Chris Knopf

Chris Knopf is the author of The Last Refuge, Two Time, Head Wounds, Hard Stop, and Short Squeeze. A copywriter by trade, Knopf is a principal of Mintz & Hoke Communications Group. He lives with his wife, Mary, and dog, Samuel Beckett, in Avon, Connecticut, and Southampton, New York.

From a Q & A about his new novel, Elysiana, with Hartford Book Examiner:

2) You are both a sailor and a former lifeguard--two pursuits that play prominently in the book. Can you tell us how your own experiences influenced your writing? Do you find it easier to write what you know vs. "making it up"?

I prefer to base my stories on my own experience, which I then drastically (or not) fictionalize. Elysiana is a good example, in that it’s almost completely derived from my experiences as a guard at that time and place. Writers are often like fishermen. We catch a guppy and turn it into “The Old Man and the Sea.”. Although there were things that happened at the shore that I didn’t include because I didn’t think they were believable.

3) The story is set on an island off the coast of the South Jersey in 1969. How did you go about capturing authenticity of time and place? Also, what did you find to be the key(s) to creating such a vivid and resonant atmosphere?

Back when I...[read on]

Coffee with a canine: Chris Knopf & Sam.

My Book, The Movie: Two Time.

The Page 99 Test: Hard Stop.

Writers Read: Chris Knopf.

My Book, The Movie: Short Squeeze.

--Marshal Zeringue