Interview With Cheryl Anne Gardner, Author Of "The Thin Wall"

Interview With Cheryl Anne Gardner, Author Of "The Thin Wall"

Cheryl is the author of four novellas. Her love affAir with literature began at a young age with such iconic authors as Poe, Kafka, Lovecraft, and de Sade. Those deep, dark, penitent stories of suffering and enlightenMent moved her to pursue her passion for writing.

Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Cheryl. "The Thin Wall" is quite an engaging book and even controversial. To begin, will you tell us the basic setting and plot that the book opens with?

Cheryl: Thank you for having me Tyler. The book opens with five friends enjoying a typical Friday night at the local pub. I chose this singular setting as it is a customary and relatable relieve setting for most people. I can remember many a night enjoying the business of my own friends in the local pub. I wanted the reader to feel relaxed, as if they were part of the group, sharing a drink and feeling included in the intimate conversation. In this opportunity scene, I can pull the reader into the dialog, introduce all of the characters, showcase some of their singular idiosyncrasies, and lay the foundation for the group dynamic. And it is this group dynamic which is extremely foremost to the story. All five have very distinct careers, aspirations, and struggles, but they are bonded to each other in a tasteless perspective: They firmly believe "to each his own-between consenting adults of course." And all of the characters struggle against what community deems normal. Population their age should be settled down, married with children, allowable Jobs, allowable homes, and all the other standards of normal society. But they believe that normal is a matter of opinion, especially when it comes to self-expression, as we have three artists among the group: A writer, a musician, and a painter.

Tyler: Before we discuss the book further, I understand you don't think the book as "erotica" although our reviewer here at Reader Views described it as such. Why would you argue "The Thin Wall" isn't erotica?

Cheryl: While there is a great deal of sexual imagery within the story, the story is an intense character study, and the sex acts themselves are not described in descriptive detail, as it is in mainstream erotica. I have read a great deal of erotica to know the difference. I prefer written sex to be portrayed as a fluid more emotional experience, leaving much of the body language, positions, and descriptions to the imagination. We all know the anatomy of a sex act, so I don't feel the need to narrate it ad infinitum. However, erotica fans want the descriptive narrative and would be extremely disappointed if I were to categorize the book as mainstream erotica. So, I would say that this is a sensual, erotic tale, but not erotica as defined by the genre.

Tyler: The sexual operation in the book includes bondage and submission and even physically wounding people. Why?

Cheryl: When it comes to romantic and intimate relationships, we all have a puny sado-masochist within us. We hurt the ones we love and allow ourselves to be hurt by them. In every romantic association there is blood shed on both sides-metaphorically speaking, of course. How often do you hear: I would bleed myself dry for you...or I would give my life for you? Bold stateMents-offering ourselves wholly to those we love is in essence an contribution to cut ourselves. "Thin Wall" is a metaphor, portraying in a very real way how much we are willing to endure, to sacrifice, and to submit to the ones we love. This is also a story about the depth of trust. How much do we as a matter of fact trust the ones we love? In this story, the level of trust goes beyond average reasoning; it's a trust most Population will never experience, will never allow themselves to experience.

Tyler: I find your Mention of trust to be engaging in relation to sexual activity. How have the characters built up that trust with each other, and have any of the characters known trust to be betrayed and how have they dealt with it?

Cheryl: as a matter of fact the trust in the middle of them has as a matter of fact nothing to do with their sexual activity. This story is much deeper than a deviant romp in the sheets. Tom, Ioan, and Julian have issues with trust, which stem from childhood discontentMent with their respective parents. Tom's parents had obvious expectations, which turned to bitterness when he couldn't fulfill them in the way they wanted. Julian's parents are of the wealthy aristocracy, living a life of excess splendor, which disgusts and repulses him. Julian was their genius progeny, and they continuously put him on display. And then there is Ioan, whose parents couldn't understand the moodiness of his artwork; it frightened them, and so believing that he was mentally ill, they settled him on medication. If you cannot trust your parents to accept you, then whom can you trust? For most, the trust you seek lies with your friends. Julian and Ioan meet in secondary school; they compliment each other and bond over their macabre musings. Ioan later meets Tom, and finding him as only someone else tragic artist could, he saves Tom from a life of drug addiction. Laleana and Julian meet in college and are drawn to each other over the philosophies of the Marquis deSade-the philosophies, not the sex, although the sex is a part of it, but only a small part. Not to mention that Ioan is celibate. Julian brings Cecile into the mix for reasons unknown, which becomes apparent much later in the story. So, as children, they are all outcasts to a degree; betrayed by their parents, they seek refuge with each other. Misery loves company, and misery loves business who understands it.

Tyler: You have yourself described "The Thin Wall" as a coming of age story, yet the characters are in their late thirties. What is primary about the characters' ages in relation to their sexual awakenings? Do you see sexual operation as a learning sense no matter what age a someone is?

Cheryl: The coming of age part has nothing to do with sexual awakening; these characters took to their singular sexual proclivities in their late teens and twenties, as most young adults do. The teens and twenties are often classified as the coming of age years; I disagree...I believe the real coming of age happens as we arrival mid-life. At mid-life we have acquired, through struggle, the wisdom, experience, and more importantly, the perspective to step back and rate our lives: where we have been, where we want to go, what we want to accomplish, our real strengths and weaknesses, and what our needs truly are. Laleana has reached that occasion of self-awareness, and she has discovered that her real needs are not being complete yet she struggles with her fear of letting go of the comfortable and predictable life she has. But she must let go in order to move forward into the unknown. This is an innate human quality-fear of the unknown. Why do we fear the unknown? Well, we fear failure.

Tyler: Would you say that teenagers and twenty-somethings tend to see sex as fun, while thirty-somethings take it more seriously-they start to find meaning in it-can the coming of age idea work in that manner?

Cheryl: Of course, although I as a matter of fact don't think teenagers see sex as fun. It might seem that way from the outside, but what is as a matter of fact happening with youthful sex is much more complex, and it carries well into the twenty-something years. This is the age of self-discovery, where the young adult is attempting to understand their own sexual desires, as well as breaking the sexual barriers that have been set by their parents and society. I have always said: How a someone feels about their sexuality is how they feel about themselves as a whole person. Sexual repression and on the opposite end sexual aggression are tendencies formed very early in childhood. Is it naughty or natural, damning or enlightening...these themes will be adDressed with a vengeance in early adulthood. Hopefully, a mature healthy attitude forms by the time we are in our thirties, and then for some, we can look more deeply at the emotional meanings intertwined with the coupling of two people. We leave the base need behind, or as I say in "Thin Wall": We see beyond the flesh.

Tyler: Well said, Cheryl. In the book narrative you sent Reader Views, you mentioned that the book also includes codependency. Many Population don't seem to know what the difference is in the middle of love and codependency. Can you separate the two for us and tell us how codependency versus love is treated in "The Thin Wall"?

Cheryl: The easiest way to narrate codependency is: Codependent Population have a greater tendency to enter into relationships with Population who are emotionally unavailable or needy. The codependent tries to operate a association without directly identifying and adDressing his or her own needs and desires. This invariably means that codependents set themselves up for continued lack of fulfillment. Codependents always feel that they are acting in someone else person's best interest, production it difficult for them to see the controlling nature of their own behavior. When you look intimately at Laleana and Julian's association you can see the manifestation of codependency. The feeling of sexual abnormality is their tasteless link. But Laleana's emotional romantic needs are beyond her reach, so she thinks. With Julian, who is emotionally unavailable, she reinforces her trust that the love she desires is not real, thus alleviating the shame she feels for settling for less than she wants and deserves. Laleana is not submissive, although it may appear that she submits to Julian's whims, it as a matter of fact is a subtle form of control-the masochist is always in control, and she continually makes justifications for Julian's outbursts and his rude and erratic behavior. She loves him because she needs him, that is codependence versus her needing him because she loves him. And as a group, they all reinforce each other's motivations, producing feelings of acceptance and love. Even in Tom and Cecile's association it is not difficult to see why they would be drawn to one another. Tom is a classic free spirit and Cecile is a depressive obsessive-compulsive. And this is what characterizes true love versus codependent love. With true love, we not only seek to mirror ourselves-our light and our darkness-but we seek to understand ourselves through the differences in others.

Tyler: Do you think codependency is displaying itself in the characters by their accepting sex when they as a matter of fact are finding for love? Are they using sex as a change or fooling themselves that sex is love?

Cheryl: Not at all, like I mentioned previously, this story isn't about the sex. For instance, the main character Ioan is celibate. It's not sex he seeks but acceptance and someone to love him for who he is. Julian and Laleana pAired off as young adults, but they are not emotionally compatible, yet they stay together because it's comfortable, safe, and there is a certainty to their relationship; the way they act towards each other has come to be instinct, they don't have to think about the relationship, it's easy. Tom and Cecile are unblemished opposites, yet they compliment and temper each other's severe personalities. And none of them confuses sex with love. I took the sex to the ultimate in this story to show the depth of their friendship and trust.

Tyler: We should also make it clear that the characters in the book are close friends and they feel safe with each other in their sexual activities, which is quite a departure from your inspiration, the Marquis de Sade, whose characters torture and even generate fear in their sexual victims. Why did you select to have the sexual activities occur among friends rather than strangers? Do you feel that makes the book more suitable to readers?

Cheryl: Not at all a departure. The Marquis deSade is best known for his pornographic works of torture and depravity: "Justine" and "Philosophy in the Bedroom." He used sex as a weapon against the hypocrisy of governmental, religious, and societal dogmas. Those two books aside, deSade also brought into creation some of the most engaging and beautiful love stories ever written-no sex, and very puny violence, except for the occasional robber baron. These are true stories of triumph, spirit over will and love over all. The think why I chose friends, well, simply because no one can torture a someone to the extent a loved one can. We cast a blind eye to the faults of our loved ones; it is the ultimate in acceptance-the ultimate submission.

Tyler: Cheryl, the Marquis de Sade is notorious for his sexual deviance. Yet earlier, you said Laleana and Julian are drawn to each other over the philosophies of the Marquis de Sade. Will you tell us a puny bit about his philosophies, which readers may be less customary with. Are those philosophies foremost to "Thin Wall"?

Cheryl: Notorious? Yes, but how much of it is as a matter of fact true. To the powers of the time, de Sade was a dangerous man, for he shocked Population into thinking, and he blatantly exposed the hypocrisy of French community at that time. He spent half his life in prison for blasphemy, not for debauchery. He never did most of the things he wrote about. Now, "Philosophy in the Bedroom" is probably the most concise collection of his beliefs on nature, religion, and government in respect to controlling human behavior. He didn't believe in control; he was a philosopher of ultimate freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion or law, with the race of personal pleasure being the top principle-Freedom and the race of Happiness, especially for women as well as men. This is this doctrine that Julian and Laleana are attracted to, though I do not mention it directly. I am not talking anarchy here, but simply to live a life free from societal and religious dogmas, that is what all the characters in this story seek. They seek to live by their own personal law abiding trust systems, not the systems imposed by others.

Tyler: At the end of "The Thin Wall" the main character, Laleana, becomes a writer. What is primary about her writing?

Cheryl: during the story, Laleana expresses her deepest feelings on literature and art. She loves the word with a passion, yet her fear of inadequacy prevents her from taking up her own pen. Her fear is mirrored in Ioan who burns his paintings for fear Population might think he is disturbed. I wanted to show her awakening, her releasing of that fear. The other think for including the story was that "Thin Wall" is written in the first someone narrative, Laleana being the point of view. Not much is told of her story, so I wanted to tell her tale from her point of view under the guise of a third-person narrative. I can only hope that Population realize that she was writing about herself.

Tyler: Cheryl, why did you select the title "The Thin Wall"?

Cheryl: Those who feel differently, express themselves differently, and advocate breaking free of societal norms are often viewed as outcasts-eccentrics, mentally disturbed, weird, a bit off-oddities. That makes one feel as if they are always with their back against a wall, presenting the upstanding Population face to the public, while feeling forced to hide their true selves. It's a thin wall because these barriers can be broken. Tolerance is a dirty word because we should be teaching acceptance. Everybody has puny idiosyncratic fetishes: What is the difference in the middle of a Food we crave and a sexual fetish-not much, only one is more socially suitable than the other. Why? Because in this age of enlightenment, sex is still taboo.

This is the think why I chose to have Laleana on the cover with her back to the reader, as a matter of fact exposing her shadow: the knife in her hand symbolizes that she is in control, and the noose around her neck symbolizes submission, but it is loose around her neck also symbolizing that submission is her choice.

Tyler: Cheryl, why did you write this book?

Cheryl: This book is a case study in human self-awareness. I believe Everybody has the capacity for that. It's also a book about acceptance, love, and true unconditional friendship. Humans will always seek the relieve of others-others likeminded. We don't want to feel alone; we simply can't survive alone. And in many cases, when our families have betrayed us, our friendships are the ones we cling to for dear life.

Tyler: Without giving away the ending, what is the message you want to gift in "The Thin Wall"? What benefit or knowledge will the reader have gained after reading the book?

Cheryl: Everybody should be true to themselves. And true friendship lies with those who accept you, no matter what your career, your marital status, your finances, your religious beliefs, or your sexual preferences (providing it's in the middle of consenting adults). Society's view of normal is nothing more than conception and conjecture...your own conception is the only one that matters, how you feel about yourself. Like Tom says: "If it feels true then do it. Take the risk." He was speaking of his vocation in that statement, but it means so much more in the context of the story. But in the end, "Thin" Wall is a tried and true hopelessly romantic love story...Laleana does find the love she has always believed in, the love that is right for her. I have been accused of being a hopeless romantic.

Tyler: Will you tell us where you came up with idea for "The Thin Wall"?

Cheryl: The idea for Thin Wall was a fusion of my own beliefs on normality, issues I faced as an oddball child, and idle imaginings on the truly great friendships I have formed in my own lifetime. Friendships I still have to this day. Friendships I would cut my lifeblood for. I conception very long and hard on what core values a friendship might possess to make me feel that way. I can only hope it translated well on paper.

Tyler: Do you feel concern about the reception of the book because of the subject matter, and why did you decree to publish the book despite what reaction you might receive because of the subject matter?

Cheryl: I don't worry about such things. Authors should exertion to write truth, and they should write it the way they feel it. Some readers will see the greater depth of the work, and some will find it a engaging dark love story with lots of sex. Either way, each reader will get what they want out of the story. As long as they get something, an author can't complain.

Tyler: I assume some Population will be repulsed by the book's subject matter, and you may even meet Population who think the book is immoral and should be censored. How would you answer to such people?

Cheryl: I wouldn't, for a response to such a lack of acceptance would contradict the whole purpose of the book. A response would as a matter of fact serve no purpose; the book is statement enough.

Tyler: Cheryl, you've written a few books previously. Would you tell us a puny bit about them and how they are distinct from "The Thin Wall"?

Cheryl: "Kissing Room" is my first, my shortest piece, and yet, it's my best selling. It packs a punch. Merle is a young woman, a barmaid, who has suffered the death of her father and the suicide of her husband. Her guilt over the suicide propels her to self-destructive behaviors in an inadvertent exertion to take her own life. She meets a stranger, Lain, a drifter, who also suffers from guilt-guilt over his own cowardice at not taking steps to save his mum from abusive men. Again the self-awareness theme is apparent as the two struggle to publish themselves from the bonds of guilt. This book contains a great deal of violence. I would classify it as a thriller-romance, and the writing style was compared to Poe's "Pit and the Pendulum."

"Logos" is a mythical tale set in antique Rome and modern day London. It's the story of death, and how sometimes, death is not such a bad thing. I combined many cultural myths and legends: the fourth horseman, the grim reaper, and other harbingers of death. I then blended them with a puny antique Egyptian mythology, a succubus, and a vampire of sorts thus creating Caline. But this story is more than just the story of a wandering death-dealer. It is in fact a love story. Caline is doomed to meander the earth taking lives until she can publish her fear, love, and allow herself to be loved. This story contains a great deal of descriptive and disturbing imagery and violence, but I felt it primary in order to expose human nature's deeper darker emotions: hatred, self-loathing, and fear. I also make some bold statements on the nature of violence and war in that after thousands of years of evolution, we remain savages. A great deal of historical explore went into this book; although it has been classified as Horror.

"Splendor of Antiquity" is a romantic yet very real love story. Joliette, an archeologist, suffers as the man she loves leaves her without a word. She throws herself into her work in order to fill the void, and through no fault of her own, she becomes enchanted with the corpse of a long-deceased god-king-so enchanted she basically falls in love with him, at the cost of the egomaniacal man who as a matter of fact loves her. This is a story of love lost, hope, and love found...and this is the story of the consequence of falling in love with an ideal-believing to much in a fAirytale. Although the theme of this story revolves around death, in how parts of our life come and go, it is a tried and true romance-narrated by the voice of the dead god. I explored my love of science and archeology in this piece as well as my trust that God and Science can co-exist.

I am currently working on my fifth: "Sin-eater," which is a psychological bad dream story, no romance in this one-a departure from my norm. It is a story highlighting the succeed gruesome violence has on the Population close to it: the police detectives, the families of the victims, and how the media's unabashed depictions of such violence can and does desensitize people.

But, I guess you could say that all of my stories revolve around tasteless internal human struggles. I think that is why Population associate with them in the way they do. No one is above the struggle, not even my immortal characters; they are all so beautifully flawed. I also do an broad number of explore for my stories; "Thin Wall" is no exception, as I spent a good deal of time with Freud, Jung, and other researchers as well as novelists like deSade and Battille, delving into the mechanics of sexual fetishism and fantasy. I have always been fascinated with the mind's subconscious motivations. There is always a logical think for every human behavior, no matter how odd we might think it is, and sometimes, those logical reasons aren't always obvious.

Tyler: I understand you think yourself primarily as a writer of novellas rather than short stories or novels. What about the novella attracts you, and why do you prefer it over longer or shorter fiction forms?

Cheryl: The novella is a dying art form. However, I do feel that today's societal time constraints gives a unique opportunity for the short forms to come back with a vengeance. Now we just have to get publishers concerned in them.

I love the novella for its very definite demands. It was the Germans who defined the definition of a novella and settled it in a genre all its own: A novella is a fictional narrative of indeterminate length-a few pages to hundreds-restricted to a single, suspenseful event, situation, or disagreement foremost to an unexpected turning point, provoking a logical, but surprising end. Novellas tend to comprise a concrete symbol, which is the narration's steady point. For me, its short length means that every word must be chosen with care and precision, the pacing must be Fast, and its message pointed. I like to say, "Stories that cut quickly, bleeding you out long before you even realize how much they as a matter of fact affected you."

Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Cheryl. Before we go, will you tell our readers where they can go to find out more data or to buy a copy of "The Thin Wall"?

Cheryl: Thank you again Tyler; it has been splendid sense for me. "Thin Wall" will be available for buy through all major online book retailers the week of January 14, 2008.

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