BookView Review

Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we talked to Michael Gross about his writing and his recently published novel, Spillage, a wickedly playful, rock and roll satire with a Faustian twist (Read the review here).

What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

Like the young lover Eliot in my novel, I studied Classics in college, with a focus on the ancient Greek philosophers. My hero was Socrates, who never wrote anything. Rather, as told by Plato, he engaged in challenging dialogues, questioning basic assumptions held by those around him. The power of his language was so great that it shook the governing authorities to their core, resulting in his being sentenced to death. I continue to be motivated by his guiding dictum, uttered at his trial, that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I spent the better part of my 20’s trying to become an author. During that span, I wrote two novels, a children’s book, a play, several short stories and a long, semi-fictional “gonzo” article. None of these were ever truly finished, and none ever saw the light of day. The most success I had was with a proposal for a novel about a Vietnam draft resister which I never wrote, but which won me a grant from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, which I managed to more or less live on for three years while pursuing my dream – first in Paris and then in NYC, where I moved in 1975. Shortly after that, infatuated with the city, in love with my future wife, and reeling from the sudden death of my father, I began Spillage.

What does literary success look like to you?

Literary success for me would be to build an audience of devoted followers.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Early on, I tried my hand at researching books and articles, but when it came time to write them, I always veered off into fantasy. Spillage began with a line — “Eliot asks Joan to marry him” — which remains the novel’s first line nearly 50 years later. One line led to the next, with my drive being to see how far my imagination could take me, how many rules I could break and get away with and how I could capture the gestalt of the city in that crazy moment of history.

Do you find writing therapeutic?

Today, yes – much more so than when I started. When I returned to Spillage a few years ago, following my long, successful career in communications, I saw it as a way to reconnect with my youthful self. The book was far too long and too disjointed, but I could feel its essential vitality and had a strong urge to bring it back to life in a fresh way. While I may have lost a step or two in imaginative reach, I’m a far better writer now, with a keener sense of character and a deeper historical perspective.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

In the beginning, I was all about originality. Now, I’m more inclined to rein that in and make my work more accessible. Still, I must admit the reader needs to work a bit to keep up with Spillage. You need to buckle up and accept the fact that it’s going to be a wild ride.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Keep at it! Accept the fact that rejection is part of life, and certainly part of any writer’s life. Don’t be so thin-skinned; don’t be so timid. Have confidence in your vision and pursue it, no matter what.

Does your family support your career as a writer?

My family’s been a huge help with Spillage, encouraging me to return to the book, giving me great advice as early readers, and helping with production and marketing. My daughter Gilda was the first to give me feedback on the new version, convincing me to go back to my original title after flirting with the Janice Joplin song, “Piece of My Heart.” Her fiancée James designed my 70s-style cover art, which critics have praised. My daughter Willa also helped with the cover design and produced my website, www.spillagebook.com. My son-in-law Beattie took the cover photo. My wife Barbara and brother Chuck read every draft. All in all, it’s been a great family affair!

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Well, the first one took nearly 50 years. We’ll see about the next. Right now I’m working on a memoirish journal I’m calling “Ocean Therapy,” which I began in the early days of Covid when I retrieved my old manuscript and started to rewrite it. And my six-year-old grandson Remy wants me to write a children’s book with him.

Is writer’s block real?

It was very real for me. I was crushed by the rejection of the early version of Spillage. I spent weeks staring at blank pages, making tentative starts at new novels and promptly ripping them to shreds and bemoaning my wasted years of trying to be something I wasn’t, before finally giving up and turning my attention to building a different career.

If asked, what would your friends and family say about you?

That I’m patient, persistent, calm in the face of crisis and have a good sense of humor. That I’m a book, beach and baseball lover. That I’m a devoted husband, father and grandfather. And especially after reading Spillage, that I have a fertile imagination.

Tell us some more about your book.

Spillage is a wild play on the Faustian musical Damn Yankees, a rock and roll romance, and a wickedly fun throwback to the chaos of 1970s New York City. As the Big Apple teeters on the brink of collapse, a revolutionary group called the Satanic Vanguard has kidnapped the mayor, set fire to Coney Island and threatened further mayhem. All New York has going for it are its resurgent Yankees, who’ve come back from the dead to reach the World Series by riding the arm of their rookie pitching phenom Nick “The Swan” Spillage. But Satan and his Vanguard have a plan to snuff out that hope too, and they’ve targeted a young couple to help in their diabolic scheme. That leads to the Faustian bargain at the center of the story.

What inspired the premise of your book?

Living through the kaleidoscopic chaos of 70’s New York during my formative years.

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book?

The basic structure of Spillage and its main characters were in the early draft, but I threw out a slew of secondary characters and runaway tangents when I returned to the book. I cut it back by about two-thirds, and then rebuilt it with a focus on fleshing out Joan and Eliot’s characters through inner monologues and scenes from their eight years together and respective family traumas.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

There is no place like New York, the world’s greatest melting pot, which even at its lowest point showed unmatched dynamism and resilience. And there are no folks like the New Yorkers who lived through these dark days and had the spirit to persevere. As NY Mets pitcher Tug McGraw once said, “Ya gotta believe.”

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