Titles by John Gray
Sweet Polly Petals Keller ’ s Heart
God Needed a Puppy
Manchester Chrisitmas
Available Now wherever books are sold !
paracletepress . com so much about it . I ’ m also just incredibly impressed with the talent . I love going to shows with different actors and seeing how they interpret the characters .
Sherman : What was it like when you won your first EMMY ® Award ?
Gray : When I was up for my very first EMMY ® Award , I knew that it was a long shot . I was down by myself in New York City . My wife asked me , “ What are you going to do ?” I said , “ I know I ’ m not going to win tonight , but I don ’ t want this trip to be entirely wasted . I want to have a nice memory .” I got tickets to see a live performance of Of Mice and Men with James Franco and Chris O ’ Dowd . I realized I had to be at the EMMYs immediately after the show , so I wore my tuxedo . The only seat they had available was on one of those overhanging balconies . People were probably looking at me like I was some overdressed dignitary from London , but the play was great . I ended up winning the EMMY that night , which was completely unexpected . Sometimes that ’ s the way it goes . The stories I don ’ t think are going to win are the ones that end up winning , and the ones I think are going to rock the world either don ’ t get nominated or don ’ t end up winning . You never really know what ’ s going to happen . I ’ m at the point now where I ’ ll submit something to the EMMYs if I ’ m really proud of it , but if I don ’ t win , I ’ m okay with it . Getting that first one was huge , though . That was a big deal .
Sherman : When did you first discover Southern Vermont ?
Gray : My sister used to rave to me about it when I was a kid . I saw her one day and she said “ Why don ’ t you come with us ?” and we drove over the state border to Southern Vermont . I loved everything about it . We actually came exactly where I ’ m being interviewed right now – right next to the Battenkill river in East Arlington . I sat next to the water and I thought , “ This is just beautiful over here .” There ’ s just a charm to Vermont that you don ’ t experience anywhere else . I ’ ve been coming back every year since that first visit .
Sherman : What are some of your favorite places in Vermont ?
Gray : I love East Arlington . This whole area is so gorgeous . I also love Shaftsbury . I love the scenic drive up Route 7A , and all the shops along the road . I love to spend a
day at the outlets in Manchester and at the Northshire Bookstore . It ’ s different from any other bookstore business I ’ ve ever been to . It ’ s the type of place where you could easily spend two hours in there just walking around and looking at things . My wife loves to go eat at Up for Breakfast in Manchester whenever we visit . There are just so many places over here that I love .
Sherman : What inspired you to write your first full-length novel , Manchester Christmas ?
Gray : I had a dream one night a couple of years ago . There was a man in an abandoned church . He was looking around , and he saw a light coming in through the church ’ s Tiffany windows . He turned to me and said , “ Did you see that ? The image just changed in the window . Something ’ s there that wasn ’ t there before . I wonder what that is …” Then I woke up . I remember thinking , “ What was that ? That was a weird dream .” The dream stayed with me all morning after I got up . I thought it would be an interesting idea for a story : “ What if somebody was in a church , and they saw something in the windows that no one else saw ? Would everyone think they were crazy ? What if
30 VERMONT MAGAZINE