Suzanne Corso on Fate, Cranberry Juice, Her True Voice

 

Brooklyn Story is a fast-paced, emotion-laced and deeply moving fiction debut from Manhattan author Suzanne Corso. It was snatched up by Gallery's senior editor Mitchell Ivers in a matter of days and has the support of Hollywood stars Olympia Dukakis, Lorraine Bracco and Armand Assante. The novel tells the wrenching tale of Samantha Bonti, a gritty, gutsy, good-looking Bensonhurst girl who gazes across the Brooklyn Bridge and dreams of one day crossing over to a new life in Manhattan. Samantha longs to become a writer who lives each day with verve, faith and ease, but her dreams seem out of reach. Her drug-addicted mother can't help. Her Italian gangster father is long gone. Her loving Jewish grandmother can't protect her. And her seductive boyfriend, Tony, is offering expensive gifts and a dangerous life that will only take her farther from her true self and deeper into the dark side of Brooklyn.

Shelf Awareness had a lively conversation with Corso about writing, Bensonhurst, her flight from her past, her dreams for the future and her brief stint at as a temp at Simon & Schuster.
 

 

How much of Brooklyn Story is autobiographical?

I have to be honest: Samantha's really me. She really is me. I was brought up by a Jewish grandmother and a Jewish mother turned Catholic, and I had a crazy boyfriend who did crazy things, but I needed to get out of it and to get out of Brooklyn and pursue my dreams.

Although it's one of ultimate triumph, this is a grueling tale. How does it feel finally to have your story out there?

This is huge for a girl like me, who comes from absolutely nothing. But I had so many things inside of me that other girls didn't, and I made that work for me. I'm teaching my daughter now that you can't let a man tell you what to do. When you hear the first "shut up," you have to get out.

Did you study writing?

I had to drop out of high school because of an abusive boyfriend. I had to drop out of college because my mother was dying, and I had to run the household. I may have taken one course at NYU, but every time I tried to go to school, something would happen. I couldn't pursue writing because working to stay afloat was more important. When I was sick with a kidney stone, I had to drink cranberry juice and water until I passed the kidney stone on the R train. That's a true story! I had no money. I couldn't afford to go to the doctor. I passed a kidney stone on the R train.

It sounds like a long journey from there to here. What helped you get started as a writer and what helped you stay with it?

I don't think anyone can teach you how to write. I'd study structure and grammar, and I'd get bored with it. When Mitchell Ivers at Gallery was reading the book, I thought he'd want me to fix up the grammar and everything, but he called me and said, "Suzanne, I love this book so much I don't want to change a thing." The voice is really mine.

When did you start writing Brooklyn Story?

I started the book when I was 17 years old. I didn't choose to be a writer. The writing came to me. It was therapy for me because my life was so dysfunctional. I did so many drafts. I had friends read it. Other editors would work with me. I think that's where I learned, sitting with other writers, letting other people look at it. I believe a lot in fate, too. I would pray, and I would believe that something would happen for me.

You've said that fate and faith have played a role in your life and in your career. Can you talk about that?

When I was 19 years old, I was a temp at Simon & Schuster. I used to look at all the slush piles and I'd imagine what it would be like to be published there. Here I am 21 years later and I'm published there and it's hardcover and I'm over the moon. This is really important for me: the fact that I temped at S&S, and I visualized that I would someday be published there. Fate plays a big part in my life, totally. I prayed to the Blessed Mother, too. It's like she's my mother because my real mother isn't alive anymore. I live in the city. I'm married. I have an 11-year-old daughter named Samantha. When I met my husband, I legitimately became Catholic.

You have some amazing endorsements for your book. Tell me about Olympia Dukakis, Lorraine Bracco and Armand Assante. Are they your friends, and how did you meet them?

I met Armand, Olympia and Lorraine through friends. I'd produced a play and a documentary, and I met Olympia in 2002. I dabbled in all these things because I had to get to where I am right now. Lorraine and Olympia are my friends. I spent a lot of summers in the Hamptons with Lorraine. Lorraine is attached to the role of Pamela, and Olympia would want to play my grandmother. Movie deals are way harder than book deals, but I know that someone big will do the movie, and I can't wait. I can't wait to see what God gives me.

It sounds like you have exciting plans for Samantha's story. What are they?

We're shopping around the screenplay now. Also I guess you can say it--yes, say it--Brooklyn Story is part of a planned trilogy. I do everything in threes. That's my superstition. The next book starts from where Samantha leaves off in this one. She goes onto the next stage of her life, from age 25 to 45, and it's pretty much up to present day. Just when you think you get out of the craziness, you don't get out of the craziness. You can't believe the things that have happened to me!

What do you most want people to know about Brooklyn Story?

I want to be the author who interacts with people. When I do bookstores and signings, I'm very approachable. I want women to come up to me and say, "I went through this, too." I want readers to walk away thinking, "She got out of this. Look at her today. I can get out of it too."