"Home Front" by Kristin Hannah
Jeff Glor talks to Kristin Hannah about "Home Front."
Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?
Kristin Hannah: Usually when I write a book, I can remember the exact moment the idea came to me. "Home Front" is a little different in that way. I can't remember the second the light bulb came on. I think it was a gradual realization that came from watching the nightly news. As the war in Iraq went on, I watched the stories -- night after night -- of soldiers lost in battle, wounded, and the stories of their families left behind, waiting for them to return. As a mother, I was heartbroken for the men and women and their families. So many of the young soldiers on the news were the same age as my own son, and that hit me really hard. As an American, I was grateful, and as a woman, I began to wonder what it must be like to go off to war and leave your children behind. I can't imagine anything that would be more terrifying and difficult. I realized that I had never read that story, and I wanted to. I wanted to explore the idea of a woman torn between love and honor. So I decided to write it.
JG: What surprised you the most during the writing process?
KH: The most surprising thing about this book was how much it taught me. I don't come from a military family, nor do I know a lot of military families personally, so I was woefully uninformed about what our families and soldiers go through during a deployment. Prior to Home Front, I would have said that I understood something about their lives and their service, but I was wrong in almost everything. I only understood the thinnest layer. I learned so much in the writing of this novel and in researching it. I went to a deployment ceremony and honestly, I think every American should attend one. Watching our soldiers preparing to go off to war, and their families standing alongside to say goodbye, really brings their sacrifice into sharp focus. It is a powerful reminder that whatever one feels about any particular war, we need to always respect and honor our soldiers and their families. Honestly, I felt a little ashamed that I hadn't attended one before. Although, boy, was it difficult. I was humbled by their pride and strength in the face of such an undertaking. It makes you truly consider what heroism is and reminds you to be grateful.
JG: What would you be doing if you weren't a writer?
KH: Honestly, I've been a writer so long now that I can't imagine doing anything else. I truly, deeply love this job. I love the mix of creativity and analysis that is my process; I love researching and editing. I love taking something as elusive and ephemeral as an idea and wrestling it to the ground, turning it into something concrete. The only other job that really speaks to me is being a Supreme Court Justice, and I think I've lost my chance at that one.
JG: What else are you reading right now?
KH: Right now I'm deep in the process of writing the first draft of a new novel. For me, that's the time when everything is up in the air -- characters, plot point, setting, back stories. I have the book' s theme and the main issues that I want to explore, but that's about it. So I'm reading a lot of research books. It's that time of year when my to be read pile starts filling up with all the novels I can't wait to get to. Up next: Lisa Scottoline's "Come Home" and Murakami's "1Q84."
JG: What's next for you?
KH: As you can tell from my previous answer, I'm not quite sure what I'm working on. It's shaping up to be a story-within-a-story novel, which is one of my favorite fictional structures. I'm experimenting with both tense and point of view at the moment, but I have no idea what will remain in the next draft. I've already thrown away two previous drafts. I wish I could give you a lovely little wrap up sentence that distilled my current idea into a single, compelling story. Boy, do I wish I could. I can only tell you that I'm writing about a cast of really interesting characters doing unexpected things ... that's what I've got for now.
For more on "Home Front" visit her website.
