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A chat with the author
First and foremost, thank you so much for your positive responses to my books, and an extra thank you for visiting my website which, like all my books, was designed by the brilliant Lisa Peaks, the most amazing book designer in the world.
When I told my wife, Lorraine, that I was going to write about writing, she sternly lectured me – “No more than 5 lines. No one is going to read more than that.”
She's right, of course, but that's a bit sad, too. Over 40% of people in the United States rely on Facebook as their primary source of news. It seems when most of us say we're seeking information, we're really seeking affirmation of our own opinions and preconceived beliefs. But thankfully, we (often secretly) love to sit back or lie down and let an old-fashioned book (whether it's the kind you hold or an'electronic marvel) take you on an adventure outside yourself. So I'll try to hurry this up to the degree I can and I ask that you bear with me …
For the past several weeks, my wife Lorraine introduced me to one of the most brilliant writer-humorists I've ever read, P.G. Wodehouse. P.G. Wodehouse? How … or who …? And how could I miss someone who and wrote so long ago, from 1881 to 1975? Can he, perhaps, be forgotten or hidden in the shadows of antiquity? Only if you were born on another planet, or have forgotten how to laugh out loud as you read some of the cleverest turns of a phrase ever written.
During his long life, Wodehouse collaborated with the likes of Jerome Kern and had multiple shows running on Broadway at the same time. But this Englishman-turned-American is best known for his two most memorable characters: the scatterbrained Bertie Wooster and his “gentleman's gentleman,” the incomparable Jeeves. If you truly want to discover exactly how utterly fun this is, simply go onto YouTube and bring up Jeeves and Wooster, which ran on British TV from 1990 to 1994 and starred two incredibly brilliant actors, worthy of Wodehouse himself: Stephen Fry as Jeeves and Hugh Laurie (yes, the Hugh Laurie who, in the early 2000s was the highest paid television actor in the world when portrayed the unforgettable and dour House, MD) as Bertie Wooster. As of this writing, Lorraine have watched each of the 23 episodes more than a dozen times, and still giggle each time we revisit this world that was!
Or, for an entirely different take, read Centennial, only one of the late James Michener's masterpieces? During his life (1907-1997), more than 75 million of his novels were sold, and he topped the best-seller lists for more than 45 years. Today, he's hardly read at all. Today, people are in a perpetual hurry. We read “bits” and “bytes” and Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram instead of books.
I could easily teach an entire year's course in American history using Centennial as a textbook, and even today's “quick-get-it-over-with” readers would learn more about the real history – the human history - of America than they would from a shelf full of dry, non-fiction, fact-driven “history” books. Lay Michener's works out in front of you — Hawaii, The Drifters, The Covenant, Poland, Alaska, and perhaps forty others. Match them up against video games, TV rom-coms, Facebook, or texting, and see which leave you more fulfilled, which would make you a more interested and thus a more interesting human being.
I started writing back at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, but life got in the way for many, many years – lawyering, raising kids, suffering through the ups and downs of life, which seems to get in the way when you're planning other things.
But by 1990, I finally “got serious.” Two years and 34 rewrites later, Legacy emerged as my first “literary child.” I was not the “overnight sensation” I thought I'd be. My first published book, Scribe, did not come out until 2005 when a small Israeli publisher, took a chance on me. The risk paid off for both of us. Enough of “It's all about me.” I'd like to answer a few questions about what it's like to write – at least for me – and hope you're not sleeping by now.
The first question I'm always asked is, “Why do you write, particularly when you know you have a virtually zero chance of becoming a best-selling author?” First, I write because I breathe, and I really have no desire to stop doing either. Second, it keeps me off the street. And third, I write because of the excitement that underlies the creation of anything. I'm reminded of the circus worker who was hired to walk behind the elephant and shovel up his droppings. When asked why he did this, he answered, “Because I'm in Show Business!”
When someone learns I'm a writer, she or her will invariably tell me, “I've been meaning to write this great story and …” My response is, “How much of it have you written?” Glum looks, to which I answer, “Every human being has at least one wonderful story inside. Just start to write. Maybe it will be a few words and maybe your book will never see the light of day, but one thing's for sure: if you don't write it, you'll never know, will you? And if nothing else, you owe it to your children to perpetuate your memory when you're gone.”
Like everyone else, I hesitated to start “that wonderful story” for years, but one day I just started writing … and so can you. More than sixteen books later, I don't know how I got here, but it's made my life a whole lot more fun!
I'm frequently asked, “How long does it take you to write a novel?” The answer is elusive and differs with every book. Stalemate took just under three weeks to conceive and write. The original concept for Legacy came to me in 1971, the year after I returned from living in Turkey for two years. When I finally started to write, almost two decades later, I realized how little I knew about the craft. The late, great novelist Gary Jennings was my teacher, mentor, and friend, who taught me so much about the art of historical fiction. Although it is impossible for me to project an “average” of how long it takes me to write a novel, if I had to be pinned down, I'd say between three and eight months and that's after I start writing. For example, The Wrecking Crew took 4½ months to write, but I went through three different ideas for novels and started all three (and wrote more than a hundred pages of each, over a period of ten months before I concluded, “This is the one.”
I've been grinding our my most recent work, Sanctuary, for the last nine months. I find I'm trying to exercise more care in writing that book, and I'm taking the advice of my 16-year-old granddaughter Abby, who said to concentrate on moving the story forward, rather than what titillates me.
An easier question to answer is, “What kind of schedule are you on when you write?” The truth is, I've developed a not particularly admirable habit pattern over the years. By nature, I consider myself an incredibly lazy person. For the first two months of any book I start, I'll write for two hours on a Saturday morning and two hours on a Sunday morning. After about a month, the book starts to write itself, and then the book really starts to move along. No “long-suffering author” stuff for me. Being a full-time trial lawyer, being a daddy and now a “Pop-Pop,” and being married to the most wonderful woman in the world are more than enough blessings for me.
I'm sometimes asked, "Who are your favorite writers?” Since reading has been an addiction as far back as I can remember — and still is — there are well over 100 books on my “top ten” list, and half that many authors as well: everyone from George Bernard Shaw to Shakespeare (does anyone ever still read him — really read him?) — to Robertson Davies. I try to be extraordinarily wide-ranging in my selection. I've seen great writers write books I think are awful, one of which was my mentor Gary Jennings' last book, which he dedicated to me. I've also been bowled over by books by “one-hit wonders” — those whose one book I read (and not necessarily their best-selling book) only to be disappointed by their repeat efforts. As you might expect, I owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the late Gary Jennings, although his Spangle, which I consider the best circus novel, if not one of the best novels, ever written, did dismally in sales.
Finally, of course, the one question I'm always asked: Of the books you've written, which is your favorite? The only answer I can give – and it's really the only truthful answer I can give – is “The next one.” With all sincerity, I wish you a life filled with health and happiness. Love, Hugo