Interview with Efrem Sigel Author of 'The Disappearance'
1. What excites you most about your book’s topic? Why did you choose it?
A: It’s not just about what caused the disappearance of a beloved child, though the book is at bottom a mystery. It’s about how parents deal with tragedy, how they struggle to live their lives afterwards, and whether a marriage so tested can survive.
2. How long did the book take you from start to finish?
A: About eight years from the first words to the final submitted manuscript.
3. What aspect of writing the book did you find particularly challenging?
A: Two things: Making the story work coherently, and getting inside the parents’ heads to translate their feelings, fears and dreams into words that ring true, without bathos or melodrama.
4. What surprised you the most about the book writing process?
A: How much better the book got each time I cut another 25 pages
5. Did you have any favorite experiences when writing your book?
A: I love to write about place, to explore how physical setting, seasons, weather and time of day influence not only events but characters’ reactions to those events.
6. What do you hope your readers will gain from reading your book?
A: To feel what these characters feel and to gain a deeper appreciation of how in life, tragedy and hope, despair and love can come out of the same source.
7. What projects are you currently working on?
A: Three or four new short stories and a new novel.
8. Is writing your sole career? If not, what else do you do?
A: Writing is my main occupation at present. I had a long career in business publishing and business journalism before devoting myself to fiction, essays and memoirs.
9. Did you do any research for your books, or did you write from experience?
A: With the help of legal and law enforcement officials, I did research on some technical questions concerning the investigation process and how certain crimes might be treated by the justice system.
10. How did you come up with your title?
A: It seemed logical: a book about the disappearance of a child should be called The Disappearance.
11. What books have influenced you the most?
A: An eclectic mix of books and authors, among them Richard Russo, Trollope, Simenon, Philip Roth and Chekhov.
12. Who was your publisher??
A: The Permanent Press, an independent publisher that does a wonderful job of keeping serious fiction alive.
More information about Efrem Sigel and The Disappearance can be found at: www.efremsigel.com.
