An Interview With Author Cynthia Beach

Interview by Hugh Cook

Cynthia Beach is the author of The Surface of Water, a timely novel published this year by InterVarsity Press. The novel presents an unflinching, lifting-the-veil portrayal of a contemporary evangelical megachurch; it reveals the damaging consequences when faith is overruled by the temptations of power and wealth. In our age of #churchtoo, the novel thus is a relevant and timely read.

Cynthia Beach is interviewed by author Hugh Cook.

What is the main storyline of The Surface of Water?

Matthew Goodman, celebrated pastor of a Chicago megachurch, nevertheless has a secret that could severely damage his reputation if it is revealed. A young woman named Trish Card comes into Goodman’s life, and she is the only person who can uncover his secret. But Goodman doesn’t know it. He has become lost inside his fame, and what Trish Card may offer him is a doorway to truth.

What motivated you to write this novel?

In November 2008, 55-year-old Pastor Matthew Goodman and 25-year-old Trish Card arrived. Goodman came to my mental door, invited there by a “what if” question. What if a successful pastor is a Richard Cory?

Richard Cory is the glamorous and tragic gentleman-celebrity of a poem by American Pulitzer-prize-winning poet E. A. Robinson. In high school, I read Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” and could not forget it. In it, the working town’s celebrity, the business tycoon everyone loves and envies, has an internal life vastly different from the external image he projects. The poem taught me the complexity of being human. Some folks who seem to have it all, in fact do not.

So, this “what if” question arrived—but this time with an evangelical pastor. And not just any pastor, but a wealthy broadcast pastor with a Chicago megachurch, a pastor who is good-looking and articulate and very, very successful. But Matthew Goodman’s success doesn’t fill him. Why not? Matthew has shuttered his soul and fails to explore the discordant chaos around his father, radio evangelist Jacob Goodman. So, yes, what if? What if a successful pastor is a Richard Cory?

As if that’s not enough, Trish Card, his new assistant, arrives in this successful man’s life as someone on a mission—and as someone who hasn’t had any of the social advantages Matthew Goodman has had. A girl from Trentwood. What she has, though, is sacrificial love demonstrated by the Latino family who cared for her after her mom’s death. Because of their love and her suffering, Trish operates with keen authenticity that wakes this image-conscious leader. In the world of fiction, this is an “odd-couple pairing.” What might a Trish Card teach a Richard Cory?

What are some themes in this novel?

The costs to the powerful for being the powerful and the costs to the powerless for being powerless. Another theme contrasts true religion with false. Finally, there’s a theme of redemption, too, for Matthew Goodman—if he’s willing. When we become lost in life, we must find a path to renewal.

What genre is your novel?

Contemporary, upmarket fiction. This means it’s literary—character-driven with some artful word use—while maintaining tantalizing suspense. It’s a good combo. Artful and suspenseful.

Of course, suspense doesn’t mean a physical bomb explodes, right? Suspense includes emotional bombs, too, and that’s what Surface is about.

What are readers saying about your novel?

The most common response to date is a complaint. Readers say they stay up too late finishing it. They must find out what happens. That, of course, delights me. I start to laugh.

So, why can’t people put the novel down?

Matthew Goodman and Trish Card are complex characters. They aren’t one-dimensional, and neither are their problems. My impression? Readers care about them. Readers feel Goodman’s vulnerabilities—and Trish’s.

I also learned a great fiction technique from what agent Donald Maass called “micro-tension,” which he defines as conflicting emotions. The Surface of Water has protagonists who are riddled with ambivalence—Goodman with his isolating fame, and Trish with the whole mystery about who her dad is and her mom’s tough life.

What are you most proud of in Surface?

Hmm. Okay, here’s what I’m most proud about: looking at things in both a truthful and loving way. I respect Goodman. I respect Trish. The story doesn’t trash men. Although it touches on #ChurchToo, it’s not a story colored by gender contempt. I have a high view of how we suffer regardless of who we might be.

Water appears in the title and throughout the novel. What does it mean?

Goodman is a surface guy. He has built a lifestyle in which he neglects his soul, his family, his relationship to the world. So, what would happen if he plunges into the deep end? That’s one meaning of water in this novel.

But symbolism doesn’t function like simple arithmetic. There is a “beyond-ness” to water in this story. Is it mercy? Grace? A transcendent being?

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about your novel?

The Surface of Water is distinct in several ways. First, its point of view directs empathy toward Pastor Goodman. What is the impact of our celebrity culture on a human soul? Goodman’s celebrity status makes examining the truth of his inner life difficult. A second distinct feature is that this novel explores sexual misconduct as sexual addictions, not as a “mistake” or one small sin, but a chosen psychological gear returned to again and again.

While alive to social justice issues, the novel doesn’t preach; instead, it has understated depth.

Readers will find real characters, not one-dimensional caricatures, which is especially vital in a story about a pastor. Readers travel with a celebrity pastor, a “Richard Cory,” who finds his status isolating and burdensome. They will discover a man who is complex, aggravating in his arrogance and accessible in his sadness, and a young woman whose past makes her both strong and troubled.

What are you working on now?

A Thousand Wings of Light, a sequel to Surface of Water, which has riveted my focus now. Joining Goodman and Trish as point-of-view characters are Goodman’s son, Jonathan, and Maria’s son, Andres. At the end of Surface, everything erupts, and now we move with these four characters to see what happens next.

Where can readers obtain a copy of The Surface of Water?

Readers can order the book from their local bookstore, from Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

Cynthia Beach is a longtime professor of creative writing and author of Creative Juices for Writers and the novel The Surface of Water. She has an MA in journalism from Wheaton College and an MFA in fiction writing. Cynthia directs a faith-based writing workshop, Scriptoria, with Newbery-winner Gary Schmidt. She lives near Grand Rapids, Michigan on seven quiet acres with her husband, Dave. Her Surface sequel is forthcoming. For author information, visit cynthiabeach.com.

Hugh Cook holds an MFA in fiction writing from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. He has published two books of short stories and two novels. Readers can obtain his recent award-winning novel Heron River at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble . Hugh also edits fiction manuscripts. Contact him at hughcook212@gmail.com. For more information, check his website at hugh-cook.ca.