Ask the Author: Elinor Lipman
Answered Questions (18)
Elinor Lipman
Authors almost always say, "I can't say. It would be like naming a favorite child." But I have noticed over the years that I favor the one just finished. I'm sure it's the psychology of it--it's the one you've devoted the last year or years to, and you want it to be loved out in the world. So at this moment it would be “Rachel to the Rescue." (coming soon). "The Inn at Lake Devine" is often cited as the book that brought people to my work, so that gets an asterisk. And I'm very very fond of “On Turpentine Lane." Thank you for asking!
Elinor Lipman
Dear Anne,
I appreciate your subtlety--no spoiler!--and I had to ponder for a minute which situation you were asking about. (I think I have it now: teacher/pupil). The answer is no; I didn't get the idea from Macron's life. The plot line was pretty much suggested merely by the small age difference between June M. and the graduating class. Having said that, let me know if you were thinking of another situation. Thank you so much for being such a faithful and thoughtful reader. Elinor
I appreciate your subtlety--no spoiler!--and I had to ponder for a minute which situation you were asking about. (I think I have it now: teacher/pupil). The answer is no; I didn't get the idea from Macron's life. The plot line was pretty much suggested merely by the small age difference between June M. and the graduating class. Having said that, let me know if you were thinking of another situation. Thank you so much for being such a faithful and thoughtful reader. Elinor
Elinor Lipman
Linda--Do you mean April in "Then She Found Me?" She taught Latin, so that sent me on a mental search through my characters. Was the "my story" part of your question related to adoption?
Elinor
Elinor
Elinor Lipman
Toni! How did I miss this? So sorry for the delay! There's no greater compliment than your wanting to read the previous books.. I'm about 1/3 into the next novel, so maybe early 2021? I hope the backlist keeps you immersed (and happy!) till then.
With great thanks,
Elinor
With great thanks,
Elinor
Elinor Lipman
The Washington Post asked me this last week, and this is how I answered:
"Shattered" by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes because I am a political junkie.
"My Darling Detective" by Howard Norman (I had to put it aside for some duty reading, but can't wait to get back to it)
"Small Admissions "by Amy Poeppel because I met her recently and was so impressed.
"Dinner with Edward" by Isabel Vincent because I love memoirs and food.
"Anything is Possible" by Elizabeth Strout because she wrote "Olive Kitteridge."
"My Life with Bob" by Pamela Paul because Maria Semple called it "the gateway book that will make you the fiendish reader you know you are!"
"Shattered" by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes because I am a political junkie.
"My Darling Detective" by Howard Norman (I had to put it aside for some duty reading, but can't wait to get back to it)
"Small Admissions "by Amy Poeppel because I met her recently and was so impressed.
"Dinner with Edward" by Isabel Vincent because I love memoirs and food.
"Anything is Possible" by Elizabeth Strout because she wrote "Olive Kitteridge."
"My Life with Bob" by Pamela Paul because Maria Semple called it "the gateway book that will make you the fiendish reader you know you are!"
Elinor Lipman
Sorry to have taken a whole week to answer! The delay has been...can't think of a mystery in my own life to develop! I did do one of those Ancestry.com DNA tests (it was a gift, part of the swag the entire audience of "The View" received on day along with a hair dryer, books, and Barbara Walters' favorite hair products.) The results surprised me. Besides "European Jewish" which I expected, there was a little British, Irish, Western Asian and a fraction Mediterranean. So maybe I'd go back and figure that out. (I know, not a page-turner!)
Elinor Lipman
Dear Bea,
Thank you for this lovely note and for coming to Turn of the Corkscrew. "I laughed and I cried" is my favorite compliment. Enjoy "On Turpentine Lane", and keep in touch.
Fondly,
Elinor
Thank you for this lovely note and for coming to Turn of the Corkscrew. "I laughed and I cried" is my favorite compliment. Enjoy "On Turpentine Lane", and keep in touch.
Fondly,
Elinor
Elinor Lipman
Oh, I love this question. What first popped into my head was both couples (Guido and Holly; Vincent and Misty) from Laurie Colwin's "Happy All The Time." It's the novel that inspired me to try writing fiction. Quirky, smart, off-beat; even a cranky heroine, but four extremely sympathetic characters and a happy ending. And who WOULDN'T name Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy? Not me! Theirs is the original will-they-or-won't-they story.
Elinor Lipman
Natalie--Sorry to be so late; I missed your question till now, so don't give up on me! I always wanted to write. In college I wrote satirical essays for the school newspaper, and after college had writing jobs, working mostly for company newsletters, then a gov. agency, then a teachers' union. I started seeing things around me in terms of possible fictional characters, so I signed up for a writing workshop (nights, weekly, adult ed). I started writing short stories, then submitting them. After my first book (1985) which was a story collection, in which I had 7 connected stories that added up to a novella, I decided I could and should try a novel. I haven't looked back. Thank you and again, apologies for being so late.
Elinor Lipman
Ramona,
I'm not sure if the question is about a new path for you (writing that book) or whether the life you've lived could be the subject/plot/story. I'll guess you meant the former and proffer writing advice: To get started find a writing workshop, led by a published writer (as opposed to a peer group, where often the loudest but not necessarily most helpful voice can prevail.) A weekly class give you deadlines and places to start with assignments and prompts. I won't go on and on in case that wasn't the advice you were looking for! Good luck!
I'm not sure if the question is about a new path for you (writing that book) or whether the life you've lived could be the subject/plot/story. I'll guess you meant the former and proffer writing advice: To get started find a writing workshop, led by a published writer (as opposed to a peer group, where often the loudest but not necessarily most helpful voice can prevail.) A weekly class give you deadlines and places to start with assignments and prompts. I won't go on and on in case that wasn't the advice you were looking for! Good luck!
Elinor Lipman
This answer contains spoilers…
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Elinor Lipman
Diane, Thank you so much. No retirement in sight! I did have two books (essays and THE VIEW FROM PENTHOUSE B in 2013--not so long ago!) I'm quite fond of the new one, ON TURPENTINE LANE, out in a month. (Is this getting very hard-sell?) And I'm a little more than half-way into the one after that. Maybe we'll meet again on the trail--my upcoming events are listed on my website, www.elinorlipman.com, under "Coming to a city near you." Best to you and your sister!
Elinor Lipman
How about a book question?
Elinor Lipman
I could make a case for several...it's tough out there, though, in Hollywood. I might say "My Latest Grievance." I truly never think about casting because I've had many books optioned (the first step) and only one produced. It's my pragmatic streak--I've found that thinking about casting, even when a particular book gets a nibble from Hollywood, is only daydreaming. I did love THEN SHE FOUND ME, which 19 years from option to screen! Thanks for asking.
Elinor Lipman
Update on that 12th novel: It has a title and a pub date: "Good Riddance," will be published on Feb. 5, 2019. I've started the next one, no title; as ever, no outline so proceeding one sentence at a time. I don't move forward until I've revised and polished the chapter I've just finished, At this moment, in chapter 3, I'm still figuring it out. But that's typical!
"Good Riddance" involves a daughter who inherits a high school yearbook that was dedicated to her mother, who became overly invested in that class. Complications ensue!
"Good Riddance" involves a daughter who inherits a high school yearbook that was dedicated to her mother, who became overly invested in that class. Complications ensue!
Elinor Lipman
There are many wonderful things. I remember hearing James Tate say that the best thing about winning the Pulitzer Prize (I didn't! He won in poetry) was that you never know what the telephone call might bring. Best best thing for me is this: sometimes I hear from someone who tells me that they gave one of my books as a present to a sick friend; that he or she had been getting books on healing and nutrition and wellness, but that my novel made the friend laugh. I never forget those stories.
Elinor Lipman
I try not to recognize a block. I aim to write 500 words a day, minimum. I've been known to tie myself to the chair (not with rope, with a scarf, I hasten to add) which keeps me from jumping up and (quite often) looking up recipes or emptying the dishwasher. I read something by Fay Weldon once that was very helpful: if the story is stalled, it's not you--it's the story. Something's missing. It needs something else. Add a character! Add a plot line. That's been a big help.
Elinor Lipman
There was a dark, creepy house on my childhood street, in a thicket of overgrown Fantasia-like trees and shrubs and weeds--the whole thing looming large in my memory. The owner had been a reclusive widow, always dressed in a long black, witchy dress, rarely seen. I used to cross the street rather than walk past her house and certainly never trick-or-treated there. Fast forward forty-plus years and I found out that my best childhood friend had bought the house and had moved in. I was astonished. I was going to write an essay about visiting a house as an adult that had spooked me as a child, but then it struck me as not only a setting for a novel, but a character in ON TURPENTINE LANE. It's not a mystery, but does have a bit of whodunnit in it.
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