NORTH OF THE TENSION LINE: AN INTERVIEW WITH J. F. RIORDAN

We’ll hazard a guess that, at least once in your life, you’ve fantasized about packing up your life and moving to (what feels like) a different world—an idyllic small town, a bustling metropolis, a remote windswept isle… In J. F. Riordan’s sparkling North of the Tension line series, a writer does just that, moving from Chicago to a sparsely populated island in Door County, Wisconsin. Her ensuing small-town adventures are presented with enormous heart throughout this delightful series. Today in the Bluestocking Salon, Bas Bleu sat down (virtually, no masks required!) with novelist J. F. Riordan to learn more about why she chose Door County as her setting, how opera helped shape her novelist’s voice, and what effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on her writing.

Bas Bleu: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a writer.

J. F. Riordan: In one way or another I have always been a writer. I can remember at the age of seven or so, walking home on a summer evening, keeping myself company by making up a story. But my writing self has always been entwined with a musical self, and it confused me for quite a while. I spent my young life studying music, and had a career as an opera singer. It was an unhappy time, but it seems to have resolved itself: rhythm, the sound and feeling of words, and the movement of phrases are a very big part of my writing.

I didn’t start writing seriously for myself until quite late. I had a stressful day job, and writing was something that was personal and private, and helped me preserve a sense of purpose—not to mention a little sanity. The first novel took about seven years to write, partly because of the job, and partly because there was no pressure to finish. I had no idea whether anyone would want it. Since North of the Tension Line came out in 2014, I have published five books: four novels, and a book of essays, Reflections on a Life in Exile. It has all come as a bit of a surprise.

BB: Door County, and especially Washington Island, makes such an interesting and atmospheric setting for your series. What is your relationship to the area, and why did you decide to set the books there?

JFR: I have been going to Door County for decades, and it was probably thirty years ago when I decided to take the ferry to Washington Island just to see what was there. From the first moment I set foot on the ferry it was if a spell was cast on me. I can remember standing at the railing, looking out at the water and thinking what it would be like to come there every summer, with all the days spread out before you like a blank sheet of paper. There’s a magic in the island: as if you have fallen off the edge of the earth, and all that’s left is the essence of what matters. In my books I try to capture that mystical, almost magical reality.

I have always wanted to live there, in that sense of deep authenticity, but it wasn’t practical, so writing about being on the island was the next best thing.

Click here to read the rest of the interview.

Click here to learn more about North of the Tension Line.

Click here to read more about J.F. Riordan.