The quarter turn of the screw has to do with the invention of the telephone. Had another inventor adjusted his screw a quarter turn it would have correctly allowed a continuous current to flow, which somehow would have enabled sound, and that inventor would have been credited with inventing the phone instead of Graham Bell. Why shouldn't the same sort of thing apply to my story? So, I planted this question in my mind and let my unconscious germinate. When, I took Night Swim out of the drawer, yet again, the minor adjustment came to me and had to do with framing the beginning of my novel in present time. After that, the novel felt right and complete.

JH: What did you start with first, a character or the plot?

JK: I never start with plot, not consciously anyway. I start with a feeling, a bundle of emotions that won't go away. That bundle includes problems and struggles that need to be worked out by characters in relationships, and which ultimately shape the story's plot. Characters are vehicles for solving or not solving an emotional puzzle. For me, character is queen in a story's universe. They rule the story and drive the plot.

JH: Did anything surprise you about the story, or one of the characters, by the time you finished writing this novel?

JK: I love this question because I'm having trouble answering it. My story is about a family dealing with grief. I think I was surprised by what happened between my protagonist and the housekeeper, and also how the protagonist faced her difficulties. I also didn't expect how the siblings of the main character would take on distinct, supporting roles.

JH: How important was it to you to get this novel published, even though you are an accomplished nonfiction author? How much faith was involved in sticking with the novel?

JK: I've published a lot of short fiction, too, but publishing a novel turned into my holy grail. With each passing year, it started to matter too much. By that I mean, the desire to publish the novel overtook the desire to be centered and fulfilled by the writing itself. Writers live with rejection, but the question is for how long? I had no inkling it would take me as long as it did. In fact, Night Swim is not my "first" novel. I wrote another one that's in my closet.

This leads me to your question about faith—it took a far larger measure of faith than I ever imagined when I started out, and frankly, I'm still having a hard time grasping how long it took. I credit my husband for teaching me about not giving up. He supported me during times of despair and despondency. He told me stories about other people who overcame adversities to achieve something. He posted sayings around the house. All these gestures truly helped. Faith is invisible but it's a feeling inside you that allows you to connect with what's important: passion, your cause, your community, your partner.

JH: What advantages have you found in publishing with a small press? Challenges?

JK: The advantage has been a sense of control and freedom. It's been fabulously liberating in many ways-personally, professionally, artistically. Challenges are more like worries. Will reviewers be hesitant to review my novel simply because it's coming from a small, new press? At the same time, publishing has seen a lot of winning novels from small presses.

I think my challenges are pretty similar to all writers releasing their books into the marketplace or anyone putting out a product they believe in that they hope others will buy. Will enough people hear about my novel? Will my novel generate decent sales? In the end, I remind myself that it's the work that matters first, the creating, and the doing. But I still wrote my books to be read by others. Small or large press, if a story resonates, it will find an audience.

JH: What's the last book you read, just for fun?

JK: Pride and Prejudice for the seventh time. I read it on my Kindle this time. What I discovered that I hadn't seen before is a level of forgiveness in all the characters in this story. I knew that the main lovers (Elizabeth and Darcy) overcame their personal prejudices, but so did many other characters in the story. In that way, the story is still very au current in the way that it deals with people who break rules, or misbehave, or test limits, or cross class limits and are somehow re-accepted, reincorporated into society and life goes on. I wish this happened more in our world today.

JH: What's the one true thing you learned from writing this novel?

JK: Looking back at all the years I stuck with this story, I think I've learned how deeply I believed in this novel. I believed in the emotions that drove the story and the characters who lived those emotions. Maybe it was hubris on my part, but I just couldn't shake that belief or maybe the story couldn't shake me!

Jessica is giving away two free copies of her novel. Email her and she will draw two winners by the end of the month.

Jessica Keener’s fiction has been listed in The Pushcart Prize under “Outstanding Writers.” Writing awards include a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist’s Grant Program, a Joan Jakobson Scholarship from Wesleyan Writers Conference; and second prize in Redbook magazine’s fiction contest. For more than a dozen years her feature articles have appeared in The Boston Globe, Design New England, O, the Oprah magazine and other national magazines. This is her debut novel.  Please visit her website: www.jessicakeener.com.