Rhonda

Rhonda asked Erik Larson:

A good friend turned my on to you as a writer, in that she knows that I love to read. What did you do prior to becoming such a fabulous author? As a Psychologist nothing is more relaxing then being swept away in a book that literally takes you in and you become a fly on the wall. Thank you - once again for a brilliant novel. Dr. Rhonda Solomon

Erik Larson Hello Dr. Rhonda Solomon,
Thank you for your 'swept away' remark. That's exactly what I'm after.
Before becoming an author, I was a reporter, first for a small paper outside Philadelphia, then, through a stroke of great luck, I joined the Wall Street Journal. I moved from there to do longer magazine pieces. One thing led to another....

More Answered Questions

W.T.

W.T. asked Erik Larson:

I am history buff and a working journalist, so I'm itching to know about your writing process. Can you tell us about how you and where you gather your information? You did a beautiful job weaving your narrative with such rich historical detail and fact. Do you have to take a sabbatical from life to get to that level of detail in your research?

Geenyas

Geenyas asked Erik Larson:

You've written expansively on a number of historical subjects (Devil in the White City, In the Garden of Beasts, Isaac's Storm, Thunderstruck). What is it that attracts you to historical stories and why do you think they are relevant to modern readers?

John

John asked Erik Larson:

I've read Devil, Beasts and Isaac's and really enjoyed and recommend all the time. I forgot about Thunderstruck and will add to list along with Lusitania. How do you come up with your topics? They seem pretty diverse. Do you stumble across a news item or other writing and decide to dig in further? A history buff? And how long is your current list of books to write? Keep them coming, please.

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