a sucker for a good fantasy or a fractured fairy tale, especially one with humor.

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*Contact Claire with any questions or suggestions for Hunger Mountain’s Art + Life section at hungermtnal@gmail.com.

For more author visits, click here.

To read more YA and Children’s Literature, click here.