#AuthorInterview with Peter Gooch
Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Tripti Kandari is talking with Peter Gooch, author of Seren.
FQ: Where did you get the idea for the story of Seren? Was there a real painting or artist as an inspiration behind the story?
GOOCH: The novel grew out of an earlier short story published in The New Guard anthology. Three of the four major characters in the novel appeared in the story—Bainbridge, Seren, and Moss. The story ends with the completion of the great landscape, and Bainbridge’s death. The novel picks up five months after the story ends.
As a painter, former art professor, and son of a painter/professor I tried to use the whole of my art experience to craft a plausible, tormented artist. I drew from many sources, one of which was the Montana painter Russel Chatham for the gauzy early landscapes of Bainbridge.
FQ: We see Seren as a mysterious and layered character or force. Was she fully formed in your mind, or did she evolve during writing?
GOOCH: Seren evolved as the story developed. I was aware of treading a fine line with her humanity—a weird woman, but a woman still. She is a force in the story, but also a person—a person whose nature and motivation is a mystery. I would be the last to claim full understanding of her complexity. Muses (even deadly muses) are as old as the Greeks. Much has been written about the Artist/Muse relationship, and it continues to interest, fascinate and enrage historians and critics to this day.
FQ: Fairchild is a complex and emotionally layered character. Did any part of his personality or struggles draw from your own experiences or inner world?
GOOCH: Moss is a mixture of types and real people I’ve known over the years. The art world is populated by eccentric individuals wrestling with their muses. Moss’s lack of self-awareness, his lazy middleclass attitude, and his love of possessions reflects the art world then and today. He’s not easy to like, but he is struggling to find his true self and chasing something worthwhile. His quest mirrors the nature of art, and humanity. For Moss, the cleansing fire at the end manifests his awakening.
FQ: What do you consider the real purpose of art? A healer, a destroyer, or just a reflector?
GOOCH: The purpose of art is to reveal the highest aspirations, and the deepest fears of its time and cultural context. For humans, the existence of art coincides with the existence of culture. Art is one of the three big games of humanity—alongside religion and war. You have to search very hard to find a culture which does not exhibit those three enduring elements.
FQ: What was the most challenging part of writing the story, and why?
GOOCH: What I found most engaging was depicting the main character (Moss) as a man surrounded and shaped by women. The triad of muses that influence the evolution of Moss are his Gran, Claudine, and Seren. In addition, the gallery crew in Detroit is populated by women—Kaye and Sally. Each female character has a mission to propel Moss’s development. In the novel, the role of the title character, Seren, is to divest Moss of the last shreds of his past self—in that sense, she is a destroyer.
FQ: Do you plan to write a sequel or companion novel about Seren? Maybe from the perspective of Seren or Claudine?
GOOCH: Seren is the story of Moss, his quest, and his transformation. I’m currently working on a follow-on tale which focuses on Moss’s ascension and demise. Both Claudine and Seren feature prominently in the narrative.
FQ: If you could do a cameo as a character or guiding force in the novel, what would your advice be to Moss?
GOOCH: Always go for greatness, whatever the cost.
“The Bainbridge (painting) breathed a breath of immortality into Moss’s life.”
SEREN page 118.
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