1. What inspired you to write this book? I don’t recall
deciding to write it. I can only say it is a convergence of many things: events
that have moved me in some way, my interest in Soviet history, my deep, deep
love for my dad, who was a coalminer and a welder, and my concern for people
stigmatized because of the outer trappings of their lives—such as poverty,
disabilities, race, being a kid from “a broken home”—and then dismissed or
targeted based on that superficial assessment of who they are, what they might
be up to, what they do or don’t deserve. Stigmatized people sometimes find
meaningful or joyful moments that give some relief and dignity and offer
strength in later times. That’s what young Annilee learns to count on when the
conventional things of her childhood—menacing religious dogma and financial
“charity” doled out in miserly portions with a hefty sprinkling of scorn—not
only fail to speak to her circumstances in a helpful, uplifting way, but pile
on more pain to the losses she’s faced with.
How Frugal Is the Chariot spans decades
from the starvation of millions in Ukraine as Stalin enforced the
collectivization of farms in the early 1930s to the lives of people in the
Pennsylvania coal region as more and more industries shut down in the second
half of the century. I enjoy doing historical research for fiction and
discovering how learning about some event, artifact, or pastime of those years
will send the story in a new and surprising direction. I never outline in
advance. It would be really boring just to fill in the blanks between the
landmark points in a story outline.
In the novel, Annilee, seven, befriends “Billy,” who
is hiding in the tall grasses outside of a boarded-up house and living there
with someone we never get to see. Gone in about two weeks, he is based on a boy
I myself discovered in that situation when I was seven. He showed up one day
and was gone that quickly. We had a secret friendship that was so joyful that
I’ve never forgotten him. I never told anyone about that precious encounter
until I wrote this novel decades later.
When I was a teenager, I came across lines from a poem
by Thomas Ford, “I did but see her passing by/ And yet I love her till I die,”
and realized that’s how I felt about the boy I knew so briefly and never saw
again. He was American, not Russian like Billy in the novel, to whom I’ve given
a whole life story as a stowaway Soviet refugee during the Red Scare of the
1950s. Because I volunteered to work on a Soviet collective farm one summer and
returned to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union to teach English, I
have my own personal experience to draw from when I write the Russian scenes.
2. What exactly is it about and who is it
written for? Half the town thinks Annilee’s father, a
coalminer put out of work by a head injury, has become a deplorable heathen, a
madman who should be put away. But she may find that the delightful,
unconventional pathways he takes her down during his short time on this Earth
will one day be her greatest source of strength. The novel is written for readers interested in characters who
contend with social odds stacked against them; readers who like historical
fiction; readers open to the possibility that a meaningful spiritual life
doesn't have to be part of a formal religion; readers hoping for a story where
disabled people get to speak for themselves and want to be recognized as who
they still are even as they face challenges that diminish their ability to
express themselves.
3. What do you hope readers will get out
of reading your book? The satisfaction of having read a good story with
something profound to think about.
4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover
design? The title is a
line from this Emily Dickinson poem:
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry —
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll —
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul.
Striking lines from great literature provide Annilee
with wisdom and solace by speaking to the person she truly is and to her life’s
challenges in ways that religious dogma and societal prescripts, such as gender
roles, do not. Books are metaphorical chariots, but there’s a physical chariot
cobbled together from junk discarded along the old coal roads and mining
slagpiles.
About the cover: Popular advice is to have a cover
that makes a book easily identifiable by genre. But How Frugal Is the
Chariot is general fiction that includes prominent historical events
through a great share of the twentieth century. I wanted the cover to capture a
single moment of heartfelt anticipation with high stakes for Annilee and her
pop in a very personal way.
5. What advice or words of wisdom do you
have for fellow writers—other than run!?
Write what you really, really, really want to write.
Two of the literary agents who read my manuscript said they’d consider
representing me if I re-wrote it as a memoir instead of a novel. This was while
Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, about a family on the
fringes, was a huge best-seller. These agents were convinced my novel was
already close to being sheer autobiography.
While considering their proposals, I recalled
attending a reading of a memoir by an Amish author bluntly cut off by her
family and community after marrying someone outside of it. The heart of her
memoir was about the pain of being cut off and finding her way without the
caring or support from the people she had known all her life. But someone in
the audience brought up the brief mention in the book of her father looking
into her bedroom one night as she was changing into her nightgown. Several
people urged her to say more about that, despite the author feeling obviously
uncomfortable and not wanting to offer more juicy details. Someone finally
said, “I think the author has already said all she wants to say about that
incident.”
I declined representation contingent on making my book
a memoir. Yes, it depicts a family on the fringes. But not only did I want to
retain some privacy, I did not want to put some of the most painful moments of
my life and those of people I loved out there like reality-show fodder exposing
the heaps stockpiled by “weirdo hoarders” that will make viewers come away
feeling smug and glad that—while their own house may not be the tidiest—at
least they’re not like those people. How do you know “those people” aren’t
special or commendable in some way? All you see is their messy house and
conclude that they’re nothing but a mess themselves.
I also wanted the opportunities that fiction grants
the author to bring out the true heart of a story by completely inventing
scenes, character backgrounds, and other details not part of some real memories
the fictional work might be based on. Memoirs have to stick to the facts. I
have no idea where the real Billy came from, who else was in that house they
were hiding in, or what became of him after he was gone. What matters is the
profound joy we shared and the devastation of the abrupt loss. As Annilee
expresses it, “My heart was crumpled like a sheet of homework that was handed
in all wrong.”
6. What trends in the book world do you
see—and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I don’t look into
trends much, since they have no significant bearing on what I decide to write.
7. Were there experiences in your personal
life or career that came in handy when writing this book? I mentioned a few of them in my answer
to the first question.
8. How would you describe your writing
style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I write fiction
that aims to go deeply into the inner and outer lives of characters. As for
style, I care a lot about cadence and word choice and other riches the language
I happen to know offers a writer to draw on, but my writing is for a general
audience, not just scholars.
Classic literature has been my favorite since being
introduced to great writing from around the world in high school. I still have
my twelfth-grade textbook with the Dostoevsky story, “An Honest Thief,” that
moved me to tears. Emelyanoushka, an unemployed drunkard taken in by a
sympathetic tailor of limited means, steals a garment the tailor has been
hanging onto to sell at a time he himself might be in dire need. I love how
Russian writers don’t look down their noses at wretches that they depict as having
undeniable flaws.
I have some favorite mystery writers. Now and then I
try to write a downright whodunnit, but I mostly enjoy classic fiction written
over the centuries, so my writing reflects those interests. I’m happy that one
of my stories has just been accepted by The Doric Literary Journal, a
Canadian publication whose aim is to publish classically inspired stories as
exemplified by writers they list in their submission guidelines. My story, “Out
in the Real World,” is a tale originally published in The Pennsylvania
Literary Journal. It will appear in The Doric Literary Journal in
mid-November, 2026. I have recently published a crime novel, Through Sea
Glass, Darkly, set in Atlantic Canada. Alas. I didn’t manage to write a
whodunnit. The reader finds out whodunnit in chapter one.
9. What challenges did you overcome in the
writing of this book? The biggest one was deciding at what point in the
story to open the novel. I tried out many openings, including some where
Annilee is already an adult. I finally decided to begin when Annilee is in
second grade and enjoying the company of her pop, but alarmed by overhearing
people trying to talk her mother into having him put away.
10. If people can buy or read one book this week or
month, why should it be yours? Because my book is
interesting and vast in scope, but so are a lot of other books. I’m fine with
people reading whatever they feel most drawn to read this month. If it isn’t my
novel, I hope they’ll get around to mine soon.
About The Author: Geraldine Glodek received a BA in English at
the University of Scranton and an MA in English/Creative Writing from Penn
State. Her short stories have appeared in The Northwest Indiana Review, Witcraft
(Australia), and other journals. She grew up in a Pennsylvania coal town
and now lives in Atlantic Canada. Excerpts from How Frugal Is the Chariot,
her third novel, were published in The Arkansas Review, Friends Journal,
Appalachian Studies: Stories from the Highlands, and The Galway Review. This
novel is available at many outlets as a paperback and e-book. A 50%-off coupon
for the e-book can be found online at Smashwords from October 15 to December
31, 2026 at this link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/2049721
For more info, see: https://www.geraldineglodek.com
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