When did you realize your next book ought to be fiction? Did it have anything to do with positive responses towards “Something That Isn’t True at All”? Did it have nothing to do with that?Read the complete Q & A.
A: That had nothing to do with it whatsoever. I’m not even sure anyone read that story. I made the decision to write a novel while I was putting CKIV together, but I had (kind of ) been thinking about it for several years. I suppose every writer aspires to write a novel. It’s the ultimate obstruction.
Since, at first, the majority of people that will read Downtown Owl are likely fans of your non-fiction, were you concerned with putting too much of yourself into the characters? Mitch, Horace and Julia all have Klosterman traits. Were you worried your own personality might override theirs?
A: I don’t think the characters are very much like me. One is a kid who hates rock music. One is a woman. One is a very old man. So I didn’t worry about putting too much (or too little) of myself into any of those characters. That thought barely crossed my mind. The only people who will actively see me in these people are readers who consciously look for that kind of relationship. But if people WANT to search for similarities, that’s cool, too. You can’t control anyone’s personal relationship to what you create.
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