Sharon Berg Interviews Stephanie Cesca

(Guernica, 2024)

Stephanie Cesca

Sharon Berg:    I want to begin by thanking you for taking the time to answer my questions about your novel, Stephanie. I know that it can sometimes feel like interfering with your current projects to ask questions of your creative self, so I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

The story presented in Dotted Lines features a rare portrait of a man trying to attain the best he can for his family that has dissolved in a most unusual way, with his partner deserting and leaving him in charge of not only their daughter but his step-daughter. There is a scene where the step-daughter, Melanie, describes her family tree as one containing ‘dotted lines’ to link her to her step-father. The title of the book clearly underlines this as one of the most vital relationships Melanie, the protagonist, has. Can you comment on the difference in attitude toward family Melanie developed, compared to our common understanding of what makes a family?
 
Stephanie Cesca:    As a child, Melanie struggled with belonging and how to describe her family to the outside world. Given the fact that she does not share a bloodline with the person who’s been left to raise her, it’s easy to see why she would feel unsure of herself. However, Melanie’s concept of family evolves throughout the story, and she learns that it’s not just about who gives you life but about who gives you love. She learns through her experiences as both a child and as an adult that families don’t necessarily have to be straight lines. They can take turns and change form. As long as the love and the support are there—that’s what transcends biology and that’s what really matters. 
 
SB:    Melanie seems cautious about her relationships, up until she becomes involved with Jason, who appears to be a very unlikely partner for her. There are several clues that he is controlling, self-centered, and definitely not The One. She seems to overlook those clues during their relationship. Somehow, this terrifically bright girl remains blind to his traits until he commits the ultimate betrayal. This is a comment on the way bright people can delude themselves, but please expand on why you’ve highlighted this relationship.
 
SC:    While Melanie is very bright and mature, she also has an immense need to be loved and to belong. We all have this, really, but because she was abandoned as a child, she suffers from tremendous insecurity. This insecurity drives her to sometimes make poor choices. This is why she responds the way she does when she’s given the first sign of love and attention from someone romantically. None of this is helped by the fact that Melanie is a very driven and determined young woman who has a clear picture of what her future looks like. This determination almost blinds her as she’s on a mission to achieve the things that she wants without creating enough room or space for discovery. In making her choices, Melanie makes some significant mistakes. These mistakes allow her to learn some painful—but necessary—lessons about life.
 
SB:    I’m curious about the choice Melanie made at the end of this story. I understand we are all responsible for all children. It really does take a village to raise a child. However, Dotted Lines makes it clear that, in her case, Melanie had every reason to resist raising Emma. At the end of the book, she pays tribute to Dave once again, a man with no biological ties to her but someone who stepped in as her father. Do you feel there’s anything more to say about her decision?
 
SC:    Melanie had a difficult childhood, for sure—she never knew her biological father, her mother abandoned her, she had a difficult relationship with her half-sister, there wasn’t a lot of money and she felt like she never belonged. But she also received so many amazing and unexpected gifts in life—most significantly, she had a stranger step in and give her so much love and support. The selflessness and generosity she received was the most incredible gift and it’s the reason why Melanie grew up to become the person who she was. Melanie faces a critical decision in this book—it’s the biggest decision of her life. And I think the very special and loving relationship she had with her stepdad prepares her for this moment. It’s what ultimately inspires her to choose the path that she does.
                                   
SB:    In terms of the audience for Dotted Lines, there will a group who are naturally drawn to reading it, and a group of people that you think should read it. Are those two groups different? Please elaborate.
 
SC:    While the family in Dotted Lines is unique, no family is perfect, so I think this story will appeal to a wide range of readers—those who have non-traditional family structures, those who’ve had relationship issues, those who’ve been on the outside, those who’ve struggled to achieve their goals. But while Dotted Lines is told from the perspective of a young girl as she grows up, in many ways this story is about fatherhood. In fact, the very best of fatherhood is on display here. The hero is not only a dad, and not only a stepdad, but a single stepdad. That’s an incredibly tough job. So I think it would be terrific if the dads out there read this story. They will hopefully either connect with it or be inspired by it.
 
SB:    Titles are often difficult to come up with, though some authors seem to begin there. What was your experience in developing a title for Dotted Lines?
 
SC:    I used to be a newspaper editor, where I wrote a lot of headlines. Many times, the best headlines would come to me suddenly and out of nowhere as I was reading or editing the article. The same thing happened here. While I had a strong sense of the story I wanted to tell when I started writing, I didn’t have an idea for the title. But as I was writing the scene where Melanie sketches out her family tree using ‘dotted lines,’ it immediately clicked that this needed to be the title. It was a great feeling settling on that decision—I knew it captured the essence of my story and I also felt more grounded as I continued writing. 

SB:    Is this a book that seemed to lay itself out on the page quickly, almost as if it were channelled, or did you put a lot of effort into its structure? Was there a developmental process? Please elaborate.

SC:    This story is told chronologically and so it may not seem as if I put a lot of effort into the structure, but the truth is I experimented with several structural changes and tried a few ways of telling it. It took several attempts, and also some advice from excellent editors, to help me land back where I started with my first draft—and that was telling the story simply, from start to finish, in chronological order.

SB:      Books are often turned into television shows, movies, or radio scripts. They are also frequently translated into other languages. What would you say is a key point in Dotted Lines that shouldn’t be lost if it’s converted to another form or another language?

SC:    First of all, I would be so delighted if this story were to be converted into another form. I just love the fact that books are the source of so much of the content we see elsewhere. So, if that were to happen, I would want to make sure that the character of Dave remains the star that he is. At first glance, Dave seems like a simple, blue-collar guy. He loves his dogs, he likes to barbeque and he prefers to drive a truck. At the same time, Dave is quite intelligent, highly articulate, has excellent judgment and is just wonderful overall. That comes through in big ways, like his decision to raise Melanie, and in small ways, like the nicknames he uses for her. The bond between Dave and Melanie is the heart of this story, so I wouldn’t want to lose any of the details that make him so special.

SB:    Something that often interests readers is knowing how much of a particular work is invented and how much is autobiographical. Would you care to share your approach/thoughts on this aspect of your readers’ curiosity?

SC:    It’s a fair question and a common one. So far, many readers have assumed that this is a memoir or largely autobiographical. I don’t always correct them because I feel awkward doing so, or I don’t have the opportunity, but then it doesn’t feel accurate or honest. While I drew inspiration from many, many places, including some aspects of my life like the places in which I grew up, this book is a work of fiction. I tackled this story as I would a job—I worked hard at developing these characters and thinking about who they are as people, who they are as a family. What do they like to eat? What kind of music do they listen to? What is their favourite colour? Their biggest fear? I’ve spent so much time thinking about them and writing about them that it almost makes me sad to acknowledge they’re not real. 

SB:    Is there a certain book, a collection of works, or a literary movement that inspired you to map out Dotted Lines? What was the initial inspiration, even if it’s, perhaps, something counter-intuitive?

SC:    I will never forget the first time I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I was so sad when it was over because I was completely immersed. It was such a beautiful story. Although that book was a memoir and not a work of fiction, there were two key takeaways that stuck with me. The first was that there’s nothing more interesting than having a front-row seat to a family gong show. The second was that I truly admire an easy, accessible writing style. I love to read, but why am I reading, really? If I’m being honest about what compels me to pick up a book and read it until the end, it’s the actual story. And so I really appreciate it when the language is clean, clear and simple. I feel most engaged in a story when the writing doesn’t get in the way.
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SB:    Many people say that an author is never really finished with their work and would always wish to adjust and tweak their writing. Do you feel that way about Dotted Lines, wishing you could change something?
 
SC:    There are parts of me that wish I could have written more—aspects of Melanie’s adult life, for example, or her relationship with her husband. But the reality is there aren’t endless amounts of space or time. It has to end at some point. Not only that, but from my own professional career, where I’ve worked in journalism and communications, I’ve seen countless examples of over-editing and over-working where some of the magic is undone and a piece of writing is made worse. It can be challenging to manage feedback—especially when you get multiple views, some of them opposing. As a writer, you need to know how and when to listen to advice, but you also need to be true to your story and true to yourself. It can be a difficult balance, and it’s not always obvious when to put the pen down. Did I get it right or wrong in this case? It’s hard for me to know for certain, but I stopped fussing when my instincts told me to do so. That allowed me to move on to my next novel, which I’m finishing up now.
 
SB:    Thank you, once again, Stephanie. Your book pointed out to me that while the human family can take many different forms, many of our choices have been neglected in literature. With this book, you have changed that scenario, and I am sure that others will be inspired to consider some different combinations in the human family.

​Stephanie Cesca is a writer and editor living in Toronto. A former newspaper editor in both Canada and Europe, she holds an English degree from Western University, a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Certificate of Creative Writing from the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. Her work has been shortlisted for the Penguin Random House Canada Student Award for Fiction and The Marina Nemat Award for Creative Writing. Dotted Lines is her first novel.  

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​Sharon Berg attended the Banff School of Fine Arts Writing Studio in 1982 and was accepted to Banff’s Leighton Artist Colony in 1987. She is also an alumni of Humber College’s Writing Program. She did her B.A. in Indigenous Studies at Laurentian U, followed by her B.Ed for Primary Education at U of T. Her M.Ed focused on First Nations Education at York U, and her D.Ed focused on Indigenous Education at UBC. She also received a Certificate in Magazine Journalism from Ryerson U. Sharon founded and operated the international literary E-Zine Big Pond Rumours (2006-2019) and its associated press, which released chapbooks of Canadian poets as prizes for the magazine’s contests. She's published five full books and three chapbooks, working in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her work appears in periodicals across Canada, the USA, Mexico, the UK, the Netherlands, India, Germany, Singapore, and Australia. Her 3rd poetry collection Stars in the Junkyard (Cyberwit 2020) was a Finalist in the 2022 International Book Awards, and her narrative history The Name Unspoken: Wandering Spirit Survival School (Big Pond Rumours Press 2019) won a 2020 IPPY Award for Regional Nonfiction. When she retired from teaching, she opened Oceanview Writers Retreat in Charlottetown (Terra Nova National Park) Newfoundland.