Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

The Lap no. 40 - D-Day - 9 Weeks

Apr 21, 2023

In The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger writes,

“There are houses in Gloucester where grooves have been worn into the floorboards by women pacing past an upstairs window, looking out to sea.”

Our floor will have no such groove. While I’m away, Dominique will be working on her next novel. Given her typical daily word count, she can expect a first draft to take roughly as long as my trip.

This week, her latest thriller, Dans l’ombre de la nuit, hit shelves in Switzerland and France and is available everywhere online.

We sat down to talk about her new book, moving to Ireland, writing full-time, and what she thinks of my trip.

Charlie: I’ll never forget the suspense when your first story was longlisted, then shortlisted, and then…

Dominique: It was the runner-up for the Prix Zadig, which meant the story was published as a stand-alone book. Part of the prize is a 3-book contract with the French publisher. The one that came out this week is part of that.

Charlie: Everyone said they were going to write a novel in lockdown. You wrote a couple. You work in a rotation, right?

Dominique: Something like that. I try to be editing an older one while letting the latest draft sit for a while.

Charlie: Why crime novels? Is there something in your life you can point to that made you want to write thrillers and not academic papers or something?

Dominique: … Writing academic papers made me not want to write academic papers. I like the freedom of the genre, the way you can combine elements from the “real world” in storytelling: politics, intrigues where we only get to see the exterior. I like writing about Geneva. Paris gets all the attention as an urban setting in French novels… The latest book is about a secret hidden for generations beneath the tranquility most people associate with my hometown.

I write about domestic violence, which happens as much in Geneva as anywhere, sadly. It’s a crime that thrives wherever people tend to mind their own business.

Charlie: You wouldn’t say this about yourself, but you’d for sure be in the “you might also like” section for Stieg Larsson readers.

Dominique: Mais non…

Charlie: So we moved from the only apartment in France without a balcony to winterize an Irish cottage… My family kept asking if you like it here.

Dominique: Our move was the perfect way to focus more seriously on writing. I had always dreamt of a writing cottage in Bretagne (Britanny), but I assumed it would be a getaway after working an office job in a city to carve the time to write. This move, for both of us, was really about saying, “Let’s live somewhere that supports the main things we want to be doing, and we can always make time to visit cities.” After our lockdown experience in a French attic, it was nice to be able to walk outside.

Charlie: When you were writing the first one, we were working in close quarters. But we were pretty good about devoting our mornings to writing and seeing each other at lunch, even though we were in the same room.

You still keep regular office hours. How many words per day?

Dominique: Around 2,000-2,500, Monday-Friday. I get dressed for it. I don’t work in my PJs. It all starts with that morning routine and showing up. The quiet here makes it easy, and the way the light changes with the seasons. Having our own offices helps, even though we made it work before when our shared writing room was also the TV room and the kitchen.

Charlie: It’s like breaking down a coastline in daily mileage, knowing what you’re capable of. When we talked about this trip as the perfect amount of time for the draft of a novel, I felt a lot better about being away this long.

What was your first thought when I started training for The Lap?

Dominique: It was hard to imagine initially. I didn’t fully understand the scale of it. I don’t think you did either at first.

Charlie: Definitely not.

Dominique: I look at how seriously you’re taking it, and that’s enough for me not to worry too much. I became okay with the situation by seeing the work you’re putting in.

Charlie: What would be your advice for someone who wants to support their partner doing something like this that makes them worry?

Dominique: I would say start by taking an honest look at their attitude. Without that seriousness I mentioned, I don’t know if I would have been so supportive.

Charlie: In that way, it’s the same as writing. It’s easier to support someone’s writing if they commit to a daily practice and follow through.

Dominique: YES! But assuming they’re putting in the work, try to learn something from watching the project unfold.

Charlie: What have you learned?

Dominique: This isn’t a usual thing. I don’t know anyone who’s done something like this or anyone who’s been in my situation at home. It’s been cool to watch the different pieces come together, the sponsorship and fundraising. It’s interesting everything that goes into a trip like this.

At the end of the day, I’ve seen enough of the work to know you mean it when you say you have to do this!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Thank you, Team Fox donors! 🦊

Thank you to everyone who donated to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research this week: Oonagh Paulson and Maria Hurley.

April is Parkinson’s awareness month. Earlier this week, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research featured me in their fundraising newsletter.