If I Wasn't a Writer … If I could have been what I truly wanted to be, I'd have been a singer. My son Martin is a singer and when I hear him sing I think, my goodness, what I do is so pale compared with this. So, to get in the mood to write, I can spend a whole day in the kitchen, baking for the college kids, making a year's worth of spaghetti sauce and applesauce because I won't be coming back to that once I start a novel, and listening to everything from Dusty Springfield to Mirella Freni. And while I'm doing that, I'm talking to the people who will help me shape the authenticity of my story: for this upcoming book, these are a firefighter, a surgeon, a medical illustrator, a feature film maker, and so on. Finally, I turn off the music and, in the silence, write the first sentence:“She was born lucky.” (That's the one this next time).
Readers Frequently Ask
Q: Is this book going to be made into a movie like The Deep End of the Ocean?
A: I sure hope so!
Q: Why have you written so many books if your first one was so successful?
A: Ummm, see me later for a discussion of college tuition and obsession.
Q: Is it fun to be able to stay home with your kids and make a living too?
A: Fun?
Q: Does writing just flow for you?
A: It does not. I am not a natural.
Influences on My Writing
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. There have never been more elegant sentences. Some were a tad overwrought, but most of them were perfect. Capote found the right word, instead of the right ten words. “Literary” writers of this era need to listen up: just because you can do something does not mean you should do it over and over on the same page.
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White. This is how a story should be structured, exactly this way. This is how emotion should arise naturally from event and how primary and secondary characters come to life through the movement of the tale.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. In its time, it was considered a silly piece of romance. Oh, my gosh. Like a few other books, like Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, it was one that nobody (except Dostoyevsky) got, in terms of how amazing a story this was. This is exquisite drama, huge ambition and sweep and, in the way all stories should be, social commentary of the highest order only through the events of the story — not as an exercise in polemic. It's dumb, for my money, to set out to write about “political futility” or “human redemption.” It's my belief that stories should teach lessons by accident, not by design. Readers get more from a story that entertains them and moves them and later provokes them to think about their beliefs than from a story that's heavy with symbolism. For example, Bernard Malamud wrote many short stories that were HEAVILY about the human condition. He also wrote the beautiful short novel The Natural which was made into a movie with Robert Redford — and which said more about defeat, hope, and redemption than all his other work. Bernard Malamud was at his best writing The Natural, not The Letter.
NEXT DAY RICE PUDDING
Makes 4 servings
I've never baked Proust's madeleine or even tried any of the recipes from Nora Ephron's Heartburn, but one of the happy lessons that the Cappadoras learn early is to guard a great recipe. In No Time to Wave Goodbye, Vincent compares Grandma Rosie's recipe for “gravy,” which is what Italians call pasta sauce, to such secrets as the recipe for Coca-Cola and Van Gogh's ineffable way of creating the color yellow. In my family, a good recipe needs to be easy, inexpensive, and evoke passionate reactions of joy. My children beg me not to forget the Sierra Secrets or the Tutu cookies at Christmas; my eldest took jars of my spaghetti “gravy” to college; my thirteen-year-old daughter has actually eaten so much of my mustard-and-ketchup meatloaf that she had to lie down for three hours. I created this recipe so that I could make a huge pot of rice for stir-fry one night and have enough left over to make rice pudding chilled for dessert or warm for a cold-weather breakfast the next day.
2 cups cooked white rice (it can even be left over from Chinese takeout, but no soy sauce please!)
2 cups milk, nonfat or 2%
1 cup sugar (I use raw or turbinado sugar)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
¼ cup slivered almonds (not even an option at my house! My kids don't like them but it makes for a more “grown-up” taste)
1 In a saucepan, cook the rice and milk together over medium high heat until they boil, stirring nearly constantly until the rice begins to thicken to a pudding-like consistency (this will take a good twenty minutes, so put on some music). Add the sugar and salt and keep cooking until the mixture falls heavily from a spoon (the consistency of very thick waffle batter).
2 Just before removing from heat, add raisins and stir until they heat through.
3 Place pudding in a large serving dish or individual dessert cups and sprinkle with cinnamon, or cinnamon and nutmeg with a dusting (not at my house!) of slivered almonds. Serve warm or cold.
GRANDMA ROSIE'S GRAVY (PASTA SAUCE)
Makes 4 quarts
Grandma Rosie Cappadora is the matriarch of the family in The Deep End of the Ocean and Grandpa Angelo was a cook in World War II. This spaghetti sauce, supposedly, is the among the reasons for the success of The Old Neighborhood, the restaurant owned by the Cappadora family in The Deep End of the Ocean and No Time to Wave Goodbye. My godmother, Serafina, taught me how to make spaghetti sauce when I was a child. Although I've added ingredients to it on my own (you can throw anything in this, from fresh peas to meatballs to mushrooms), this is a recipe that relies on freshness and the willingness to do just a little bit extra. I make it only once a year, but I make probably fifteen quarts, enough to last through Christmas and to bring the taste of summer into February.
This is a basic marinara sauce that can be served over pasta with Grandpa Angelo's Surefire Army Mess Meatballs (see recipe), as a pizza base, or on rounds of bread with cheese for crostini. It freezes very well.
3 tablespoons olive oil (NOT extra-virgin because it burns)
4–5 garlic cloves, peeled
1½ large yellow onions, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 pounds large fresh tomatoes (approximately 8 of any kind), washed and chopped into large pieces
3 28-ounce cans whole Roma tomatoes
4 6-ounce cans tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or ½ tablespoon dried basil)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1¼ teaspoons dried parsley)
1½ tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2–3 tablespoons sugar (to taste, more if sauce is acidic)
Up to 4 cups water
OPTIONAL
1 16-ounce can green peas, drained
2–3 red or green peppers, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces, and sautéed lightly in olive oil
2 ounces sliced fresh button mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil until lightly browned (or canned button mushrooms, drained)
½ cup red wine
Pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1 Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot. Sauté the garlic cloves until they are dark golden and then discard the cloves.
2 Add onion and celery to pot, and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add fresh and canned tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer over low heat for at least one hour, adding up to four cups of water a little at a time to reach desired thickness (it should have the consistency of a chunky soup that can be poured).
3 Pour the sauce into a food processor and process in batches until smooth and thick. Return sauce to pot. If desired, add peas, peppers, and mushrooms, and/or for a spicier sauce, add red wine and ground cayenne pepper. Simmer once more, for about 30 minutes.
GRANDPA ANGELO'S SUREFIRE ARMY MESS MEATBALLS
Makes 16 (1-inch) meatballs
2–3
tablespoons olive oil, divided (use more if needed)
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 pound lean ground beef
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic salt or ½ teaspoon minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet. Sauté onion in olive oil until soft.
2 Using a pastry blender or clean hands, mix the onions, beef, oregano, garlic salt or cloves, Parmesan cheese, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Form into 1-inch balls.
3 In a cast-iron or other heavy skillet, heat remaining olive oil and sauté meatballs until well-browned, adding a little olive oil if the meatballs begin to stick.
James Patterson
Deborah Feingold
SELECTED WOEKS
Tick Tock (2011)
Toys (2011)
Fang (2010)
The 9th Judgment (2010)
Private (2010)
Cross Fire (2010)
Inspiration I'm infected with the writing bug, and I never want to be cured. I love telling stories that people enjoy. I love giving them plots and characters that light up their minds and take them away from wherever they are. I find the entire process immensely satisfying. Inspiration's not so hard to arrive at when you have a happy compulsion pulling the cart.
No Rest for the Wicked I've got about twenty-seven projects in the works right now. Alex Cross, Lindsay Boxer, Daniel X, Maximum Ride, and some other favorites will be back this year. Plus, a new series just started. Something called Private, a detective agency kind of thing; only it's not like your usual sort of detective agency.
Readers Frequently Ask One question I get asked pretty regularly is where I get my ideas from. And I guess my usual reply is from this magical statue I have locked up in my basement. Just kidding. I guess, when you write as much as I do, you just get accustomed to coming up with, and writing down, a lot of ideas.
Influences on My Writing James Joyce's Ulysses lit up my mind to the possibilities of the novel. Frederick Forsyth's Day of the Jackal lit up my mind to the possibilities of thrillers, and Evan Connell's Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge opened my mind to the possibilities of realistic fiction.
ISABELLE'S WACKY CAKE
Makes 9–12 servings
My mother Isabelle, a former school teacher, baked Wacky Cake as a treat for me and my three sisters when we were growing up.
I have not used Wacky Cake in a book yet, so this is the first time my readers will have ever heard of it. As a memory, however, the cake has served me as a great example of kitchen-related family intimacy and, I will confess, I have sometimes used it as a motivational tool for myself. Over the years, I have discovered there is no better way to celebrate a successfully completed manuscript than with a nice healthy slice of Wacky Cake. Preferably à la mode with some Graeter's ice cream. It's a small batch specialty brand I discovered in Cincinnati. Fortunately, you can order it online.
Note: This recipe became popular during the Depression era because it does not require any eggs.
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup salad oil, such as vegetable or canola
1 cup water
Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour a 8″ × 8″ × 2″ baking pan.
2 Sift together sugar, flour, salt, cocoa, and baking soda, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add vinegar, vanilla, oil, and water and stir to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3 Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Remove cake from pan and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Louie Escobar
SELECTED WOEKS
Wench (2010)
Inspiration I am inspired to write stories that need to be told. There are so many out there, and if we don't write and record these stories then the memories will die. I often think of my grandmother's extraordinary life and wish that she had written a journal that I could have and keep. When I began to write, it was so that the generations after me would have a record.
Readers Should Know My writing comes from my heart. Many people have called my book, Wench, “heartfelt.” I take this as the highest compliment. My hope is that I can develop my writing craft enough to clearly tell the stories that haunt my conscience.
Readers Frequently Ask The question I receive most often about Wench is:“Do Lizzie and Drayle really love each other?” This is a question I asked myself as I began the book. Yet I found that, after finishing the book, I still was never able to answer it for myself. Their relationship is complicated. I leave it to the reader to decide.
Influences on My Writing I am influenced by Toni Morrison's bravery, unflinching eye, and incredibly high level of writing craft. I am influenced by Gabriel García Márquez's ability to take on the very biggest themes of human existence. I am influenced by Gayl Jones's beautifully seamless integration of African American idiom and romantic, lyrical prose.
MAWU'S MAGICAL GUMBO
Makes 8–12 servings
Courtesy of Sylvester Thornton
In Part I of my historical novel Wench, my protagonist Lizzie meets another slave, Mawu, who makes a stew that, she says, can “soften the white man.” Mawu practices hoodoo, an African American folk tradition that uses spells and potions for various magical practices. After the book came out, many readers wrote to me asking what was in Mawu's magical stew. I did not have a recipe in mind at the time that I wrote the book, so I called upon my uncle, Sylvester Thornton, who is the most accomplished cook in my family. The fact that we all respect Uncle Sylvester is a great testament to his skill as I come from a large southern family of men and women in Memphis, Tennessee, who all cook very well. Yet Uncle Sylvester is a true master when he is in the kitchen.
Many cooks in the southern African American tradition learn to cook from their elders. My uncle learned from his mother, Millerine Thornton, and he taught me and my cousins. My mother also gave me many lessons in the kitchen when I was growing up. I was taught to read a recipe, but they encouraged me to bring my own creativity to it. I have always been inspired by the creativity of slave cooks who fashioned an entire cuisine out of meager ingredients. As the old folks would say, they “turned guts into chit'lins.”
I hope you enjoy my Uncle Sylvester Thornton's gumbo. My hope is that it will “soften” everyone who eats it.
2 small (4-pound) wild ducks, quartered
1 large yellow onion, diced
¾ cup olive oil, divided
1 large red or green bell pepper, diced
3–4 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt, plus additional if needed
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
8 cups chicken broth
32 ounces frozen okra
5 chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Rice, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
1 Place duck in a large stockpot with enough water to cover and boil until tender (about an hour). Add a little of the diced onion to the water.
2 While duck is boiling, prepare the gumbo: In a large (minimum 3-quart) saucepan or stockpot, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
3 In the same pan, make a light roux: Pour ½ cup olive oil into p
an, add flour and stir constantly over medium heat until golden brown. Add salt and pepper. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Boil until slightly thickened. Roux should have the consistency of a tomato sauce.
4 Add okra, tomatoes, and bay leaf to thickened roux. Simmer on medium heat 25–30 minutes. Add sautéed bell pepper, onion, celery, and garlic.
5 When duck is tender, drain the broth, saving just a bit. Discard onion. Cool duck, and pull apart or cut it into medium pieces before adding to gumbo with reserved broth, thyme, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Cook gumbo uncovered about 30–45 minutes on medium heat. Remove bay leaf before serving.
6 Serve over rice. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Tom Perrotta
Roxana Perdue
SELECTED WOEKS
The Leftovers (2011)
The Abstinence Teacher (2007)
Little Children (2004)
Joe College (2000)
Election (1998)
The Wishbone (1997)
Inspiration I tend to draw my inspiration from the most mundane sorts of domestic experience. Little Children, for example, emerged from the experiences I had as a part-time stay-at-home dad when my kids were little (not that my adventures were quite as exciting as those of my characters). In The Abstinence Teacher, a major subplot revolves around youth soccer, which I've spent countless hours watching over the past few years.
From the Page to the Screen Two of my books, Little Children and Election have been made into excellent movies, and a third, The Abstinence Teacher, has been adapted for the screen. I'm a big movie fan, and love the fact that my novels have had such an interesting second life on the big screen.
Writing from the Female Perspective Most book club members are women, and they often seem curious about how a male writer goes about creating female characters like Sarah in Little Children and Ruth in The Abstinence Teacher. For some reason this seems unusual to a lot of readers, though there's a long history of writers imagining characters across gender lines — think of Tolstoy and Anna Karenina, Flaubert and Madame Bovary, or Annie Proulx writing Brokeback Mountain. My answer is that I just keep my eyes and ears open.
Table of Contents: From Breakfast With Anita Diamant to Dessert With James Patterson - a Generous Helping of Recipes, Writings and Insights From Today's Bestselling Authors Page 17
