It's my pleasure to welcome Mark Pryor, author of
The Bookseller. Not only did
Library Journal give it a starred review, the book was also awarded "Debut of the Month." I reviewed it on Monday, and asked Mark to share some more information about himself and his novel.
You’re
English by birth, so what prompted you to write a thriller featuring a Texan as
the hero?
I've been living in Texas for the past ten years and
there's something fascinating and romantic about the place. Larger than life in so many ways, a place that,
whether you love or hate it, conjures images of
the kinds of things great stories are made of-- heroes, bad guys, guns,
horses, wide open plains. But I always
knew my novel would be set in Paris so somehow it made perfect sense to put a
Texan there. An old-fashioned Texan in
cowboy boots amid the chic-ness of Paris… there's tension before a word's even
written!
You’ve
succeeded in making me want to visit Paris in the winter. What is it that draws you to the city? And why did you choose a winter setting?
Why thank you.
Several things draw me to the city.
In my humble opinion, it's the most visually appealing city in the world. It's one of the few major European cities not
bombed in the war so there's very little of that hideous fifties and sixties
concrete that you'll see elsewhere. It's
also a city that's easy to explore on foot, and while you're doing that there
are a million cafes where you can sit and rest your weary feet. The food, too… love the food. I've heard Paris described as a small city,
not just because it's so accessible, but because its many arrondissments are
like mini-cities themselves, each with its own nuance and flavor. I definitely agree with that assessment.
As for the setting being winter, I was there in
winter when the story came to me.
Simple, but there you are. That
said, I do think that the weather can be like a character in a book, creating
moods and even obstacles for the characters to overcome. I didn't try for too much of that, but it
definitely plays a minor role. I should
also admit that I wanted Hugo to wear a hat and I only wear mine in the winter,
so it seemed like he would, too.
Which
appeared to you first, your character Hugo or the plotline?
The plot. I
wanted to write a story that revolved around the booksellers who work alongside
the River Seine, the bouquinistes, so
I began with that. As I thought more
about it, and came up with my crusty old bookseller Max, I wondered who might
be a good counterpoint. Hugo developed
fairly quickly in my mind, a sort of coming together of people I've known. He and Max have enough in common plus enough
differences that a "friendship with sparks" seemed natural.
You
started work as a journalist. What
initiated the move into law, and the subsequent decision to write?
I did. When I
moved to the US I did some freelancing but found it hard to land a full-time
job because I didn't have a US journalism degree. So, I went to UNC-Chapel Hill to complete
that but while there became involved with an anti-death penalty organization,
representing death row inmates. From
there, a move to law school seemed logical (oh, about the law v. journalism
thing, I tell people, "If I'm going to do a job where people don't respect
me, I might as well get paid well for it"). Now, from that background to being a Texas
prosecutor, there's another story…!
As for the writing, well, I've always meddled. I suppose about ten years ago I really
thought I'd try and finish a story. I
did, and it was… average, probably. Then
I wrote another, which I liked a lot more.
The desire to write has always
lurked within, it's the end product that's really evolved (one hopes). Now writing is less a choice than a
compulsion--I have two non-Hugo stories I've started to put down on paper and
am desperate to finish. But before I get
to them, I have a non-fiction (true crime) deadline and two more Hugo books to
finish up. It's a wonder I have time to
work for a living…
Is
The Bookseller your first novel? Could
you share with us how it came to be published?
It's the first one I've had published. I wrote and tried to sell two before, but
they never got off the ground. I'm sure it's
because they weren't good enough. The Bookseller took me about six months
to write, then another six months to land an agent. That was exciting, I can tell you, after two
abject failures to have a fair amount of interest from agents. And I consider myself oh so lucky to have
ended up with Ann Collette of the Rees Agency.
She and I worked for about three months on
tightening the book, changing the beginning a little to accelerate the
action. Then I was on submission to
publishers for a year, and we got very close with some of the bigger houses but
in the end they passed. That turned out
to be a blessing in disguise because a
year after being on submission I got an offer for a three-book deal from
Prometheus Books, their new mystery imprint called Seventh Street Books. The
Bookseller is one of two that launches the imprint in October, and the folks
there have been simply amazing to work with.
I’ve
always assumed an author writes the kind of book he likes to read. Are you a committed thriller fan? Who are your favorite writers in the genre?
Yes, I am.
It's pretty much all I read, to be honest. My favorite author is probably Alan Furst, I
devour everything he puts out. The way
he can set up a scene, create atmosphere without drowning the reader in words,
it's impressive. And he's very much in
the vein of other writers I like, the older ones like Eric Ambler or Cornell
Woolrich. Really, there are so many
great writers out there these days, it's a treat for readers who love the
mystery/thriller genre.
You’re
an assistant district attorney in Austin, Texas, and have a family. How and when do you make time to write?
My family has been so supportive and encouraging,
that's the "how." They make
time and they don't mind if I take off for a few hours by myself. I usually go to the library, maybe four to
six hours a week, and I write very fast so I can knock out a chapter or three
every week. And when I'm not actually
writing, I plan the next scene in my head quite carefully, while I'm working
out or walking the dog, for example.
That way, when I do sit down with my laptop it flows from the dense mass
that is my head onto the page without too much trouble.
Because
I love cowboy boots, I just have to know:
what brand of boots does Hugo prefer?
Or does he have them made by hand?
Describe his favorite pair, please.
Great question!
He has three pairs, one for work, one for casual, and one for formal
events. All are quite plain, with fairly
minimal stitching, he's not a flashy kind of guy. His casual pair are his favorites, made in
Texas by Lucchese. They are brown and
ten years old, worn and a little frayed, but they fit like a glove. Or two gloves. As any cowboy will tell you, putting on shoes
is a part of getting dressed, whereas pulling on your favorite boots is a
pleasure all its own.
.jpg)
