Let's write about John Grisham's inspiration as a writer

From Mr. John Grisham:  (Maine Writer:  I am anxious to read his novel as described in Mr. Grisham's letter.)  

Author John Grisham and his wife Renee in Paris

As I write this letter,  I am finishing the last edits of The French Illusion, my next novel, to be published in the Fall. I usually spend about six months writing a novel, and when I'm finished I quietly pat myself on the back for another job well done, then try to forget about it, and start thinking about the next story.

But, not so fast❗ Although writing is often enjoyable and challenging, the editing is not. It takes weeks, even months, to slog through the manuscript again and again, tossing out sections here and there, tightening up the plot, adding and discarding characters, tweaking sentences, and trying to remember what I was thinking when I wrote such dreadful dialogue only four months ago. The editing process is a drag, but it is crucial to the completion of a novel. Editors are professionals who can spot small weaknesses that are easily fixable, as well as major problems that require overhauls. Good writers never stop listening to their editors.

Outlining the story beforehand and editing it after the first draft are two exercises most writers prefer to avoid. But both are important to the success of the book, and often fatal if ignored.

Anyway, back to The French Illusion. So, when A Time To Kill was published in 1989, its reception was rather low-key, to put it mildly. There was no second printing, no paperback, no mention of foreign translations. Hollywood never called. However, when The Firm arrived 18 months later, things were far different. After selling the U.S. and U.K. rights, my agent took the book to Europe where it was well received. Renee and I watched in disbelief as the Germans, French, Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese lined up to buy the translation rights. Then Scandinavia, then Asia. By the end of 1990, we had contracts to publish the book in 30 languages.

We had never been to Europe and couldn't wait to see Paris. We've always read a lot - Renee has a degree in English literature - and we knew the legend of the "Lost Generation," a collection of disillusioned and struggling American writers and artists who gravitated to Paris in the early 1900's. They included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, and Ezra Pound, and they hung out with the likes of T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, and James Joyce. We found their old haunts, had coffee and drinks in their favorite bars, enjoyed long meals in the same timeless bistros, and spent hours on the sidewalk cafes of Boulevard St. Germain. We also visited the famous sights, poked around galleries and museums, and roamed the streets for hours. Like millions before us, and after, we fell in love with Paris and have returned many times.

My French publisher is JC Lattes, one of many imprints of Hachette, the Paris giant that owns Little, Brown and Grand Central in the U.S. The Lattes office is on Rue Jacob, a busy, narrow side street with the usual assortment of shops and small hotels. The building is centuries old (aren't they all?). It is tall and narrow with four or five levels connected by a baffling configuration of stairways. ADA would not approve. It's a throwback to the old days of publishing with small offices, sagging shelves stuffed with manuscripts, unsteady air conditioning, and walls covered with artwork and book jackets. Though thoroughly tech-wired and modern, the offices, like many in Paris, seem timeless, as if little has changed since the dark ages before the internet. The Lattes team is young, enthusiastic, and eager to publish books that will satisfy and entertain their audiences.

I adore the Lattes offices and visit as often as possible.

Anyway, back to The French Illusion. One day I was at Lattes being interviewed by a radio journalist, a Parisian, and we were talking about his beloved city. He asked why I had never used it as the backdrop for a novel❓ I had set books in Italy, Brazil and the Caribbean, among other places, so why not Paris❓ 

I tried to explain that I can't simply "create" a story. It takes inspiration, an idea captured from somewhere, and once I have the beginnings of a plot I can start to think about the characters and the setting.

Finally, the inspiration arrived with The French Illusion, a suspenseful story that begins and ends in Paris.

So, what am I reading❓👀📗📘🕮

I just finished two good books, both non-fiction. The first is Redemption, by Lawrence Wright, a longtime journalist for New Yorker: The story takes place in the author's native Texas and is about a group of nuns in a convent outside of Waco. Through the efforts of a Catholic deacon, they visit the eight women on death row at the prison in Gatesville, Texas. At first, the nuns are afraid of the women, all convicted killers, and the inmates are suspicious of the nuns. Before long, though, they realize they have more in common than they could imagine. Friendships flourish as the women begin to understand one another.

Redemption will be published by Knopf in October.

The second is Up On Cove Mountain by Earl Swift. As a young man, Swift hiked all 2200 miles of the Appalachian Trail, an experience that not only changed his life but gave it direction. However, his trip was haunted by tragedy. Along the way, he met and befriended a young couple. They hiked together for three days before he picked up his pace and left them behind. Two weeks later, he heard the news that they had been murdered at a campsite he had used. The killer was arrested, tried, and given the death penalty. Thirty-three years later, Swift returned to the trail - older, wiser, and somewhat slower, but still haunted by its memories.

Up On Cove Mountain will be published by Mariner Books in August.

So, what am I writing❓

Finishing The French Illusion, and in a holding pattern, waiting for inspiration.