A Conversation with the Author:

Q: Fade to Clear is your third novel with Allen Choice. What made you decide to write this one, and are there others planned?

A: I envisioned a series while writing the first novel, Over the Shoulder, and after finishing the second, Underkill, I saw very clearly the overall trajectory of Allen's life and work, and how he could be fully rendered in an on-going series. So Fade to Clear was already forming in my head even before I finished the second novel. There's something extremely liberating about having a huge canvas, to know I can detail all facets of Allen's life in different novels, no longer forced to the limitations of one novel. There are other novels planned, and I am already beginning the next one.

Q: How many Allen Choice novels do you intend to write?

A: I'm not sure, but it feels like I've only just started to delve into his character and family. What I don't want to do is write the same novel over and over, a natural danger in a series, so it's important for each novel to be an advancement in his life. I think the gauge for me as to whether or not the cycle of novels will be ending is Allen Choice himself--his life and words and actions will determine the length and durability of the series. I'll watch and listen to him.

Q: I notice in all three of these novels the prevalence of memories and flashbacks. Is there any reason for this?

A: I think it's strange to have a character in a novel not have memories and flashbacks. I'll occasionally read novels where the character, particularly a series character, seems to exist in a vacuum, preoccupied only with the contemporary events, and that feels profoundly unrealistic and contrived. Who doesn't have memories that surface? Who doesn't recall vivid scenes of the past with delight or regret? Compound this with a character like Allen, who is naturally contemplative and in many ways obsessed with his unusual past, and you cannot avoid his delving into memory.

Q: This novel moves Allen forward in somewhat unexpected directions. Without giving too much away, what made you decide to have his life develop in this way?

A: Well, this is related to the first question about writing a series. I don't want to write the same novel again, so there absolutely has to be this progression in his life, both professionally and personally. In many ways I sometimes feel as if I have little control, that I'm just following Allen along during these pivotal moments of his life. Therefore, the change in Allen and his relationships are a natural consequence of his simply moving forward. That's part of what's so fun about writing (and reading) a series, since I get to see the long-term development of a character. And it seemed inevitable for Allen's relationship with Serena to develop in some way, since doesn't that happen with all our relationships?

Q: Take us through the process of writing a series. What's involved?

A: It's not too different from writing a stand-alone novel, except that you have the cumulative events and biographical details of the previous novels to build upon. The actual process is fairly simple, and I learned this from my study of John Updike and his Rabbit Angstrom novels. He would decide that it was time to return to his character Harry Angstrom, review the previous novels, then sit down and write the new one. That's more or less what I do, although of course I have neither the lyric fluency nor the gift of a fertile and prolific mind, so sitting down to write a novel is much more of an arduous process for me. And I require to some degree timelines and lists for me to keep track of Allen's history. In the end, though, it's all about getting into Allen's head and seeing where he takes me.

Q: What's next for Allen Choice?

A: If you take what I've hinted at earlier, that I'm just along for the ride as Allen deals with his life and work, and that the seeds of subsequent novels are usually planted early, then you might actually have a good chance at guessing where we'll go from here. Every novel contains the keys to opening the locks of the following sequels, and even though I approach each novel independently and don't require a reader to know what has happened before--they can exist as stand-alone novels if you'd like--I try to connect them not just by character, incident, and history, but by subtle, almost invisible threads linking them. So if the seeds of the second novel were planted in the first, and the sapling of the third was already sprouting in the second, then the fourth novel now under way had many of its stories and issues planted in Fade to Clear. That's a very convoluted and cryptic way for me to say that the new Allen Choice novel had its beginnings here, in Fade to Clear.

Q: One final question. I notice that each Allen Choice novel has a slightly different narrative feel to it, whether it's point-of-view, tense, chronology, or time frame. Is there a reason behind this?

A: Absolutely. Those factors you mentioned aren't-or at least shouldn't be-arbitrary decisions a writer makes when putting together a novel. Each element that goes into the depiction of Allen Choice is something that I've thought quite a bit about, and has a certain meaning and purpose behind it. Part of it has to do with the complexity of Allen developing the more we get to know him. Part of it also has to do with philosophical motivations and my better understanding of the craft of novel writing, and in particular, writing novels with a series character. But it comes down to this: as we get to know Allen Choice more fully, the narrative approaches to him can become more complicated, and thus the perspective, the chronology, and all the elements of fictional renderings can reflect this complexity. Case in point: Over the Shoulder, the first novel in the series, is written in the present tense, first person point of view. The first person was an obvious choice for a noir novel, but was also representative of his limited perspective of events, relationships, and even his own life. Similarly the present tense represented the state in which lived: with very little knowledge or understanding of the past. The other Allen Choice novels have their own logic and reasoning, with their thematic and story elements contributing to the technical components of the writing.

Questions for Discussion:

1. In the opening chapters of the novel there's an extended section on Allen as a nine-year-old. Why do you think the author give us this, and how is it relevant to the rest of the novel? How does it tie into the ending?

2. The novel is written in the third-person point-of-view, and in the present tense. What do you think of this authorial choice, and how did it affect your reading, if at all? What other novels are written in this style? What are the benefits and disadvantages for this approach?

3. The philosophy of Kierkegaard is a thread that runs throughout the narrative. What did you think of Allen's preoccupation with this, and how did it affect your reading and understanding of Allen's character?

4. How did Allen arrive at his conclusions about the communal sphere? Do you agree or disagree with his sentiments? Why?

5. How did the reappearance of Linda cause problems for Allen? Would your reaction have been different had you been Allen? How did you feel about Serena's reaction to Linda's presence?

6. How are the events and issues of Allen's childhood related to his adulthood? Are there childhood events that similarly reverberate into your adulthood, and how would these reverberations manifest themselves?

7. What did you think of Larry's actions in this novel? Were they understandable? Sympathetic? Objectionable?

8. The various relationships in this novel are often strained in various ways. Which relationships did you find the most interesting? How were these relationships strained, if at all, and how did this affect the relationships?

9. How were the issues of race and ethnicity relevant to some of these relationships?

10. Why is the title Fade to Clear?

11. Where do you think the story and characters go on from here?

12. If you've read the previous two novels of the Allen Choice series, how has he changed and developed? What aspects of his personality haven't changed?