Author Carol DeMent has taken time out of her busy schedule to talk about her book Saving Nary, which is now available on Amazon!
When did you become interested in storytelling?
I always like to write things down but storytelling didn’t really occur to me until I felt the urge to tell a particular story, that of the refugees who survived the Cambodian genocide.
What was your first book/story published?
“Savng Nary” is my first full-length novel. I’ve had a few articles and stories published in professional journals and cycling newspapers here and there over the last twenty years.
What inspired you to write “Saving Nary”?
In the late 1980’s I was working at a refugee center non-profit in Olympia, Washington, helping to resettle refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This was right after I had come from two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, so I was very familiar with the cultures and the issues the refugees had lived through and were now facing. Their stories were heartbreaking and planted the seeds for the book I would later write.
What character in "Saving Nary" is the most/least like you, and in what ways?
I would say Gail is most like me because we both taught English to refugees and had a “hook” that enabled us to move quickly and more deeply into friendship with our students. For me, it was having lived in SE Asia; for Gail, it was her handicap and how matter-of-factly the Cambodians accepted her – without pity or embarrassment. Also, we both have a bit of the rebel in us!
What is your favorite part in "Saving Nary"?
Well, my initial try at answering this question gave away a major plot point, so I am going to be a little vague here. But I love the party scene, where the protagonist, Khath, sees a photo of a person he believes may have been Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The ensuing chaos destroys a perfectly wonderful celebration and pulls the plot into darker territory. And just when things were starting to go so well for our protagonist!!
What was the hardest part to write?