Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Nicholas Montemarano

Nicholas Montemarano is the author of the novels The Book of Why (2013) and A Fine Place (2002) and the short story collection If the Sky Falls (2005).

His new novel is The Senator’s Children.

From his Q&A with Deborah Kalb:

Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Senator's Children?

A: The initial impulse came when I was watching a late-night comedian lampoon a politician whose career had recently imploded in a very public way.

The audience's laughter just didn't sit well with me; it stirred a strong emotional response inside me, and that's something you need, I think, in order to undertake the long journey of writing a novel.

Because a novel can take years to write, and comes with setbacks and doubt, one thing you need—and can return to during the writing process—is a strong emotional response to something and a need to explore it further.

That joke, the audience laughing, and my feeling of sympathy for the politician and especially for his family, given what I assumed they were going through in private—that...[read on]
Visit Nicholas Montemarano's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: The Book of Why.

Writers Read: Nicholas Montemarano.

--Marshal Zeringue