 JC: Yesterday, 3G1B posted JR’s review of Natasha Vargas-Cooper’s book Mad Men Unbuttoned, which, along with her fantastic blog (seriously…check out the supercool archive on The Footnotes of Mad Men), details the characters, themes, and societal shifts as depicted in the series. JR recently had the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
Jason Rice: So. Mad Men. It covers an incredibly fertile period, not only advertising but of human evolution. Right? Not to mention the microscope it puts over fashion, human habits, good and bad, never mind advertising. Do these men make the times they live in, or does time shape them?
Natasha Vargas-Cooper: Ooo, you almost tricked me into using the word ‘symbiotic’ but I’ll resist! I think
Continue reading Interview with Natasha Vargas-Cooper
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 JE: Okay, so before I talk about Josh Mohr the writer, I just wanna’ say that I love the synergy Josh and his publisher Eric Obenauf at Two Dollar Radio have going. A publisher and a writer helping each other help themselves. Josh is writing great books and hustling (I’m guessing not for huge advances), while Eric is really working to connect Josh with readers, and doing his damndest to make Josh a successful author (not just a title). I was one lucky sonofabitch to have had such a synergy with Richard Nash at Soft Skull. Sadly, in an industry where most writers are hung unwittingly out to dry, this is a
Continue reading An Interview with Joshua Mohr
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 JC: Last week JR reviewed David Goodwillie’s new novel American Subversive, saying that it picked up where Trance left off, and reminded him of Eat the Document, both of which are good enough to get my attention. Here he is again with a fine interview with the author himself. If this isn’t enough, head down to B&N Tribeca tonight, hear him read, buy a book, and ask some questions of your own.
Jason Rice: Where did the idea for American Subversive come from? Up to this point you’d written a memoir, Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. The first novel, was it looming?
David Goodwillie: It was at least in part because of the memoir that I
Continue reading Interview with David Goodwillie
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 DH: Derek, thanks for answering my questions about your collection, New World Order, published by Autumn Press. I wondered if you realize how rare it is to find a writer who is interested in what his characters do for a living.
Most of your characters either work for big global corporations or are freelancers living abroad. The nature of their work is often critical to the story.
Why did you choose a focus on corporate types abroad? What about such characters do you find interesting? I’m asking because so many writers find business executives uninteresting. So I am wondering what you see in them.
DG: Thanks for the questions, Dennis. I agree with your
Continue reading Interview with Derek Green
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 Over the last bunch of years Craig Nova has been faithfully publishing one novel after the other, each a little different than the last, and every book taking on a different topic. I discovered Mr. Nova with Incandescence, a truly great novel about a man realizing his limitations, and that life is short. Mr. Nova’s writing has expressed wonderful ideas about the human experience and how what we do everyday shapes us as much as it defines us to other people. I was thrilled when Craig agreed to answer a few questions.
JR: I’ve heard that you do a lot of research for each novel, what was involved with a book about Weimar Germany, set
Continue reading Interview with Craig Nova
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 JC: Roger Smith has been a friend here at Three Guys One Book, ever since our conversation about his debut thriller Mixed Blood in October 2008. That book’s seen great success, with its brutal action and dynamic revelation of Capetown’s dichotomy leading to rave reviews and film preproduction. He’s recently followed that up with a new novel, Wake Up Dead, another explosive thriller set among Capetown’s picturesque vistas and horrific underworld. He took the time to answer a few questions from DH and me.
Continue reading →
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 JC: Lorraine Adam’s The Room and the Chair, just published this week, is getting some well-deserved praise from all quarters for her ambitious novel of war, politics, and journalism. She was gracious enough to field a few of Dennis’s questions:
Continue reading →
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
The issue of social class is certainly at play in the book. Americans like to think they live in a classless society but of course we don’t. Doug and Charlotte are both deeply imprinted by the class in which they grew up. They both have prejudices born of that experience. And some of their mutual animosity stems from that difference.
Continue reading Interview with Adam Haslett
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
Dan Chaon is enjoying more success than ever with his new novel, “Await Your Reply” (see our coverage here), and we at Three Guys couldn’t be happier about it, because, well, the dude deserves it. Great book, great guy. And for those of you who don’t know how to pronounce his name, it’s pronounced /Shawn./ Last week, JC and I threw some questions at Mr. Chaon, who was so gracious as to field them. The results, the first batch, anyway, are after the jump. Look for a second round with Dan Chaon soon. In the meantime, go out and read Await Your Reply.
JE: Okay, so this is something I’ve
Continue reading JE and JC Tag-Team Dan Chaon
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 JE: I had three agents, including a couple of luminaries, before I found Mollie Glick, and what I learned is that having an agent doesn’t mean squat. You have to find the RIGHT agent. I was in fact un-agented at the time I started getting bites for “All About Lulu,” and I interviewed no less than a half-dozen reps, all of whom offered to rep me, before I decided on Mollie. I knew within five minutes Mollie was the right choice. She had an excellent idea of what I was trying to accomplish with my work, as well as an excellent understanding of my longterm goals. On top of that,
Continue reading Agent Talk with Mollie Glick
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 I recently reviewed Amit Chaudhuri’s novel on Three Guys. His publisher, Knopf, generously gave me the opportunity to ask the writer some questions. Reading over the interview, I was struck by hints of the same wayward lyricism that I found so affecting in The Immortals. His tossed-off comments that adolescence was a form of fiction and that realism could be redemptive amazed the hell out of me. But what could realism that’s not naturalistic be? What a bright man…see below:
DH: In The Immortals, I found extended families, friendships and business relations laid out, more or less, on the same plane. It’s as if a carpet with a striking pattern were
Continue reading Interview: Amit Chaudhuri's Redemptive Realism
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
Today marks the release of James P. Othmer’s ADLAND, which we’ve mentioned a number of times on this blog (see trailer here). Jimbo is a brilliant and hilarious dude, and we’re excited to see this book do well, along with his novel HOLY WATER, also forthcoming from Doubleday. Since it’s always a pleasure to talk with JPO, I did a little Q & A last week to mark his new release:
JE: It seems to me that the process of creating ads is very much a process of distillation–distillation of concept, of copy, of theme, of intent–utilizing an editorial skill set which might greatly benefit the navel gazers of the literary
Continue reading Interview with James P. Othmer
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
 JE: I should have made this post a month ago, upon the release of David Liss’s new book, “The Devil’s Company,”(about which the Washington Post raves), but alas, I’ve been up to my neck in dirty diapers and rewrites, so here we are. If you’re not familiar with Liss, the dude is a historical fiction franchise; the author of seven books, including the Edgar Award winning A Conspiracy of Paper. To mark the release of “The Devil’s Company,” (which marks the return of hero Benjamin Weaver), I thought I’d share an interview I did recently with DL, which originally ran in KNOCK.For starters, beyond being an amazing
Continue reading Jonathan Evison interviews David Liss
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
It was hard to watch this novel come to a close. There are times as a reader when you see what’s coming your way and wait patiently, other times you wish it would end and can’t wait until it does. The end of Happyland isn’t really an ending, as far as endings go, but it does sum up something that I think Mr. Lennon has touched on throughout most of the book. People don’t change, places and things do. Sure, Ruth Spinks changes things by leaving Equinox, she does it in a way that seems more like she is resolved to do it, not because she has to. Dave, the down on his luck owner of the Goodbye Goose has met
Continue reading Happyland, J. Robert Lennon, Part IV
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
At this point it’s safe to say that Happy Masters has overtly and in the most subversive of fashions taken over Equinox. In a number of different ways J. Robert Lennon is turning certain players in this wonderful story against Happy, who be her own admission doesn’t really give two shits about anyone to bother paying attention to every detail of her day-to-day life. But she suspects something is going on, and perhaps is ignoring which is the price of creating something as diversely obsessive as your own town. Janet Ping has quickly allowed herself to be monopolized by Happy and her husband Jim. I don’t think Happy has time or the interest in having sex with Jim, even though he
Continue reading Happyland, J. Robert Lennon, Part III
buy from: Indiebound | Powell’s | B & N | Borders | Amazon
|
|
Upcoming Posts
- How to Live by Sarah Bakewell, revisited
- Hating Olivia by Mark SaFranko
|
When We Fell In Love - Greg Olear
When We Fell In Love - Derek Green
When We Fell In Love - Tatjana Soli
When We Fell in Love – Jonathan Evison
When We Fell In Love - Elwood Reid
When We Fell In Love - Jonathan Santlofer
When We Fell In Love: Victoria Patterson
When We Fell In Love – Tony O’Neill
Top 10 Posts