A Virtual Book Review Network Interview with Rob Costelloe

Lauren Smith: What is Coinage of Commitment about?

 
Rob Costelloe: Coinage of Commitment is about two people, Wayne and Nancy, who grow up on opposite sides of the country, who are from very different backgrounds, but who share one thing in common that will attract them to each other. Each has matured wanting to experience romantic fulfillment that is superior to the relationships they see all around them. They not only want it, they actively pursue it and, in Nancy’s case, she turns her yearning into a study of ways a couple can achieve love at a higher level and sustain it for the duration. In 1968, they meet while he is attending blue collar Drexel, and she is at neighboring, Ivy League Penn. Although irresistibly drawn together for the transcendent love they sense they can attain in each other, they must overcome obstacles posed by the class, financial, and religious differences that separate them, as well as opposition from both families, and later, a twist of fate that will be the cruelest test of all. 

Lauren Smith: When you talk about "love at a higher level" what do you mean by that? 

Rob Costelloe: It means keeping the “magic” of a romantic commitment at an elevated level, over a long period of time, as the couple’s highest priority, in the context of leading an otherwise normal life. In the story, Nancy concludes that such a condition, if achieved, can only be sustained by intellectual effort and planning, in addition to the emotional commitment we normally associate with romantic love. 

Lauren Smith: What was your inspiration for writing this book? 

Rob Costelloe: I wrote earlier in life, including an unpublishable first novel, a love story, then I abandoned writing altogether. But I continued to study romantic love, and I enjoyed studying love stories in books and films. In 2005, I read an otherwise well written novel whose denouement was so suddenly despairing that I felt outrage on behalf of all the women readers who were disappointed by this disjointed outcome. Within twenty-four hours, I was writing Coinage of Commitment. 

Lauren Smith: How long did it take you to write it? 

Rob Costelloe: It took seventeen months from deciding to write to landing the first contract offer. The first draft took four months of nearly full-time effort. Since I was also holding a full-time day job, that meant that I got very little sleep. I queried awhile, then sat down and read the manuscript after not having looked at it for two months. I was shocked to discover that it was not the greatest love story ever written, and that it was suddenly important to me that it be that good. I know this sounds delusional, and it did to me even as I was thinking it, but it affected my actions in a major way. I pulled the manuscript off the market and went into what turned out to be seven months of editorial analyses, rewrites, and polishing revisions. I changed my writing style to be more in tune with the story’s artistic needs. After that, it was back to the tedious grind of querying. But this time I did hit gold, garnering three contract offers from royalty publishers.

Lauren Smith: What do you hope the reader "gets" from your book? 

Rob Costelloe: I want my audience to find a variety of good things offered at different levels for their reading pleasure. I hope they enjoy the story proper, and that they thrill to the twist in the final chapter that peaks in a surprise ending. The book has artistic ambitions, and there were times when it felt as though I were sweating blood to make the prose as beautiful as I could so it would sing in the reader’s mind. The book delivers a message about what part romantic love can play in fulfilling people’s lives, and that is intended to be thought provoking. The story examines the theme of “the road not taken” in some of the decisions that Wayne and Nancy make early on that play out in dramatic ways. 

Lauren Smith: The book doesn't fall into the usual romance genre, was that intentional? 

Rob Costelloe: Good question. On starting the project, all I knew was that I wanted to write a love story, and a good one at that. But once I got into it, I realized that I had the opportunity to write one unlike any other for the height that the lovers reach and show can be done. Everything that followed: the late nights, the endless queries, the multiple rewrites—all revolved around that opportunity to produce something unique and different. 

Lauren Smith: Have you gotten any feedback on being a man, writing in this genre? It's pretty unique! 

Rob Costelloe: Having read Nicholas Sparks, I didn’t realize the uniqueness you mention until my publicist pointed it out. That is, I knew I was a minority by gender, but I was not the least bit uncomfortable with it. Since my book was written for women, I targeted women editors from the very start. Then, when I realized that women dominated my end of the publishing world, I was relieved. I had always admired and worked well with women, and I knew that if I was going to make it as a royalty published author, it would be with a woman editor or agent. 

Lauren Smith: Can you tell us about your next book? 

Rob Costelloe: I’d be delighted. My next novel, code named Cameo, is a contemporary love story about a group of characters who grow up in small town Hanover, PA, and go on to college at the University of Pennsylvania. Even though it will be written for women readers, it will give them a glimpse into the delicate issues arising from the weight loss ambitions of the male protagonist. It is shaping up to be a unique offering indeed, and it should be available by mid 2008. 

Lauren Smith: What was your biggest challenge when writing this book?

Rob Costelloe: I’ve known the loneliness of the long distance runner. But it pales compared to being an unpublished writer trying to sell a different kind of love story. Apart from that, I think my biggest challenge was adapting my style to the artistic needs of the manuscript. I used an incremental revision process that took about eight separate passes through the manuscript, each requiring one-to-two weeks of part-time effort. It came down to a decision to hold up publication, and my publisher, Saga Books, was very understanding about needing to get the prose to where the story would be its best. 

Lauren Smith: What has surprised you most about the publishing process? 

Rob Costelloe: The oversupply of aspiring writers is amazing. A close second is the overall poverty of the industry compared to any other I have been close to. I have never seen so much artistic passion, and endless work hours, and enthusiasm, all chasing so few dollars. People in the publishing industry seem to work their hearts out for low pay at a time when fewer and fewer people are buying fiction, and all for the love of literature and books. It’s inspiring to be a part of it, but sometimes a little sad. I am encouraged, though, by the new breed of Internet royalty publishers. They are bringing in much needed fresh air, and they’re giving readers an artistic and viewpoint alternative to the standard fare offered by the New York publishing houses.