Banned Books, Sibling Bonds, and Bitterroot: An Interview with Suzy Vitello
Some of you may already know Suzy Vitello, an author, developmental editor, and staple of the Portland writing community. She has been a pillar of wisdom in my own writing. Recently, I had the pleasure of chatting with her about her new novel BITTERROOT, a true page turner in which nothing is predictable. I was happy to learn some new things about her in the following interview.
DG: BITTERROOT, your new novel, emerges from a particular setting, both remote and infamous in the current political climate. Can you talk about choosing the setting. Also, does the setting become its own character?
SV: Dian, special attention to setting in our stories is something you and I have in common, I think.
In the case of BITTERROOT, today’s political climate (Northern Idaho in particular), and its effects on both reproductive healthcare and the specter of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, made the decision an obvious one for me.
Also, the area is known for extreme beauty and buried riches, making it a historically favored location for exploitation. That, combined with rugged terrain, the boom-and-bust nature of the West generally, and the interdependence that exists in a small, rural community created the perfect recipe for a dramatic novel. So yes, in a sense, my fictional town of Steeplejack—based somewhat on the silver mining town of Wallace—elbowed into the story as a moody, attention-demanding character.
DG: Were you focused on the current political climate when you conceived of this story?
SV: Absolutely. Right now, there is legislation being bandied about in Idaho that would force librarians to relocate books with “objectionable content” to a restricted area open to adults only, thereby treating a book like Red, White and Royal Blue, for instance, as hardcore porn. An earlier bill, (oddly numbered 666), threatened librarians and teachers with arrest should a minor come into contact with such a book while in a school or public library. Not only is this a slippery slope that only ends in outright book-banning, but these draconian laws tiptoe up to banishing bodily autonomy. Already it’s nearly impossible to find an OBGYN in rural Idaho due to looming anti-abortion laws that seek to scrutinize medical professionals who treat women with such life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancy.
Basically, I put my fury about all of this into the story, and chose characters who live on the margins, and are therefore most vulnerable to having their lives unravel whether due to unjust laws, oppressive politics, or religiously-based fear mongering.
DG: Talk about the decision to make your protagonist a twin and then the further decision to make the twins fraternal—brother/sister—and half-Japanese. The brother gay.
SV: At its heart, Bitterroot is a family story. My main character, Hazel, is half-Japanese, but white-passing. She’s married to her high school sweetheart Ethan, which affords her membership to Steeplejack’s “notable families.” But at the beginning of the novel, Ethan dies in a car crash, and from there, things get increasingly complicated.
Hazel’s twin brother Kento is a gay man. He’s married and lives in Seattle, but he triggers friction with his sister when he hires his former high school girlfriend, Corinda, as a surrogate for a baby. This ends up being a huge red flag due to Corinda’s affiliation with an alt-right militia.
Later in the novel, Hazel uncovers hidden family secrets about her grandparents’ forced internment during World War II, mirroring the same racism and prejudice that threaten to strip Kento and his husband of their basic rights to their baby. Having experienced some of the same conundrums as Hazel (sudden loss of spouse at a young age, generational trauma due to parental and grandparental war-related displacement, and LGBTQ family members directly affected by religion-based anti-gay policies), I wanted to explore these tensions via a character struggling with her own burgeoning sense of self.
Also, I’ve always been fascinated by the twin bond. My own sister, now passed, was two years younger than me, but she was my first best friend. As we moved a lot throughout childhood, we were each other’s constant. As we grew to adulthood, we chose drastically different paths. Different ideologies and politics. But I’ve always thought that sharing a womb, and the necessary physical closeness of newborn twins, adds another layer of intensity to the sibling bond.
DG: Professionally, your protagonist works as a forensic artist. Is this a profession known to you? Part of your experience? Was this a way to get into the criminal system?
SV: Hazel not only has a career in forensic sketch art, but holds a fascination for Kusôzu—which is the artistic rendering of decaying corpses. I have zero experience in the field of forensics, but I, too, found these Kusôzu renderings fascinating, and I thought, what a cool obsession to have. Also, it helped illustrate one of the central themes: the different ways in which people deal with death culturally.
DG: Did the story’s central dilemma relate at your own personal story? In other words, is Idaho part of your background and/or do the Bitterroot Mountains hold special meaning for you?
I have a bit in common with Hazel, and I did have family who lived in Sandpoint, ID for a few years. I’ve been in and/or through the panhandle several times, and I’m drawn to mountain towns generally. Perhaps the biggest commonality is displacement. My paternal grandparents and my father were forced from Austria right before WW II due to the persecution of Jews. Though my grandfather’s family had converted to Lutheranism early in the twentieth century, both his parents were born Jews. According to Ancestry.com, I’ve a fair amount of that DNA also. I guess you could say there was a wee bit of generational trauma in having to leave family behind in Vienna, which (probably) accounted for my grandmother’s bitterness. My father returned to Austria for medical school, and I was born there, living in an apartment in the International District until the age of six. My formative years were spent among a delicious array of cultures and languages.
DG: What does a perfect writing day look like for you?
SV: With my latest project, I’ve given myself a mandate to write 500 words a day, which should culminate in a first draft by the end of summer. I try to write at the day’s start, before news and tasks and whatever else scuttles my way. But I am also a book coach and an editor, so some days I’m working on other writers’ novels or memoirs, but I do try to get to my own pages first. (And by pages, we’re talking two or three, so not overwhelming.) My favorite place to marinate when I’m figuring out a scene is my backyard hot tub. I’ve made huge character decisions while soaking. What a life, right? One of the benefits of being over 60: a diminishing need to attend to perceived errands.
DG: How much research, if any, was required for this story?
SV: So much! The politics alone are a moving target. I also read quite a bit about the Japanese nisei soldiers who fought for the United States while their families were rounded up and sent to internment camps. Again, generational trauma is such an insidious legacy, and I really loved diving into the backstories of Hazel’s and Kento’s grandparents and great-grandparents to excavate the roots of their bitterness. (Bitter Root get it?)
DG: What advice would you give a new writer regarding tackling a novel that has political implications?
SV: Well, there’s the research aspect. Getting eyes on source material (I used some of my own family’s correspondence in the 60’s to establish tone). When it comes to media, I like to investigate the actual language in bills and policies. I would say, don’t be afraid of the rabbit holes. Oh, and also, try to end on a hot note. A place where you feel energized rather than exhausted. It makes the next day’s returning to the page easier.
DG: You are a seasoned writer. How does BITTERROOT fit into your canon?
SV: It’s the first novel of mine purposefully not set, at least partially, in Portland, so that’s new. But, I seem to be drawn to themes of assisted fertility. BITTERROOT, and my next book, THE BEQUEST (out in 2025 from Running Wild Press), and, indeed, the one I’m writing now, all have IVF or some other form of assisted fertilization procedure in the narrative. Go figure.
DG: Where/when are your in-person and on-line events taking place?
SV: Thanks for asking. So far, all in person.
My inaugural event is at Cedar Hills Powell’s on May 23rd at 7:00 pm.
Then I fly to New York for a Story Night event in Manhattan (at Churchill Tavern on Memorial Day, May 27th at 7:00 pm).
Then, on June 25th, I’ll be at Broadway Books at 6:00 pm.
I’ll be dashing out to Montana right after that, to teach a workshop in Hamilton from June 27th - 30th, including an evening event with Chapter One Books on June 29th.
That’s the start of it, but as more events are added, you can check here.
New York Story Night can’t wait to have Suzy next Monday. It’s a privilege!
Great interview!