Victoria
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
Oh my! Where to start? I met you last summer, and I have to say, you are one of the kindest people I have ever met...so, thank you for that! I thoroughly enjoy each book you write. I'm amazed that you have such a variety of topics you have written about. How does the process of a story come about? Do you have tons of story ideas rattling around in your head? Lol
Chris Bohjalian
Why thank you so much, Victoria. I blush -- and I am honored.
My goal is never to write the same book twice: I never want to disappoint my readers (though, obviously, sometimes I do).
So, yes, I hope each books feels a little different.
I don't have tons of story ideas rattling around in my head. But I have a few. Sometimes I have gotten 100 or so pages into a novel and discovered that my talent is just not commensurate with my vision. And sometimes the opposite happens: my characters take me by the hand and lead me in directions I never imagined.
For instance, my next novel (January's THE GUEST ROOM) began when I saw a young woman my daughter's age in a hotel lobby at four in the morning, paying off the bellman to get upstairs. This was in a hotel eight time zones away, but I knew what was going on and my heart broke for that girl.
And I started writing.
I never expected, however, that the book would morph into a tale of a marriage in crisis in a New York City suburb, and the story of two different but very remarkable women.
Thanks for asking, Victoria. I'm grateful.
My goal is never to write the same book twice: I never want to disappoint my readers (though, obviously, sometimes I do).
So, yes, I hope each books feels a little different.
I don't have tons of story ideas rattling around in my head. But I have a few. Sometimes I have gotten 100 or so pages into a novel and discovered that my talent is just not commensurate with my vision. And sometimes the opposite happens: my characters take me by the hand and lead me in directions I never imagined.
For instance, my next novel (January's THE GUEST ROOM) began when I saw a young woman my daughter's age in a hotel lobby at four in the morning, paying off the bellman to get upstairs. This was in a hotel eight time zones away, but I knew what was going on and my heart broke for that girl.
And I started writing.
I never expected, however, that the book would morph into a tale of a marriage in crisis in a New York City suburb, and the story of two different but very remarkable women.
Thanks for asking, Victoria. I'm grateful.
More Answered Questions
Linda
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
Why didn't we ask our grandparents before it was too late? My grandparents who escaped the death march never talked about it. The horrors were too vivid. Years after my grandfather died, I found out that he & all the villagers were locked in a church and the Turks burned it down. He was the only one who escaped. My Grandmother had 1 family portrait, how did she keep that on the death march? Why didn't we ask?
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