Andrew David MacDonald Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Andrew David MacDonald discusses his first novel, When We Were Vikings, an uplifting debut about an unlikely heroine.

When We Were Vikings is such a well-crafted, perfectly paced novel. How did this story evolve for you as a writer?

The novel grew out of a short story, though it was written from the perspective of the character who would eventually evolve into Gert. At the time I thought I was writing about people I didn't know. A couple years after I finished the story, I realized that Gert's resentment about sacrificing aspects of his own life to take care of Zelda mirrored my own resentment towards a family member whom my brother and I had to take care of, in many respects, when we were teenagers.

I tend not to write about my own life, at least not explicitly, so it was surprising to see much of my internal world reflected in a story that initially seemed so foreign. From there, I started wondering about Zelda and Gert. Were they any closer to achieving their hopes and dreams, to finding love and acceptance out there in the world? From the bits and pieces I wrote to try and answer those questions, Zelda's voice started coming through. Eventually those bits and pieces became When We Were Vikings.

Zelda seems to transcend the page and feels completely real, like someone the reader actually knows. Tell us about the process of ...