Apr
27
A World I Never Made: Author James LePore
April 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Welcome, James LePore, author of A World I Never Made.
How did you begin writing?
I took a creative writing class in college and wrote eight short stories. These are now fortunately lost to history, but that was my beginning.
Did you intend to become an author?
No, but I intended to try to write, and hopefully get published.
What is your most recent book, A World I Never Made, about?
A World I Never Made, is the story of an estranged father and daughter who struggle to reconnect under an extraordinary set of circumstances. Those circumstances include a faked suicide, a betrayal inside the French government and the workings of a little known but extremely deadly terrorist organization.
Where were you when you first conceived of this story?
I was having dinner with a friend who told me a very sad story about a young woman who had committed suicide and left a taped message to each of her parents and siblings.
Who or what do you relate to the most in the world you describe in your book?
I like the characters Pat and Megan Nolan a lot. They’re a part of me. I just wrote a short story about each of them and I felt as I was writing that I knew them very deeply. I love Catherine Laurence. She’s alone, sad, and guilty, we’ve all been there. She decides to put her whole life on the line to help Pat. She’s had enough in other words. I think we’ve all been there as well.
How has researching and writing this story affected your life?
I learned more about worldwide terrorism than I wanted to know.
Has the telling of this story affected the story itself?
As the characters reveal themselves, the plot is driven in directions not quite known to me until then.
Who is your favorite fictional character?
There are too many to name. One is Jim Dixon, in Kingsley Amis’ Lucky Jim. I read that book twenty tears ago and I still smile when he comes to mind.
What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
All of Hemingway, Henry James, Thornton Wilder. Many others, too many to name. In popular fiction I was and am a great fan of Elmore Leonard.
What was the last book you read and why did you decide to read it?
I just finished Indian Summer by Alex van Tunzelmann, a history of India’s struggle to gain independence. I read it because I feel I need to know more about India.
For some writers, they believe their characters come alive in their imagination and essentially take on lives of their own, almost as if the writer has multiple personalities – does this happen for you? Â If not, how would you characterize your relationship to the characters in your fiction?
This does apply to me. The characters start doing and saying things that I did not know they were going to sat and do.
Do you feel that it is necessary for you to have direct experience of something in order to write about it?
It can’t hurt.
Do you write every day?
Yes.
What is the role of fiction in culture?
This is a big question. Why do human beings produce and consume art, which really has no practical value? I think the answer has something to do with spiritual longing, but don’t quote me.
Does fiction require narrative?
Yes.
What matters most to you, characters or storytelling?
They both matter very much.
Does the size of audience matter to you?
I would like as many people as possible to read and enjoy what I write.
What’s next for you?
I am writing a novel about a high profile district attorney whose son is wrongfully accused of murder.
Should books be electronic?
Of course, although I like to see my book lined up on their shelves.
And finally, what do you think of blogs?
Any forum for honest communication has great value.
James LePore practiced law (civil trial work) in New Jersey for over twenty years and then sold the practice so he could write and take pictures full time. Some of his photography can be seen at nakedeyeimages.com.