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Gretchen Berg | Exclusive Interview: THE OPERATOR + Giveaway!
Author Guest / March 11, 2020

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Gretchen! Please tell us about yourself and your new novel, THE OPERATOR. The Operator is the story of Vivian Dalton, a nosy switchboard operator who eavesdrops on all the conversations of the residents in her small town.   Set in Wooster, Ohio in the 1950s, I read that this story is inspired by your own family’s history! Can you share the background and inspiration for THE OPERATOR? I’d been doing genealogy research on my mom’s side of the family, and combined a little of that with my grandmother’s occupation.       Vivian Dalton is one of the town’s switchboard operators and knows everything about everyone because she and the other operators secretly listen in on conversations. If you were in a similar occupation, would you listen in on conversations? Why or why not? I really don’t think I would. It’s so invasive. Vivian overhears a conversation that could be her downfall – she’d be humiliated in front of the entire town and she’s desperate to stop it from getting out. What do you think readers will love about Vivian? What do you think they will find frustrating about her? I know different readers will love & find frustrating…