Caffrey Conversation: Vermeer Interrupted

Neal isn't the only one who holds conversations with paintings. I've been chatting with the works of Johannes Vermeer ever since I began writing Caffrey Conversation stories. Recently the artist dropped into the writing cave to argue that he should be listed in the cast. He makes a compelling case.

My association with Vermeer began with my choice of an avatar for FanFiction. I picked the woman from The Music Lesson because of my interest in early music. Little did I realize that Vermeer had sneakily signed up for a role in my stories. Later, when the other characters complained I was displaying favoritism, I switched to a graphic I'd made of one of my Burmese cats. But Vermeer wasn't to be silenced so easily.

Vermeer first appeared in my third story, The Woman in Blue when the master thief Klaus Mansfeld commissioned Neal to paint a forgery of The Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. Later the artist enriched his role by making himself the object of fascination of Klaus's brother Rolf. In The Mousetrap, Klaus admits that Rolf was the one who'd requested the first Vermeer forgery. Rolf also had Klaus steal The Astronomer from the Louvre, a painting Rolf closely identified with.

I soon discovered that Vermeer is a bit of a diva. Despite all the attention I gave him, he was none too pleased with always being linked to the bad guys. He pointed out that The Astronomer could just as easily represent Peter. That discussion led to The Astronomer's use in a con to capture Rolf.

Vermeer also argued that I should let his romantic side shine through. The result of that prompt was the appearance of Girl Interrupted at Her Music in Progress of Love. I'd originally intended to focus on Watteau's paintings and had based the story's title on a series of panels made by the eighteenth-century artist. But Vermeer wasn't to be denied. His painting stole the spotlight.

Vermeer's latest request was to be featured in the title of a story. In Vermeer Interrupted, he gets his wish. It was an easy decision since not just one but two of his works are featured. Given the artist's early association with Klaus and Rolf, you might suspect the brothers will also be major players, and you'd be right. For the past several stories, Neal has been playing cat and mouse with a mysterious entity called Phoenix. The time for games is over as Phoenix is lured out from behind the curtain.

Phoenix's days are numbered but Vermeer isn't concerned about his future participation. He points out that the title says interrupted, not stopped.

• Vermeer Interrupted on Archive of Our Own
• Vermeer Interrupted on FanFiction
• Vermeer Interrupted on Wattpad