Eileen Garvin: On Finding and Guarding Your Writing Time

Eileen Garvin is the author of the nationally bestselling novel The Music of Bees and the acclaimed memoir How to Be a Sister.

The Music of Bees was named a “Good Morning America” Buzz Pick, a Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick, a People Magazine Best New Book, a Christian Science Monitor Pick, a Library Reads Pick, a Washington Post Best Summer Read, an IndieNext Pick, and more. Garvin’s essays have appeared with Medium, The Oregonian, PsychologyToday.com, and Creative Non-Fiction Magazine. Eileen and her husband share their Oregon home with one fearless calico, four curious chickens, and about 180,000 honeybees. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Eileen Garvin

Photo by Kate Schwager

In this interview, Eileen discusses how nature plays an integral part in her life and in her new novel, Crow Talk, her hope for readers, and more!

Name: Eileen Garvin
Literary agent: Heather Carr, Molly Friedrich, The Friedrich Agency
Book title: Crow Talk
Publisher: Dutton / Penguin Random House
Release date: April 30, 2024
Genre/category: Fiction
Previous titles: The Music of Bees (nationally bestselling novel); How to Be a Sister (acclaimed memoir).
Elevator pitch: Three wounded souls meet by chance at a remote alpine lake when one of them rescues an injured baby crow. The main characters include Frankie, a grieving ornithologist; Anne, an Irish musician and young mother; and Aiden, a bright, curious five-year-old boy who has suddenly stopped speaking.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I’ve spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest and always loved spending time outdoors. My family had a lake place, which was a refuge for all of us, especially my older sister, who has severe autism. Early in the pandemic, when all the trails in Oregon and Washington were shut down, I realized then how important the natural world was for me. I thought I’d play with this idea: What if I took three troubled people and put in them in a remote and beautiful place like the lake place of my childhood? How might the landscape help them connect and heal?

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I got the first inkling of an idea for the book in the summer of 2020. My debut novel came out in the spring of 2021, and I was busy with the fun of promoting that book for a while. I started writing Crow Talk that summer and sent a complete draft to my agent at the end of the following summer—2022. My editor bought the book that fall. Crow Talk comes out in April of 2024—so it was almost four years from idea to publication! The only thing that changed was that initially I thought I might write about owls. However, the rowdy crows in my neighborhood convinced me that they deserved the spotlight.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

After I turned in my final revision, I learned how important it was for me to get to work on something new while waiting for Crow Talk to come out. I discovered that I’m happiest when I’m working on something new.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

By the summer of 2021, I felt like everyone around me was in burn-out mode over screen time. So, I intentionally set the story in the 1990s so I didn’t have to write about smart phones or computers. Consequently, my characters had to deal with their conflicts in person, over the phone, or through the U.S. Mail. I was surprised by how much fun I had plotting their interactions through these old-fashioned mediums. Nobody could send a “quick text” to solve their problems!

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Crow Talk takes place in the woods on a lake and the characters spend a great deal of time outside listening to the wind, the birds, the water. I hope readers will notice that and perhaps appreciate the beauty of their own parks, yards, and local trails and discover the comfort that can be found from being quiet outside.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

The best advice I have for other writers is find a time that works for you to write, and then guard that time. To do so you must say no to people—people who love you and have fun plans and want to spend time with you! That can be hard, but the good news is that once you set a boundary around your writing time, it’s easier to know when you can say yes.

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