Dancing on Broken Glass

by Ka Hancock

  14. At the end of the book, Mickey comes to learn that “there are no shortcuts and the only way through grief is through it” (p. 391). Lucy knew he would step up, and just as Gleason predicted, Mickey didn’t know that he could do it on his own until he was forced to. Do you think things worked out the way that they should have for Abby’s sake? Are there people in our lives who know us better than we know ourselves, know what we’re capable of when all we can see is impossibility?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. Lucy and Mickey made their own marriage contract consisting of a list of rules that would keep them from hurting each other and their relationship. Come up with your own list of non-negotiables for a healthy relationship.

  2. Brinley is full of fabulous small-town traditions, from the big Labor Day softball tournament, to the neighborhood chili and hot cider bonfire, to the Houstons’ Christmas Eve party. Talk about some of your local celebrations and traditions, and then try to create a new one together!

  3. As a police chief, Lucy’s father may have seemed an unlikely fairy tale writer, and yet he crafted a beautiful story to leave his three daughters. Try your hand at writing a fairy tale for someone special in your life.

  A Conversation with Ka Hancock

  Q: Having come from a background in nursing and mental health, what initially inspired you to write a book?

  A: I’ve been writing pretty much my whole life, and have applied that old adage—write what you know—to some degree in everything I’ve written. Dancing on Broken Glass was originally an idea—actually a question—that woke me up one night. What if a woman (Lucy) who became terminally ill in the middle of her unplanned pregnancy wanted to give that child to her sister (Lily) who was never able to have children of her own? The answer became the first version of Dancing on Broken Glass, which was a story that ultimately did not work. But, because I liked my premise, I went back and dug a little deeper, asked myself: Why wouldn’t Lucy want her husband to have the baby? The answer had to be pretty compelling, and because I’m familiar with mental illness and know my way around a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, I applied it to Mickey. That was a pretty compelling reason; a stereotypical crazy person has no business raising a child, right? Problem solved. Not! The truth is, Mickey refused to be defined that way, and more importantly, I knew I would be cheating to create him that way. Mental illness affects about 20 percent of the population in the U.S. alone—or roughly 44 million people. The profoundly debilitated comprise but a small portion of this number. Many of the rest struggle with treatment compliance, but there are also many who work hard every day at managing their diagnosis. I admire them tremendously. That’s where I found my inspiration for Mickey—and ultimately the story. Right there beneath the stereotype.

  Q: What was the writing process like for you? How did the story come to you and evolve?

  A: As I’ve mentioned, the kernel of the story woke me up one night. I wrote down everything I could remember, including the description of the town, the sisters, and Dr. Barbee. Mickey was an incidental character in my first draft since I’d set out to write a story about two sisters. I was not working at the time, so I spent most days cranking out pages. I polished up the “Mickeyless” version and sent it out into the world where it was returned to me with invaluable feedback: “Interesting premise, but . . .” fill in the blanks. However, one agent told me that if I ever did a major revision, she’d like to see it again. I took the story back to my writers’ group and we tore it apart looking for where I’d gone wrong. In the process I had a “duh” moment. My good friend Dorothy asked me why Mickey wasn’t the one to take over the narrative after Lucy died—originally Lily had done this. I just looked at her. Why indeed! And with that the floodgates opened. It took me a year to give Mickey his voice, and then I sent my revision back to the same agent who’d thrown me the lifeline. This time Mollie Glick liked it, and she later became my agent. I think as soon as I plumbed the depths of Lucy’s relationship with Mickey, the magic took over. I loved every minute of writing their story.

  Q: What has been the most exciting part of having your book published?

  A: It’s a little surreal because yesterday I was Ka Hancock: wife, mom, day-shift worker bee, folder of laundry, mopper of floors, and of course, closet writer. Today I’m the very same person only published (and out of said closet). I think the most exciting part of this process has been the process itself: the evolution of an idea from thought, to words, to pages, to book, to recognition. That’s been awesome. Oh, and when complete strangers tell me they like what I’ve written, I like that part, too!

  Q: Is there one character in Dancing on Broken Glass that you relate to most? Do you have a favorite character?

  A: The supporting cast always makes the movie for me, and it’s the same with Dancing on Broken Glass. So I’d have to say Lily is the character I probably appreciate most. She’s my unsung hero, and the story could not have been told without her. She was devoted to Lucy from childhood and remained so even after she died. Heartbroken over not having a child of her own, she showed tremendous grit when she looked truthfully at her sister’s dying wish and brought it to pass. It would have been so easy for Lily to keep Abby, but Lucy’s trust in her trumped everything else. And because Lucy trusted Lily, I think the reader trusts her as well. Because of Lily, we know that Abby will thrive despite Mickey’s mental health challenges. She and Ron were the ideal backup plan.

  Q: The grief that Lucy and Mickey endure is palpable. How have your own experiences helped you to understand and create such real emotions for your characters?

  A: I’m not unique; like most, I’ve lost people important to me. But in my life, it’s been almost harder to be the helpless bystander. It’s agonizing to watch the unimaginable happen to someone you love—and to know that you’re completely powerless. You grieve for the grieving as they grapple for answers and peace and beg for a reversal of fortune. That kind of emotion rubs your heart raw. It makes you squirm and you really can’t escape it.

  Q: Brinley is the perfect picture of small-town America. Did you grow up in a town like Brinley or do you live in one now? What was your inspiration for the setting?

  A: I wish! I so love small towns, but no, I did not grow up in one. I would have to give credit for Brinley to Gilmore Girls and Runaway Bride. I melded Stars Hollow and Hale, Maryland, to create Brinley Township. But then I visited and fell in love with Essex, Connecticut, and Brinley became its fraternal twin, right down to the cemetery.

  Q: From where did you derive Lucy’s father’s soothing words about death? Was this advice that someone once gave to you, or wisdom that you created on your own? Do you believe in it?

  A: I grew up in a home and a faith where I was taught that there was a life before, there’s a life now, and there will be a life after. So having fully accepted that premise, for me the secrets about death are not really secrets. I do believe that death is not the end. I do believe that slipping out of this world will be painless. I want desperately to believe that if I’m paying attention, I might be granted time enough to say good-bye—for now—and I love you and, maybe even, I’m sorry.

  Q: How did you decide on the ending for the story? Did you always know how it was going to end?

  A: I actually had Lily reading the fairy tale to Abby as my original ending, but my editor did not want to introduce another voice (Lily’s), so she asked me to write the scene from Mickey’s point of view. But he surprised me and took a completely different direction. I knew I wanted time to have passed, and I also wanted some healing to have occurred. But it was Mickey’s idea to take the long way home and end up in the cemetery. Once there, at the foot of Lucy’s grave, I think the story ended the only way it could. The accumulation of broken glass on Lucy’s headstone serves as a reminder that their story is not over. Lucy’s promise to dance with him through eternity was where Mickey found his peace. I think the end did just what it needed to do.

  Q: Lucy and Mickey have a real tearjerker
of a story, and a lot can be learned from them and from all your characters. Is there one thing above all that you hope your readers will take away from this story?

  A: I think the overriding message would be that love is serious business. True, down-to-the-crap love is not for the shallow or faint of heart. People are messy. Marriage is messy. You have to bring your best self to the game despite your limitations. I think that’s what I admire most about Lucy and Mickey.

  Q: What’s up next for you? Are you working on anything new?

  A: Absolutely! I’m in first-draft territory with a story about three women. Rose Winston is a recent widow, newly liberated from a love-starved marriage. She’s estranged from her only daughter, Patrice, because the girl defied her and married a mortician, Tanek Duzinski. When a tragic accident kills Tanek and leaves a pregnant Patrice gravely injured, she is not expected to live. Miraculously, she gives birth to a healthy baby girl. Fast-forward sixteen years—January has been raised by her paternal grandparents, Stasio and Diana Duzinski, in a mortuary called the Duzy House of Mourning—my working title. There are two aunts; Tess, who is the chief embalmer, and Cleo, who is said to be severely retarded.

  It is through Rose’s cruelty that January learns who Cleo actually is and what really happened the night of the accident. At its crux, this is January’s journey into the life of her incredible mother, a woman trapped in a broken body who has loved her daughter from an agonizing distance.

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