Swim The Fly by Don Calame - Q&A With Author

A ConversAtion with
author of
Q. Is there any backstory to your writing of this book, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned after
being married to her for the last six years, it’s to
novel?
never discount her strong feelings about things.
A. It started out as a short piece (a page-and-a-half So after the thirty-eighth time my wife brought it
scrawl, really) that I wrote in a workshop around up, I finally caved and started writing the book.
six years ago. It was the true story of how my swim
Q. Why did this story in particular need to be

coach asked me to swim the hundred-yard butter-
fly when I was a fifteen-year-old broomstick in a
bathing suit and how I was too scared to say no. told?
What followed was a torturous summer of dread
as the swim meet approached and I knew that I
A. I’ve read a lot of young adult literature, and
it took me a long time to find a few truly honest
was going to lose that race in a bad way — to the
male voices out there — at least, honest in how I
biggest, strongest kid on one of the other teams.
remember things: the way my friends and I used
The story sat in a notebook, and I didn’t think to talk and think and act, the ridiculous (and
much about it until my wife mentioned that she embarrassing) situations we often found ourselves
thought it would be a great kicking-off point for in. I wanted to get down the truth as I remember
a young adult novel. She had just published a it: the awkwardness, the camaraderie, the fun, the
young adult novel herself and felt there was a real humor, the terror of being fifteen.
need for material that would appeal to boys on a
Q. Do you think that Swim the Fly may have a

humorous level.
crossover adult audience and why?

Q. So what inspired you to really sit down and A. I hope so. I know that the adults (both male and
turn that short piece into your first novel?
female) who have read it really enjoyed it. They’ve
A. As I said, it was really my wife’s idea. I’ve been told me it evokes the memory of being that age,
a professional screenwriter for quite some time and all of them said they were laughing out loud.
and was working on a project when she bullied
I have a friend who’s a sixty-eight-year-old superior
me into putting that project away and start work-
court judge; he was over at our house reading the
ing on Swim the Fly. (I’m sure my wife will be
manuscript, and when I saw him sitting on our sofa
getting a call from my film agent when she reads
with tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks,
this.) When I say bullied, I mean it in the nicest
that’s when I knew I really had something.
sort of way. Basically, she wouldn’t let it go. She
had a really strong feeling about me writing this
As I said, I did swim the butterfly when I was fif
fif-
teen, though it wasn’t my own choice and I didn’t
necessarily do it to impress a girl. Also, none of
my swim coaches were anything like Ms. Luntz
or Ulf.
Other than that, my friends and I did think and

talk like this; we did play a whole lot of Ping-
Pong; we did make up foul drink concoctions that
we dared each other to drink; we did hear about
a nude beach that we sought out; and there was a
girl in sixth grade who had an affinity for Tootsie
Pops.
Q. Which character did you most enjoy writing? So I guess the answer to your question is no, but
also yes.
A. I had a great time writing and getting to know
all of the characters. It was a fun book to write
from start to finish. Much of the time, I’d just be Q. What do you most want readers to take
sitting there writing and making myself laugh. It away from this novel?
sounds odd, but it’s true. It’s the most fun I’ve had
writing anything.
A. Mostly I’d like my readers to have a good time
with the characters and the story — to laugh a
And I got just as much enjoyment writing the whole lot, to be entertained. If people have half
female characters as the male ones. A lot of times as much fun reading it as I did writing it, then I
the girls in the book would surprise me by what think I’ve done my job. Other than that, maybe
they’d say or what they’d do, which was exciting. if readers can see themselves or their friends in
these characters — to see their vulnerabilities. If
Readers have their own favorite characters,
they can say, “Yeah, that’s how it really is,” then
though. From the feedback I’ve gotten so far, a lot
that would make me feel good too.
of people seem to love Coop, who’s probably the
crudest of the boys and also the one who comes
up with most of the schemes and plans. I guess
there’s this feeling of, “What is Coop going to do or
say next?” Ulf (the militaristic lifesaving instruc-
tor) seems to be another favorite, mostly because
of his mangled idioms.
Q. We know that you swam the butterfly when

you were fifteen. Were any other parts of the
story based on real-life experiences?
swim the Fly
A. This is a loaded question — especially consid- on sale April 2009 • isBn: 978-0-7636-4157-3
ering the things that go on in this novel. I guess
hardcover $16.99 ($19.00 CAn)
the truth of the matter is that none of the things
5 ⁄4 x 7 3⁄4 • 352 pages • Age 14 and up
1
that happen in the book happened in real life,
though I’ve drawn from my own life experiences
to “spice the soup,” so to speak. mediA ContACt:
tracy miracle, sr. Publicist • 617-588-4404
[email protected]

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A ConversAtion with

Q. Why did this story in particular need to be

Q. Do you think that Swim the Fly may have a

crossover adult audience and why?

Other than that, my friends and I did think and

Q. We know that you swam the butterfly when

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