Interview
With Jeffrey Price
Author of Improbable Fortunes.
1. What inspired you to write
your book?
My
writing, whether it be Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Improbable
Fortunes, has always been concerned with two questions:
Who are we and how did we get here? I’ve lived in the West for more
than half my life. I’ve seen it change, sometimes for the good, but not always.
When people speak of gentrification, it is usually in the area of how Brooklyn
has gotten too expensive for artists. I wanted to write about the
gentrification in pockets of the West–in my case, Colorado. I live in an
affluent western ski town, but the area to the west of me is comprised of small
ranching and mining towns that struggle to keep their heads above water. The
inhabitants of these towns became more familiar to me when a served as a Deputy
Sheriff Reserve for three years. It was during that time that I began
collecting the characters for the book.
2. What is it about?
The
book is about the fabric of small town western life as experienced by the main
character, Buster McCaffrey. An orphan, he’s raised in the town of Vanadium by
four different Foster families. He’s meets a wealthy New York venture capitalist,
Marvin Mallomar, who comes to town hoping to simplify his very
complicated life. Buster, a cowboy by profession, helps him set up his cattle
ranch. Then things get sticky when Mallomar’s wife, Dana, initiates an affair
with the innocent cowboy to take revenge on her husband. Mr. Mallomar goes
missing during a catastrophic flood and the law and the townsfolk look upon
Buster as the culprit. The book is a bildungsroman that also renders a picture
of the uneasy relationship between established locals and the nouveau
settlers who don’t always know what they’re in for.
3. What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book?
I
suppose the first thing I would want readers to take away would be an
appreciation for my characters. I’m hoping that certain aspects of them, which
I can’t go into for spoiler reasons, will be surprising. Not everybody in the
West is out to take over public land by force of arms. Not everybody in the
West is small-minded, racist and homophobic.
The
other pill that is harder to swallow is that we are conditioned to see change
as a favorable thing. My book is not so sure about that.
4. What advice do you have for writers?
The
usual advice is to write about what you know. But I’ll say that you should write
something that’s original and hard to explain in three sentences or in an
elevator.
5. Where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?
I’m
a novice to this–having spent most of my life in the movie business–so I really
can’t venture an opinion. What I will say is, as I’ve gone around the West
giving readings of my book, that the Independent Book Sellers are a vibrant
segment of the business helping to keep reading alive and well.
6. What challenges did you have in writing your book?
Mostly
finding the time to concentrate on the book in between screenwriting jobs.
7. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
Because Improbable
Fortunes is a tall tale that is funny and sad, surreal, violent,
romantic and ultimately an uplifting human experience. I hope that covers
it.
For
more information, please consult: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941729083
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog
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