16 October 2009
Just discovered that Black Out (French version "Memoire Trouble") has been shortlisted for the French award, Le Prix Polar International. Previous winners include Elmore Leonard, Ian Rankin and Peter James.
03 July 2009
DIE FOR YOU was featured on the Today show this morning!
See a summary of the segment at Today online.
23 June 2009
Today, I was featured in the New York Times "Frequent Flier" column. Naturally, it's exciting for a lot of reasons. But the thing about it that thrills me the most is that without Jeff and Ocean it wouldn't have happened. The three of us do most things together, go most places together. And while this is not always easy (sometimes messy, crazy-making, and chaotic), it's always funny, interesting, and most of all loving. This article really sums that up, made me think about those very first days on a book tour with my four-month-old, breast-feeding baby, husband and parents -- and how insane and wonderful it all was. It's still all that! When you check out the article, you'll also notice that the photo credit belongs to Jeff.
19 June 2009
While your novels are all different with a variety of protagonists, one of the central themes that runs throughout is the importance of place. Beautiful Lies and Sliver of Truth both took place in New York. Black Out focused on the seedier side of Florida. Your new novel, Die For You, takes place in New York and Prague. Can you tell us more about how you choose the location for your novels? LU: Like so much about my process, it's more as though the place chooses me. I lived in New York City for 13 years before leaving for Florida. It was only after I'd been gone for a couple of years that I fell in love with it again. When I started writing BEAUTIFUL LIES, Manhattan was just very naturally Ridley's home. And that book turned into a sort of love letter to my time there, to all the places I knew well, to all my memories - good and bad -of living there. When I wrote BLACK OUT, Florida had fully seduced me. After years of exploring the state -- from clubbing in Miami, to kayaking in the mangroves, from diving in the Keys to trekking though the Everglades -- I started to perceive this dark and wild heart that people rarely mention when they write about Florida. People seem to find the state kind of funny, the crime that goes on here is treated with a very light hand in most fiction novels. People see Florida as a kind of kitschy, vacation-y place - and of course it is that in some ways. But it has a feral center, a dark underbelly that really inspires and fascinates me. DIE FOR YOU was inspired by the place I was in - that was a big difference for me. I spent time in Prague, planning to vacation with my family, be a tourist, and recuperate from writing BLACK OUT, which was such an intense writing experience for me. But the city just blew my mind with its surreal beauty and fascinating history. I just couldn't stop myself from writing. You spent five weeks in Prague while writing this novel. How did the change in locale affect your writing/creative process? LU: In the summer of 2007, my family and I conducted a home exchange with a Czech family. We stayed in a lovely apartment near Malá Strana, just a short walk from the Charles Bridge and Old Town Square. We had never done a home exchange before and I had never spent so much time in another country, so it was a totally new experience -- and not a completely comfortable one, at first. We didn't speak the language - at all. And in spite of our efforts to learn, we really never did. Czech is a West Slavic tongue and I found it almost completely inaccessible. But living there for five weeks - with a toddler - meant that we had to grocery shop and do our laundry and all the non-tourist type things one must do when living somewhere. We had to learn to get around. We arrived in Prague with a ton of laundry, since we'd been to London and New York prior to arriving in the Czech Republic. I immediately assessed that the small washer and drier in the apartment were definitely not going to meet our needs. So I did what any child of the millennium would do. I Googled. I found the website for a laundry service, all text written in perfect English, to my excitement. So I called to arrange for service, but the people who answered spoke only a little English. In my hideous Czech, I tried to make myself understood. The man on the other end knew only one English sentence: "Text your address!" And he gave me a number, which I mercifully understood. So I texted him my address, and an hour later a gentleman showed up in a white unmarked van and left with all of our clothes. I watched him go, wondering if I'd ever see him again. But he returned the next day, with everything washed and neatly folded. Success! So we found our comfort zone and a routine pretty quickly. We were always up early, so we often found ourselves wandering very quiet streets at sunrise, looking for an open cafe. We would all eat together, and then my husband and daughter took off for a bit, while I sat to write. It was effortless writing there. I was just soaking up all this energy from the unspeakable beauty all around me. The pages just flowed. I was away from the normal responsibilities of home, in some ways, so my days were just about my family, my writing and exploring a truly inspiring place. If you had one day in Prague how would you spend it? LU: Oh, I'm Prague-sick just thinking about it. I would rise early and walk the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) as the sun rises. It's the only time of day that the bridge, which connects the Little Quarter to Old Town, won't be completely packed with tourists and vendors. I could literally feel the energy of centuries through the soles of my feet. After the bridge, I would have breakfast at Bohemia Bagel (in Malá Strana at Lázeňská 19) just steps from the Charles Bridge. We stumbled upon this place because it was the only open restaurant at 7:30 AM, but wound up going back almost every day for the friendly service and
yummy scrambled eggs. It was a little bit of home in a very foreign place. After that I'd head to Old Town and wind through the random network of streets, viewing the historic buildings, visiting quaint shops. Is it time for lunch yet? Noon is a great time to stop in Old Town Square and have a bite at one of the many outdoor cafes or watch the Astronomical Clock in the Town Hall mark the hour with its march of apostles and other moving figures. Of course, I'd have to visit Prague Castle, which is a city in and of itself, commanding every view in the city from high above the Vltava River. My favorite sights within its high walls are the stunning St. Vitus's Cathedral, a gothic wonder, and the picturesque Golden Lane lined with artisans' cottages. For dinner, The Allegro restaurant at the Four Seasons is one of the best in Prague. It's a beautiful place with a wonderfully romantic atmosphere and magnificent views. Or for a traditional Czech meal - which basically consists of a giant platter of roast meat and vegetables or goulash with dumplings, and a Pilsner Urquell (traditional Czech beer) bigger than your head - I'd visit Pivnice U Glaubicu. This fun and casual restaurant, located at Malostranské námestí 5/266 is built into a 700-year-old wine cellar. It can't be beat for atmosphere and hearty food. We had the best mojitos we've ever had at La Bodeguita del Medio (in the Jewish Quarter at Kaprova 5). This eclectic, funky place serves a blend of creole and Cuban food, great steaks, classic cocktails and, of course, Cuban cigars into the wee hours. It was allegedly an Ernest Hemingway haunt. I could go on for pages but suffice it to say, I'd go back in heartbeat, stay for another five weeks and never be bored! Black Out was set in Florida, but not the sunny/touristy side of Florida most of us know and love. It was a darker, more dangerous part of the state. Did you find Prague had a similar darkness to it? LU: Oh, Prague has a magnificent dark side. First of all, it's ancient. All those fairy tale rues and the towering Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge with all its moaning saints - the perfect fodder for a dark imagination. But like Florida, the city was packed with tourists from all over the world. They wondered over those old cobblestones, eating ice cream cones and buying "Praha" teeshirts. It all seemed so sunny and peaceful, but just around the corner from the main drags there are tiny dark streets, and narrow staircases leading below the city, secret courtyards. I felt like Prague was a city of secrets, so lovely to look at, but having borne witness to so much history. What was she hiding? I wondered. What stories could she tell? It was this fascination that inspired DIE FOR YOU. Any destinations you haven't been that you're thinking of visiting for inspiration? LU: Last summer we spent five weeks in Paris and it definitely ignited my imagination - how could it not? I just kept thinking about Ridley and all the trouble she could get herself into there! This year we'll spend three weeks in Australia when I visit for the Brisbane & Melbourne Writers Festivals. I can only imagine what experiences I'll have Down Under and how I will be inspired. The places I have been and the things I have seen in my travels are truly extraordinary, have most certainly informed my fiction in all sorts of ways. But it's really the wide open experiencing of life that offers the most inspiration, no matter where you find yourself. ---------------- I hope you'll check out the new page on my website that features other writings, including essays both published and unpublished. In the months ahead, I'll be posting a short story that will appear in FLORIDA HEAT, an upcoming anthology edited by Michael Lister and published by Bleak House. So, stay tuned!My brilliant and wonderful publicist Sarah Brievogel asked me a series of questions about the trip to Prague that inspired DIE FOR YOU. She used this for the press kit when review copies went out. A few weeks ago, Oline Cogdill wrote a little bit about my trip to Prague after I had a chance to chat with her about it before a panel we were on together back in April. But I thought you might enjoy seeing this interview, which offers a broader picture of the experience. Enjoy!
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What I'm reading:
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
What I'm listening to:
Regina Spektor/ Far
Ocean's Favorite Book:
Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell
16 June 2009
In DIE FOR YOU, I did something I've never done before. A few months before I started writing it, a librarian in Pittsburgh contacted me, asking if I would be willing to auction off a character name in my next novel. The proceeds would benefit The Friends of the Library, one of my favorite organizations. It seemed like a strange thing to do. But I knew my good friend Tess Gerritsen had done this before. And when librarians ask me to do something, I find I can't say no. So I agreed. Just before I started writing, the librarian got in touch to let me know that a woman named Linda Book won the auction. I sort of filed the name away in my subconscious and didn't really think about it again.
Oddly, the name wove itself into the manuscript and turned up as the married name of Isabel's sister. And, to be honest, I forgot while I was writing DIE FOR YOU that I hadn't made the name up myself. By the time the book was finished, I had forgotten about the auction altogether! Sometime in the revision process I remembered, and then frantically started searching though old emails for the contact information for this poor woman whose name I'd stolen for my book. I was also a little freaked out because I realized that Linda has some pretty racy scenes in the book and that her marriage was in terrible crisis. I wondered if Linda would be offended when she got to reading.
But then, finally, the library who had arranged the auction got in touch, and Linda and I connected. She was lovely and just thrilled to be a part of the book. She was so thrilled, in fact, that she drove from Pittsburgh to New York City to attend my event at The Mysterious Bookshop. It was great fun to meet her in person.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette thought this was an interesting enough concept that they ran a feature about Linda, who also happens to be a councilwoman.
What I'm reading:
The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black
Ocean's favorite book:
Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (author) and Scott Magoon (illustrator)
Most recently viewed film:
Che: Part One
Starring Benecio Del Toro
Directed by Steven Soderberg
01 April 2009
One of my favorite authors -- and people -- Alafair Burke gave me the opportunity to totally geek out and talk about the crime television shows I love now and loved as a kid. Suffice it to say, after rambling on in print about everything from "Moonlighting" to "Hawaii Five-O," from "The Wire" to "Battlestar Gallactica," I have realized that I watch way too much television -- and have for most of my life. In Alafair's really great article, other favorite authors Laura Lippman, James Lee Burke, Linda Fairstein, SJ Rozan (and more) talk about their own small screen love affairs.
I heard someone say that this is the first generation of writers to be as heavily influenced by television and film as we have been by literature. I always cringe to think that it might be true. Television gets such a bad rap. But I think the fact that a group of writers had so much to say about television -- warts and all -- reminds me that there's a lot of quality programing and it's getting better all the time. Story is story -- on the big screen, the small screen, the book in your hand. The writing, the character development, and the act of authentic imagining are some of the critical elements of a great tale -- and it can be told anywhere, in any medium.
So, thanks, Alafair for putting me in touch with my inner television nerd. I'm going out to buy "Hill Street Blues" on DVD!
What I'm watching:
"Lost"
What I'm reading:
The Watchmen
by Alan Moore and Dan Gibbons
Ocean's Favorite Book:
Pout Pout Fish
by Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna
What I'm listening to:
Dead Can Dance/ A Passage in Time
19 March 2009
On the desk in my office is a photograph of Ocean and me, when O was just eleven months old. It is truly one of my favorite photographs. The woman who snapped it, acclaimed and bestselling author Barbara Parker, did so in a very casual moment at the Miami Book Fair in 2006. We were talking about her new love of photography -- and admiring her new camera. And Kris Montee, half of the bestselling duo that comprises PJ Parrish, raved about some pictures she'd seen. Barbara said, "Let me get a picture of you!" so I grabbed Ocean and she took a picture. I didn't think much about it until I got an email from her a few days later with the image in a jpeg file. It literally took my breath away. For all the professional photographs taken of me and of my daughter, no one ever came close to capturing what she did in that frame. She saw something -- Ocean's cool intelligence, her innocence and beauty, and my pure joy in being her mother. And it's there in both our faces, one moment, totally true. When I got it, I thought: It's because she's a writer. She sees. Her lens allowed her to freeze a moment she witnessed with a writer's clarity. Every time I look at the photograph, I think of Barbara.
I didn't have the pleasure of crossing paths with Barbara again. And yesterday I learned, with great sadness, that she passed away on March 7th after battling a long illness. For many years, I knew of her as a talented and successful writer. And later, as I had the honor of meeting her and occasionally bumping into for one reason or another, I found her to be an unfailingly kind and generous person with great charm and an aura of benevolence. I know she will be deeply mourned and greatly missed by her family and close friends, and also by readers and colleagues like me who admired her, respected her, and were blessed now and then with her company.
I am so glad I have that image she captured, that perfect moment. Seeing it on my desk will remind me of her talent, and inspire me to enjoy those light, happy moments which we sometimes take for granted, and which later become the lasting gift of wonderful memories, long after someone special has left us.
Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your many talents and gifts, you will be sorely missed and remembered with love and admiration.
19 March 2009
Black Out wins a Silver Medal in the 2008 Florida Book Awards. The Florida Book Awards, coordinated by the Florida State University Program in American & Florida Studies -- and co-sponsored by the Florida Center for the Book, the State Library and Archives of Florida, the Florida Historical Society, the Florida Humanities Council, the Florida Literary Arts Coalition, the Florida Library Association, “Just Read, Florida!,” the Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative, the Florida Association for Media in Education, the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, Friends of the Florida State University Libraries, and the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America -- is an annual awards program that recognizes, honors, and celebrates the best Florida literature published in the previous year.
25 February 2009
It's a bit on the early side to be talking about my June 2nd release DIE FOR YOU. But I am so excited because a truly wonderful author, who I so admire, has offered her support for the new book with an amazing and generous blurb.
I'm honored that New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice had this to say about DIE FOR YOU:
"Die For You tells the story of your worst nightmare: do you think you know the person you love? Do you really? Lisa Unger writes with sharp psychological insight and bone-deep understanding of her characters. This novel is almost unbearably thrilling."
I know. It's so mean for me STILL not to tell you what it's about. So, okay, click here for a bit of info on DIE FOR YOU.
Also, I am about to launch my new website! When it's live, you can look forward to blogs about the new book, a list of my tour dates and scheduled appearances, and, when the time draws nearer, an excerpt of DIE FOR YOU. So more on that in the weeks to come, or just keep checking back at www.lisaunger.com.
As always, thanks for reading!
06 February 2009
“Can cats open doors?” Ocean wanted to know this morning, as she watched a neighborhood stray preening on our deck.
“No,” I told her. “They can’t.”
“Why not?”
“For a lot of reasons – they’re not tall or strong enough, they don’t have hands, and they’re not very smart.”
“Oooh!” she said in dismay. “It’s not fair.”
She’s been saying this a lot. I’m not sure where she picked it up.
So I asked, “Where did you get this concept of fairness?”
“At the store.”
“Oh, really? You got it at the store?”
“Yeah. I got it at Target.”
I know, I know -- we’re back to Target. Eventually someone is going to accuse me of being on the payroll at this place. But, I swear, for some reason it has invaded my daughter’s consciousness. And mine, for that matter. Congratulations to the Target marketing team!
Our early conversation got me to thinking about the concept of fairness. And it reminded me about the dismay I recently felt watching “60 Minutes.” A while ago, I abandoned watching television news – the news jingles, the flashing logos, the arguing, the idiot pundits. I can’t bare it. There was a palpable moment where I realized I needed to get my news another way. I was on the treadmill, pregnant and watching CNN, filled with such rage at whatever happened to be on the screen at the time, that I thought, “This can’t be healthy.” I started reading my news and I’ve been much calmer, possibly a bit less informed because reading takes more time than watching.
But occasionally I get roped into one of the news magazine shows by the catchy promos, or just the fact that it’s on the DVR because my husband set it to record. On this particular episode, there was a segment about an American town crumbling as a corporate giant closed its doors, peace in the Middle East seems less attainable than ever as the “Two-State Solution” falls apart, and a new drug called Resveratol looks like it might slow the onset of the illnesses common to old age, extending life.
When it was over, I felt awash in worry. I was overcome by an anxiety that big business is crushing the world; when profits fall, hard working people pay the price. I was afraid that people are so inured in hatred and estranged from compassion that they can’t find space for each other in the world they share. And I couldn’t help but wonder: Who will be able to afford this life-extending drug, when and if it’s approved? Will wealthy people be able to buy it, stay younger, healthier, live longer? Will others, who can’t afford to feed their families because the company that employed their whole town left, be denied access to a drug like Resveratol because they can’t afford it? Or will we live longer, some only to hold grudges longer, to fight longer, to hate each other longer?
I suppose you’ll think I worry too much. And perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I’ve always worried too much. In fact, I suppose this explains why I write, to metabolize the chaos I perceive in the world, to understand the terrible unfairness of it all, to order it in my way, if only in the pages of a book. And it explains why I shouldn’t watch television news broadcasts.
In order to allay the anxiety I feel after watching television – or when just the day-to-day stress of life starts to bring me down – I try to return to a place of gratitude, to actively focus my thoughts on the blessings in my life. I start with the basics, such as, “I am grateful that I can draw breath into my lungs.” Then I work my way up to the specifics of my life. And then I try to remember that the only thing I control is the way I live, how I treat others, and how hard I work at being a good mother, a good wife, a good writer, and a good person. It generally works. Though I suppose it would be faster to have a glass of wine (hint: that’s where they’re getting the resveratol from – red wine). So make it two.
I wish “fairness” was something we could purchase at Target. I wish, for Ocean’s sake only, that cats could open doors. But when she gets a little older I’ll tell her what I truly believe -- that life is, if not fair, then balanced. For every tragedy, there is a miracle. For every ugly deed, there is an act of kindness. For every person who acts out of pain and fear, there is one who acts out of love and compassion. And if that’s not fair, I don’t know what is.
16 October 2009
03 July 2009
23 June 2009
19 June 2009
16 June 2009
01 April 2009
19 March 2009
19 March 2009
25 February 2009
06 February 2009
09 January 2009
22 December 2008
10 December 2008