Interview with Nicole
about "After the Leaves Fall"

Added August 7, 2007

In the Library Reviews welcomes Nicole Baart.

Joyce: For a debut novelist, you certainly packed the pages of After the Leaves Fall with power. How did this story come to be written? The strong emotional appeal in this novel makes me think you may have carried this tale around in your heart for a while.

Nicole: Actually, After the Leaves Fall sort of came out of nowhere! The entire book grew out of a graveyard scene that was, and still is, incredibly personal to me. My Grandfather passed away in Iowa when I was living in British Columbia and nine months pregnant. I couldn't travel because my son was due in a week, so I missed his funeral. We were very close and it was extremely hard on me. Months later, I found a picture of my Grandpa and began to weep--I hadn't dealt at all with his death. So I sat down and tried to write myself into his funeral; I tried to imagine what it was like and what I would have felt. The result was the first chapter of After the Leaves Fall. And the story just evolved from there.

Julia and I have very little in common, yet in some ways she is my "what could have been." My life has been so blessed, so filled to overflowing with good things that I know I can't possibly claim to deserve what I have been given. But what if my life had been different? What if the losses and tragedies of Julia's life had been my own? Could I still believe in the inherent beauty of the miracle of living? I tried to put myself in her shoes and imagine what kind of a woman I would be if many of my greatest fears came true.

Joyce: The setting is rural Iowa, a place which I understand you're familiar. But would this story work in a big city as well? Can someone like Julia be found anywhere?

Nicole: Although I've spent the majority of my life in a small town, my husband and I also lived in a large city (Vancouver, British Columbia) for years. I'm hardly a psychologist, but I think people are the same everywhere! We all want the same things: love, a sense of security and belonging, and a life that is filled with meaning. However, I do think that Julia's story hinges somewhat on her setting. Rural life is centered on relationships, on the interconnectedness between nearly everyone you might stumble into on any given day. There is a real sense of community, and in many ways, there are no strangers in a small town. This exaggerated extended family has the potential to be so beautiful, and in my experience, life in a rural community is exactly that. But as in any family, there is also room for lots of friction. Because Julia's life is so far from ordinary, she stands out in this setting, which fuels her feelings of failure and shame. I think she actually longs for the anonymity of a big city, a different environment, even though she doesn't quite realize that her "family" isn't about to let her down.

Joyce: Are there any aspects of the setting which were based on your own memories?

Nicole: Lots of things, actually. Throughout my entire life I have been teased about living and growing up in Iowa. People complain that there is nothing to do, there are no mountains, we're nowhere near the ocean, big cities are far away... But I have always loved my pastoral surroundings. The summer storms are unsurpassed, the sunsets are breathtaking, and nothing compares to the wind in a rolling field of soybeans. When I was writing After the Leaves Fall, I knew that Julia's sensitive heart would love all these things about Iowa as I do. I took great pleasure in recalling some of my best memories and trying to capture them on paper. I particularly love the various snow scenes because they exemplify the wild whiteness of the childhood storms I remember.

Joyce: Julia is a character that will capture the hearts of readers. What gives her that universal appeal? Why do we long to hug this young woman?

Nicole: I think Julia is so appealing because we can all relate to her. Our own lives are filled with any number of sorrows that leave scars on our often-fragile hearts. We want to make a difference, we want to live a life filled with purpose and rich in love. But then life gets in the way. We are hurt or we lose someone we care for and suddenly everything is called into question. Who am I? What do I do now? Will I ever be whole again? People hurt. But every day we have a choice: to allow regret to reign in our lives or to simply hope. Julia is hopeful and I love that about her. She's not willing to give up on herself and I think that makes her a wonderful role model. Her life is not about a happily ever after ending, and truthfully, neither are most of ours. It's about living a life of integrity and making the most of the journey we're on.

Joyce: Julia's skepticism of Christianity was portrayed in a realistic way. Do you have any advice for Christians about making their faith more relevant to people like Julia?

Nicole: I think your question reflects the general mindset of this generation: God isn't relevant. Either we don't need him because we already have everything we need, or we have somehow been burned by church, and we view Christianity as hypocritical and out of touch. There are many things that Christians do right, but I also think that we have many areas in which we desperately need to improve. I believe it would be a good start to simply be real. God is our all in all, but sometimes we falsely assure people that if they only had God in their lives everything would be okay. A sort of "health and wealth" gospel: if you love God, you'll be happy, healthy, and wealthy! That is certainly not the message of the Bible. Following Jesus has much to do with suffering, with dying daily to your own agenda. And yet we continue to put on this perfect façade, pretending everything is wonderful and expecting other Christians to do the same. But it's a thin veneer and either people see through it and hate us for our hypocrisy, or they falsely believe that being a Christian is about "having it all together" and they feel inadequate and hopeless when they fail to live up to such an impossible standard. Julia wants to struggle, she wants to doubt and cry and even rage at God, and that's okay. I think if someone met her where she was at, let her be real about what she was feeling and experiencing, her story may have turned out very differently.

Joyce: When will the second book in this series be released? I need to find out what happens next!

Nicole: Spring of 2008. I'm so glad Julia has found her way into your heart!

Joyce: Thanks for answering our questions and for writing such a terrific book!

Nicole: Thank you so much for this opportunity. It's been a lot of fun.

Return to top of page.

This page was last updated on January 1, 2008

This page and all its contents are Copyright© 2002-2008 In the Library Reviews and the individual reviewers. Except where noted, all graphics are Copyright© Eos Development and are used with permission. All book covers are Copyright© their respective publishers and are used with permission. The In the Library Reviews logo is Copyright© 2002 by In the Library Reviews/Sharyn McGinty. Site maintained by In the Library Reviews.