A Short Interview w/ Andrea Cavedo
Bonus material for Cavedo's story, “Geminids,” published on 4/21.
If you haven’t already, read the story now… then read our short interview about the story:
“Geminids” by Andrea Cavedo
She told her parents where she’s going, of course she did. She is a good girl, so the way she told them was by asking them permission, rather than coming out with it directly. She saw her mother’s face go quite still and her father’s hands work against his placemat. He flattened his palms, then tented them together, then half-folded, half-pointed his fingers, then tented them again. Here is the church, here is the steeple, here is the church. The doors do not open. The people remain hidden.
Jessica Dawn: We usually start by asking about where the idea for this story came from, and you've already given us a hint in that this story was inspired by some real moments from your youth. Can you tell us a bit about the journey from those memories to this story?
Andrea Cavedo: This story was initially inspired by two real-life experiences. A few years ago, I was driving home to visit my parents in Wisconsin before Christmas. It was dark, the kids were asleep in the backseat, we were on a two-lane country highway maybe 20 miles out from my hometown (right in the middle of the state, so kind of in the middle of nowhere) and I saw a huge blue-green meteor. I know it was real, because my husband caught a glimpse of it too. I have seen many falling stars, but never anything quite like this one. And then up ahead, the road was closed — very unusual, a big temporary flashing sign and detour on even smaller county roads. In doing some Googling later that night about the road closure, I read that that night was the peak of the Geminids meteor shower, which I assume the meteor was part of, and which shook loose an older memory. When I was in high school, I really did watch this same winter meteor shower with a group of friends way out in the country. The guy who hosted had a hot tub, though I have a stronger memory of sitting in sleeping bags on the deck and staring up at the sky. I started working on this story after that trip back to my hometown, and the characters and narrative emerged in the writing. Maisie’s arc also owes a great debt to my being a hapless teenage horndog.
What an experience! Have you ever chased down more information about that specific blue-green meteor or does it feel better to leave a little mystery to it? I love that it brought back that older memory, too, and the way both experiences were pulled into this story. Aaron has this idea that I’ve really gotten attached to that surprise is an important element in a good story, specifically the writer being surprised by places the story goes while writing. Were there instances while writing that brought up specific memories like the genesis you told us about, or places the story took unexpected turns while writing?
