Island author Nancy Thayer publishes 18th novel
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Nancy Thayer has no foreseeable plans to stop writing novels, but if she

PHOTO PETER SUTTERS/The Independent Nancy Thayer

does, maybe she should consider teaching conflict resolution - something she has been adept at accomplishing in her 18 books about relationships between men and women and women and women and about family dynamics.

The prolific Thayer's "Moon Shell Beach" was just published by Ballantine Books. It is a tale about two island women who became friends in early childhood and had a special, secluded beach they went to for discussions about the most intimate events and feelings in their young lives. Later, the pair drifted apart for about a decade but reunited on Nantucket and once again shared their experiences and deepest emotions.

Thayer is currently approaching a July 1 deadline on her 19th novel, "The Summer Garden," about a Nantucket grandmother, mother and daughter. The book is scheduled for release in June 2009.

"It's about family and choices and secrets," said Thayer, sitting in her den surrounded by overflowing bookshelves and not far from one of her beloved cats.

She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in English literature from the University of Missouri in Kansas City, Missouri, and said, "I never had to read one book about women. After I left college I was sick of stories about war and bullfighting, so I started writing about women and friends and family."

While "Stepping" was her first novel, published in 1980, it was not her first attempt at writing. She wrote many short stories, with some published and some rejected, while she was teaching freshman English at the University of Missouri, North Adams State College in North Adams, Mass., and at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. During that period, she also wrote the novel, "A Faithful Woman," about a wife who wanted to leave her husband because she realized she had married the wrong man. Based on Thayer's own life experience, that manuscript was half action and dialogue and half an interior monologue, or stream of consciousness-style without quotes.

"Many editors liked that for being more literary, and half loved the plot and dialogue, but nobody liked all of it," she said.

"Stepping" was a success, however, and she has been on a roll ever since its release.

"I knew what I wanted to write about, but I needed to find my voice," said Thayer, who has set 10 of her 19 novels on the island. Her other locations are either places where she has lived or where she has spent significant time.

"I keep wanting to write about Nantucket, and that kind of surprises me because I've been here 24 years. Before that I traveled a lot," she said. "I still love to travel, but I keep wanting to write about Nantucket. It seems like a cliché to say that it's beautiful or inspiring, but it is. It's a microcosm of the wider world. It's easier for me to understand a lot of the complicated problems when they are here and close up."

Thayer writes approximately five hours a day, six days a week, and produces an average of one novel a year in her attic study with a halfround window overlooking Nantucket Harbor. She said her stories begin with one or two characters and a central subject, but she does not know with certainty how the book will end when she starts writing. Sometimes she deletes up to 50 pages as her characters develop.

"The books are not just about my life, but they are themes I notice in my sister's life and my friends' lives," Thayer explained. "When I'm working on one book there are things stewing in my brain, so when I finish a book I'm ready to start another."

That was fairly easy with her 2004 novel, "The Hot Flash Club," which was such a hit Thayer penned three sequels and continues to receive email from women who thank her for her understanding of how mid-life changes affect women.

"The "Hot Flash" books were funnier than my others. As I get older, I think life is funnier than I used to think it was," said Thayer.

While Thayer adores mysteries and would like to write one, she has difficulty killing characters. She has started writing several mystery novels that she has subsequently abandoned and stays fairly true to positive outcomes.

"They all have hopeful, but not necessarily happy endings," she said. "People might have lost something, but they have also learned something.

"The older I get, the more I know there are more books I want to write. I guess I'm surprised by that because I don't have the energy I used to have. I have two grandchildren who live near Northampton and I just love being with them. When some people think about retirement, they know what they want to knit. I just know I want to write some more books. I am so lucky, because I love what I do."

Thayer will have a book signing for "Moon Shell Beach" at Mitchell's Book Corner on Saturday July 19 at 10 a.m. On Saturday, Aug. 9 she will be at The Hub at 10 a.m., and on Monday, Aug. 18 she will discuss the book at the Atheneum at 8 p.m. I