Interview: Sarah Miller

Sarah Miller is the author of the debut novel, Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller. She loves reading and Audrey Hepburn (do I sense a virtual twin?). You can visit her online at her blog or MySpace. Also: read my review of Miss Spitfire.

What inspired you to write MISS SPITFIRE?

I bet you’ve noticed I like to tell this story. ;)
Miss Spitfire got started when I saw The Miracle Worker on stage at MeadowBrook Theatre in October of 1998. We came to the end, that famous scene with the water pump, and when the audience stood up to applaud, I realized I was crying. I don’t do that. And it’s not like the climax of the play was a surprise – I’d seen the movie, and I knew the story – but bam! there it was, and I got it. When I saw Helen’s mind fill with words, I understood for the first time what it was like to be empty of language, and the notion fascinated me. It still does, in fact -- nine years later, I still have the ticket stub, and the movie still makes me cry.
So that night I went home, broke into the public library (actually, I worked there at the time, so I just let myself in the front door) and picked up Helen Keller’s autobiography as well as both film versions of The Miracle Worker. I promptly watched both movies back-to-back while leafing through The Story of My Life, and before I knew it, I was hooked in my very obsessive way. When I get hooked, I go whole hog, so I read all the books I could get my hands on, took all the sign language classes my university offered, taught myself Braille, and changed my major to linguistics.
The thing is, the more I read about Helen, the more I saw how much of Anne Sullivan’s story is still mostly unknown, despite the fact that Annie’s early life is every bit as tragic and fascinating as Helen’s. Annie spent five decades in the shadow of Helen’s fame, yet even Helen herself didn’t know the whole truth about her teacher’s past until they’d been together almost 40 years. So I decided I wanted to give Annie the chance to tell her own story, without being overpowered by Helen.

What about Annie Sullivan Macy inspires you most, and how can you relate to her?

That’s a humdinger! I’ve slept on it, mulled it over all day, and I still haven’t come up with a solid answer. I guess I’ll just blather a while and see where it takes me…

There’s a whole heap of admirable/inspirational qualities when you’re talking about Annie Sullivan: she was determined, loyal, devoted, spontaneous, dedicated, and on and on. But that’s not so much what interests me. Annie was also a lonely, needy, contradictory person. She’s remembered as a miracle worker, but Helen’s friendship was as much a miracle for Annie as that revelation at the pump was to the rest of the world. It’s amazing to me that these two people who fit together so perfectly found each other. Because of the limited technology and accessibility of her era, Helen Keller needed a very particular brand of assistance that required almost constant physical contact for her entire life. And Annie was not only willing to do that – it was precisely what she craved. I guess you could say that inspires me – the fact that out of desperation, Annie traveled hundreds of miles from what little home she had in order to take on a job she wasn’t prepared for, and yet ended up finding exactly what she needed most.

How do I relate to her? That’s even harder to answer. So many of the things that define Annie Sullivan don’t apply to me – I’m not lonely, Irish, blind, or an orphan. Annie was in many ways a very broken and wounded person, and I don’t feel that way at all. But I do feel like I understand her (at least so far as it’s possible to understand a tremendously contrary person you’ve never met). There’s a line early in her biography that struck me: “ ‘I have always played with dolls,’ she confesses.” Annie said that when she was in her sixties. In fact, she used to sit up nights, rocking and singing to them. To me, that exposed just how very needy Annie was. Even after forty-some years with Helen, she still had this quiet desperation to give and receive love. It’s really sort of sad and wonderful all at once, and I can’t help loving her for it.

Some chapters were intense to read - for instance, the first showdown between Annie and Helen at the breakfast table. Were any certain scenes particularly intense for you to write?

There were, but maybe not the scenes you’d expect. I actually enjoyed writing some of the showdown scenes because I could really go wild. Helen had no limits, and I had a good time taking advantage of that.

The scenes that got me were the emotional hot spots for Annie. There’s a place in chapter 16, when Annie’s trying to put Helen to bed, and Helen just won’t get into the same bed with her. After more than an hour of battle, Annie goes ragged with fury and frustration, and shouts, “You’re the monster here, not me!” I was right there with her on that one – it was one of those lines I didn’t have to think about. It just arrived.

Another scene that gets to me is right near the end, when Helen asks for Annie’s name, because Annie’s suddenly given the chance to define herself, and she does it. There’s a lot of weight to that moment, and also the following moment when Helen learns her own name for the first time.

But the big one is the very end. It still makes me cry every now and then when I read it. I know, that sounds goofy – I’m the one who wrote it, for Pete’s sake. But what can I say? It surprises me, too.

How long did it take you to write the book?

I suppose that depends on how you look at it. I started writing on April 5th of 2002, and I finished the first draft on May 29th of the following year. By August, I had a second draft done, which Donna Jo Napoli read and commented on. Once I worked her suggestions into the story, I started submitting the manuscript. I believe that was around September of 2003.

I really enjoyed your writing style. Have you had formal writing training? If so, where and what?

Well, thanks! I had a semester of creative writing in high school, but that’s about it.

I also consider myself an unofficial graduate of the heretofore unknown Casey Leigh Floyd School of Voice. I roomed with Casey when we both worked as interns at Walt Disney World, and we’ve kept in touch ever since. When I read her emails and blog, it’s like she’s sitting right next to me. They just ooze Essence of Casey. The personality she can pack into a few lines of random chitchat always knocks my socks off. I keep telling her she could be the next Georgia Nicholson or Bridget Jones, but I’m not sure she believes me yet.
What are you working on writing next?

My next concoction is a story about the daughters of the last tsar of Russia – the grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna.

Oh goodness, I can't wait! What's your favorite thing about being a writer?

So far, I’ve spent my time writing about real people – people I’m fascinated with, and become quite fond of by the time I’m done. I love the idea of spreading that fascination, and of maybe even forming a sort of vicarious friendship between my characters and my readers.

Thank you so much for your time and answers, Sarah!