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Exactly one year ago today, Dana Gynther released her debut novel, CROSSING ON THE PARIS. The story follows three women as they take life-altering journeys on the SS Paris (one in first class, one in second, and one in steerage), from Le Havre to Manhattan in 1921.
In honor of the novel’s one-year anniversary, Dana is celebrating by baking a red velvet cake and kicking off Skipping Midnight’s author interview series. Enjoy!
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1. It’s been a year since you released your debut novel, CROSSING ON THE PARIS, to stellar reviews. How has your life changed since you achieved the dream? How has it remained the same?
It has been extremely fulfilling to know that my writing is being read outside my circle of friends and family—that my book is available (or checked out!) at most US libraries, that book clubs are discussing it, that thousands of people have chosen to buy it, that it is being translated into Russian. But beyond that mind candy, my life has changed very little. That is mostly due to the fact that I live abroad—I’ve spent the last twenty years in Valencia, Spain—and have not yet been able to stroll into a bookshop and see my work on the shelf (that must be so exciting!), much less do readings or other events. It’s been frustrating… and something I intend to remedy the next time around.
2. Writing about multiple protagonists is a daunting task for a debut novelist. How did you decide to format the story this way, and why do you think it worked?
I had the idea for this novel while translating a museum catalog on ocean liners—their history, sociology, and aesthetics. While doing those articles, I found their most interesting aspect to be the huge contrast in the accommodations and services from First to Third class. Of course, anyone who wanted to cross oceans back then had to take a steamer—from famous millionaires to humble immigrants—and the conditions differed accordingly. That was what I wanted to explore when I decided to write this novel. Continue reading
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