Interview with
John Pearce,
Author of
Treasure of Saint-Lazare
Questions by
Author Roy Murry
Can you tell me
a little about yourself?
I'm
a lover of Paris -- I call myself a Part-Time Parisian. For a while I even had
a blog by that name, until I discovered I couldn't blog about Paris, write a
novel about it, and do justice to both. My wife Jan and I live in Sarasota for
nine or ten months of the year, with the rest of the year reserved for Paris.
For my blog, I make do with http://johnpearceauthor.com/
Do you remember
the first story you wrote?
Treasure of
Saint-Lazare
is the first work of fiction I’ve completed. Years ago I started a spy novel
but had the sense to drop it before it embarrassed me. I still have the notes.
But I've been a writer a very long time, in daily journalism and magazines. I
was the Washington economics reporter for The Associated Press and then worked
for the International Herald Tribune, covering business and finance in the
German-speaking countries, when we lived in Frankfurt.
Were you
inspired by someone or something?
Like
most aspiring writers of my generation, I was inspired by John Le Carré. I
still am, although I think he was more comfortable with cold-war stories.
What do you like
about writing a story?
I
like the act of creation, of making a new world that meshes smoothly with
reality.
Can you tell us
about your book?
Treasure of
Saint-Lazare
is a historical mystery whose basic question is, "What if some really bad
guys were convinced you knew where a priceless work of art was hidden and would
do anything to find it, including murder?" It's based on Raphael’s
painting "Portrait of a Young Man," which was stolen by the Nazis in
1939 and disappeared in 1945 while it was being shipped from Poland to Munich. The
book is set in Sarasota and Paris, mostly Paris, and it has a pretty strong
romantic feeling. One reviewer said he'd never been to Paris until he read the
book. That made my day.
What genre best
fits for the book?
Treasure of
Saint-Lazare
has some thriller elements, although it’s really a mystery. I was pleased when
it reached #25 on the Kindle historical mysteries best-seller list. It's
available in Kindle, paperback and audiobook editions.
Are you working
on something new at the moment?
I'm
almost finished writing a sequel, whose working title is Last Stop: Paris. Editing and pre-publication marketing will take
several months, but it should be out this year. My third novel, a prequel, should
be out next year, because I’ll be able to work on it while other people help
market the sequel. I’ll be sure to come back to you to ask for pre-publication
reviews.
Do you have any
tips for aspiring writers?
Write.
Sit down and stay in your chair. No other advice has any value if you can't do
that. Then finally, when you’re pretty sure you have done the best work you can,
put it away for a month or two and work on something else. Weak spots that would
be invisible in the heat of creation will jump off the page.
After
you're satisfied with the editing, have it meticulously proofed by someone else.
Your goal should be to have zero typos, whether you're seeking an agent or
planning to publish yourself. Typos are death for a self-published book.
Where can people
go to read your work?
For
now, it’s on Amazon, although I will probably broaden the distribution in June.
The Sarasota Public Library bought three copies, so if you live in my town you
can find it there. And any bookstore can order the paperback from the Ingram
catalog. The audiobook was done by ACX, an Amazon subsidiary.
