Today I am happy to be able to interview author James LePore, the author of Anyone Can Die (my review), the companion collection of short stories to A World I Never Made. I was captured immediately by the characters in the stories and am happy to have the opportunity to learn more about the man behind them! As a daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of lawyers, I was particularly interested in this interview!
About the author: James LePore is an attorney who has practiced law for more than two decades, and an accomplished photographer. He the author of two novels, A World I Never Made and Blood of My Brother. His next novel, Sons and Princes, will come from The Story Plant in the spring of 2011.
The Diva: Do you feel your experiences as a lawyer have helped to influence the stories you write and form the characters?
James LePore: Yes, without question. Though I do not write courtroom novels, I was a trial lawyer for many years. Those experiences—talking to a jury, the unpredictability of witnesses, waiting for a verdict, to name a few—were inherently dramatic, and have helped me to understand the ingredients of a good suspense story.
The Diva: As you write, what drives the creative process, the characters you are bringing to life, or the plot line?
James LePore: I am driven by the mysteries of the human heart. I want first to create characters that are flawed (as we all are) and that are involved in emotionally conflicted relationships. The resolution of these conflicts of the heart are as important to me, and hopefully to my readers, as are the plot resolutions.
The Diva: Are there works in progress that we can look forward to?
James LePore: I am about half-way through what will be my fourth novel, the story of a star-quality Manhattan district attorney whose son is wrongly accused of murder.
The Diva: Will we be seeing more of the characters we learned more about in Anyone Can Die?
James LePore: The characters in the three stories in Anyone Can Die (Pat Nolan, Megan Nolan and Max French) first appeared in my debut novel, A World I Never Made. When my publisher asked me to write the stories as a way of creating a wider universe for the novel, I jumped at the chance because I knew in my heart that I was not ready to let these characters go. I believe I am now and so I don’t think they will be appearing again.
The Diva: And what are you reading right now?
James LePore: I am reading a novel called Out, by Natsuo Kirino.
I would like to thank Mr. LePore for his time and the opportunity to get to know the man behind the words a little better! To learn more about the author and to purchase his work, check out the links below.
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