Turn the page
for an exciting Q&A
with Sandi Ward!
How did you come up with the idea for The Astonishing Thing?
The idea of writing from a cat’s point of view came to me after I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident is an amazing book that allows the reader to get inside the head of an autistic young man who looks at the world from a unique perspective. I loved the idea of using an unconventional narrator.
I decided to write a story from a cat’s point of view as she tries to solve a mystery. In this case, Boo’s mother goes out one day and doesn’t return. Boo wants to know: What happened to my mother?
As I wrote more of the story, I realized that Boo’s point of view was similar to that of a perceptive child. She understands a lot of what’s going on with her humans—but not everything. Boo doesn’t know much about mental illness, or divorce, or what exactly is wrong with baby Finn. So the reader must go on a journey with Boo, piecing together clues until the story becomes clear.
How easy was it to write a novel from a cat’s point of view? Did you have to do any sort of research?
It was easy to write scenes where Boo is observing her family interacting. I just had to get her down on the floor, or up on the back of the couch, and make sure she was physically located somewhere a cat would want to be. It was a little harder to make sure Boo was a character who had an active role within the bigger story. Let’s face it—cats are limited in what they can do. Boo is not a big golden retriever who can pull a drowning boy out of a lake. But Boo can climb into a lap to comfort her humans and give them unconditional love when they experience emotional highs and lows. She can demand to be noticed, tipping over a photograph to get attention, or hiss and scratch to make her opinions known. Boo considers herself to be an important member of the family, no matter how small she is.
My only “research” was observing my cat Winnie. For example, the boom boom boom boom sound Boo makes while going down the stairs is the noise Winnie makes when she’s bounding down our stairs in the dead of night.
As far as Boo’s personality goes, I think most people imagine their cats to be devoted and affectionate at heart—but with a little bit of attitude. Boo loves her family, but she’s also sarcastic and judgmental at times, and that gives her voice some humor.
How long did it take you to write the book?
I wrote the first draft quickly, in a few months, but it was too short to be a novel. I then took a few additional months to expand the story to book length. I always spend more time editing than writing, so I went on making revisions for over a year while at the same time starting new projects.
Were any particular parts of the book easier to write than others? Harder?
Tommy’s scenes were the most emotionally draining to write. Carrie’s medications don’t always work well. Her words and behavior sometimes break Tommy’s heart. But Tommy doesn’t blame Carrie for being ill. Instead, he blames himself for being unable to manage her better. And he definitely doesn’t like talking about it! So I needed to portray how trapped and hopeless he felt, and sometimes I felt like I was stuck right there with him.
I enjoyed writing scenes with Carrie, because she brings a certain energy with her when she enters a room—she’s often very up or very down. It was important to me that readers see her as a complete person, to get a glimpse of her strengths as a wife and mother as well as her more challenging behaviors. I hope that comes across.
The easier scenes to write were those involving the two teenagers, Jimmy and Mary. They were the most fun to spend time with. Readers often tell me that Jimmy is their favorite character. He’s easygoing and funny, and handles his problems with a lightness and grace that I think people would like to have themselves. I have teenagers at home, and I know from experience that they can be very resilient.
The ending was also satisfying to write. While the novel explores the darker ways mental illness can tear a family apart, I hope it also sends the message that families can repair themselves. It’s a story about being strong enough to get help and make changes, even when those changes are painful.
Are you working on a new novel? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
My next novel is also told from the point of view of a cat! But it is a different cat, named Lily, and tells the story of a different family.
Just as Mother was Boo’s favorite person in the world, Lily has a best friend: a sensitive, fourteen-year-old boy named Charlie. Lily sees that Charlie has bruises he hides from his family, and she assumes that he is being bullied in school. She makes it her mission to find out who is hurting Charlie and help him put a stop to it. But along the way, Lily discovers that her family has even more pressing issues to deal with.
Like The Astonishing Thing, it’s a story about a family that falls apart and must figure out how to put itself back together. There will be drama, romance, and I hope a few surprises along the way.
So, the most important question: Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Ha ha. This is, of course, the most important question!
I grew up with cats. Unfortunately, the woods of northern Massachusetts are not the most hospitable place for cats to live. We had one cat killed by a neighborhood dog, and another who fell through thin ice. But our next two cats lived many years.
Right now we have one cat, Winnie (who stays indoors), and one dog, Jasper. I don’t want to insult Jasper by saying I’m a cat person. Yet the truth is, Jasper is a small, fluffy lap dog and a couch potato. He’s about as close to a cat as a dog can get.