"Where'd You Go, Bernadette," by Maria Semple

Jeff Glor talks to Maria Semple about "Where'd You Go, Bernadette."

Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?

Maria Semple: My own misery! We had just moved from Los Angeles, where I was a big fancy comedy writer, to Seattle, where I didn't know a soul. Our daughter was entering preschool, so I was immediately thrust into the hyperactive, PC parenting culture. I felt like I was the disheveled, antisocial mom all the other mothers judged. Worse, I was unable to write and somehow blamed that on Seattle. But the comedy writer in me recognized how funny my misery was. So I created the character of Bernadette Fox, who was going through much of what I was going through myself. I've always loved and agreed with Samuel Beckett's quip, "There's nothing funnier than unhappiness."

JG: What surprised you the most during the writing process?

MS: "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" is an epistolary novel--one told in letters. I had no idea how much fun it would be, puzzling together the plot with letters and documents. I ended up using 30 different voices and fell in love with the form.

JG: What would you be doing if you weren't a writer?

MS: I'd probably be teaching literature. The one constant in my life has been my love of books: reading them, thinking about them, talking about them, holding them, turning people on to new ones. So to have a captive audience would be a dream come true.

JG: What else are you reading right now?

MS: "Skios" by Michael Frayn. He's the writer whose career I most admire in that he writes wonderful novels and biting essays, not to mention the funniest and most provocative plays I've ever seen.

JG: What's next for you?

MS: "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" was surprisingly easy and fun to write because I was feeling such strong emotions. I don't want to even think about writing another novel until I'm in a similar situation. Come on, misery!

For more on "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" visit the Little Brown and Company website.