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.
More Answered Questions
Toni
asked
Elinor Lipman:
I just have to tell you, Good Riddance was my first book that you authored, and I LOVED IT! So good news now, I can go back and read all your previous books. Yay! Love the snarky dialog. (Origially a NJ/NY person, so ....) When first moved to OH in 1992 people would just look at me, like not sure if I was kidding her serious. Always kidding! Thanks for your book. How long till your next one?
Alicia
asked
Elinor Lipman:
Good Morning! I met you once many years ago at an evening book signing in Beverly Hills. I mentioned I had read Inn at Lake Devine more often than The Little House Books, Secret Garden and Little Princess combined. Have you ever contemplated writing a sequel to that book? Or did the original book have deleted scenes or chapters? I guess I am looking for a director's cut ;).
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