Interview: Gayna Vetter talks about Residual Images

Gayna Vetter lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. Residual Images is her first novel, which she is self-publishing at the age of 70. Her life prior to writing was a mix of work in television (graphics) and education, with moonlighting that included volunteer work with SCI and VSA, and sign painting. She once created an old-fashioned photo parlour where she took a portrait of her now-husband dressed as a cowboy. Gayna holds the Advanced and Graduate Diplomas in Creative Writing from Whitireia and has published poetry, short stories and a film script. 

Tell us a little about Residual Images.

It’s 1984, and 27-year-old photographer Etzel Baumann is living in self-imposed exile in Hornby, Canterbury, when she’s compelled to return to the American Midwest after news of her mother Nola's potential death. There, she is mesmerised by decades-old photographs whose images expose stories about her parents as lovers, and her older seven siblings as happy children. Etz is an observer; she can’t be put off seeking answers to nagging questions. But she comes up against age-old expectations and struggles within a confining family dynamic.

Characters in the story refer to real Midwestern events through a German-from-Russia perspective: the 1966 spring blizzard, the Wolf family murders and Hazel Miner, who perished in a 1920 blizzard while saving her siblings.

What inspired you to write this book?

Things that have moved me blended together to create this story. I once volunteered at the site of a former concentration camp in northern Poland, Stutthoff, where we sorted buried shoes to help establish the camp as a museum. The artwork and photographs I saw at the camp wept their stories and inspired me to listen to images.

Much later, after my parents died, I found old photographs and was struck by the beautiful historical artefacts, but was also curious about the people photographed through time. I’m interested in the historical processes of photography.

My original idea for this book was actually to write the Photography of History, a somewhat academic idea, and you’ll find a thread of photography throughout Residual Images.

Finally, I’m the eighth child of a family with siblings born over a period of twenty years, and have one sister ten years older than me and another twenty. I wanted imagine a large second-generation American family born over those decades, to show how differing societal contexts can shape siblings who have everything else in common.

The story also explores normalised abuse within communities. I was haunted by local suicides through my childhood, which formed a motivation for the protagonist, Etz, and made me want to consider what is considered acceptable behaviour.

What research was involved?

Film photography was once my occupation and hobby, so I enjoyed looking back at the history and processes involved. The historical events in the book are from the Midwest USA; I read books and found newspaper articles about real events that I’ve fictionalised.

Some of the historical photographs that had once captivated me are now on a ‘Germans from Russia’ website. To understand that ancestry, I read real stories from a personal family history collection, which provided some of the language used in the story.

Primary research included listening to stories of hidden abuse in and around my community, and this inspired me to read about how the effects of abuse can shape a personality.

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

I wrote, played online games, then wrote more before I cleaned the fridge, then the bathroom and then decided I needed help. I used the Pomodoro method, which helped me stay on task and break habits.

I joined Whitireia’s Creative Writing course, where I produced a first draft. My practice was to write for at least 4 hours a day, handwriting into notebooks, starting with what I thought would be the most difficult bits. I’d enter these to the computer every week and, after a month, I’d re-read.

I used a flip-chart to make my timeline and to create family members, many of which are extras in the book. I wrote chapter summaries and plotted the storyline and checked these while rewriting. Once I finished the first and second drafts I got feedback and asked all sorts of people to read and comment. What a help that was.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

My character, Etz, would choose soothing music, simple and striking like Arvo Part’s Spiegel im spiegel. But she would relate to Luka by Suzanne Vega because it has her attitude: ‘you just don’t argue anymore’.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the lead characters?

Etz is tall (about 1.8m) but Noomi Repace, with red hair, or Jessie Buckley, but would need some height extensions. Frances McDormand would be a good Jan (who’s younger than Frances). I envision Gunther’s lips like Hinnerk Schönemann; I think Joaquin Phoenix could handle Kurt. Ingrid Bergman could do Nola and Charles is Cary Grant, of course. Holliday Grainger with dark hair and eyes might portray Gitté nicely and Ada is a Diane Wiest type. This is fun, I could keep going, but I’ll let you imagine the rest.

What did you enjoy the most about writing Residual Images?

The characters. I enjoyed Etz, who appeared to me in the night. Gunther (Grunt) made me cry. I loved when fictional Marty turned up and grew a fully formed personality in my mind. The fly, though that may be a disturbing perspective, was fun.

Then there were pets: dogs Fester and Pooper, cat Salt’n’Pepper, and the bird, Pontius the Parakeet (these are real characters but the dog’s and bird’s names have been changed). And finally, the photographs: I found writing the photograph stories was gripping.

What did you do to celebrate finishing Residual Images?

Don’t feel finished, but I’ve had several celebrations at transition points (I love an excuse to celebrate). I attended Port Townsend Writer’s Conference in Washington State when the story was set and I was re-writing. That was a major marker. After it’s released, I hope to do a major overseas adventure, but not until I take a large nip of good brandy.

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

I find favourites difficult because I love each. I’m enjoying Philippa Gregory’s Tudor Queen books. I loved The Other Boleyn Girl and thought I’d have a hard time with the rest, but in each one, Gregory has given more depth to the characters of those times than I expected. I love the descriptions of the court and the clarity of the women’s reactions. They were given depth in their need for autonomy and choice.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I’ve got notes for the next book and Etz is involved. It’s in the present day, Aotearoa New Zealand. I plan to put her on a bit of a tightrope and see how she does, given her background.