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she's generations removed from her
immigrant great-grandfather
Shmuel.
SI: Amy Lincoln grew up in a low-
income housing project. Her father
was in jail; her mother was often
gone. But she's smart and got a
scholarship to boarding school at
age 14. She's partly me collaborat-
ing with my subconscious and being
creative.

JN: Amy makes a lot of catty
observations about society women,
like: "Her dress, I noticed, was the
2003 New York non-color, white.
Ivory silk bands were sewn hori-
zontally, making her look as if
she'd stopped her own mummifica-
tion to join the party." Are you
that cruel?
SI: It's catty, but true. You go to
enough New York political fund-
raisers and you see this stuff.
Reporters notice.

JN: Which of your books are your
favorites?
SI: I have no favorites. I resent the
analogy between childbirth and fic-
tion, but I now have 10 "children"
and love them all — even the goofy
ones.

JN: What is your all-time favorite
book?
SI: Pride and Prejudice. I read that
and Emma and Great Expectations
and Jane Eyre (when I was young),
and I reread them in three- or four-
year cycles. Each time I read them, I
am a different person and bring
something different to the collabo-
ration with the author.

JN: Are your characters becoming
Jewish Bridget Joneses?
SI: No. That's a charming book, but
I don't want to be seen as the
Semitic queen of chick-lit. I also
have male readers. It's about finding
where you belong. I don't want to
be limited to "finding Mr. Right"
and going on diets and living happi-
ly ever after. There's a lot more to
women than that.

JN: Why are your books all so dif-
ferent?
SI: I sit down in a room for three
years, and I don't want to get bored.
I'd rather do something else. I
absolutely did not want to write
another mystery for my second
novel (Close Relations, a New York
love story entwined with politics).

My publisher wanted another mys-
tery, but my agent said to write
what you want to write. The charac-
ters come into my head and knock
and say, "Tell my story."

JN: You've written two screenplays
(for Compromising Positions, with
Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia, and
Hello Again, with Shelley Long and
Judith Ivey). What was that like?
SI: As a novelist you're the god of
your universe. You create. As a
screenwriter, you're only one of
god's assistants. It's really a collabo-
rative effort. It was a thrill, but,
basically, I belong in a closed room.
I don't like it when an actor says,
"I don't think I can play this part."
In terms of my work, I don't play
well with others. On Compromising
Positions, I ended up trashing parts
of the novel that weren't cinematic
and building up the rest. The film
did OK. The actors made me look
good. But some actors are dreadful.
You don't stay starstruck long.

JN: Any advice for would-be writ-
ers?
SI: It's a job — work regular hours.
You've got to be in the chair. And
it's always better in your head than
when you get it on the page.
Compromising Positions was reject-
ed a lot of times. My agent never
told me to keep my hopes up.
Publishers said, "Who wants to read
about a Long Island housewife or a
female detective?"
You have to have a little courage.
You may find out you don't have
the ability to write a novel. But if
you don't try it, you'll never know. ❑

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l/4 Mile West of Middlebelt in Loading Dock Plaza

Alan Fisk is a metro Detroit-based

novelist, freelance writer and editor.

The Metro Detroit Book &
Author Society Fall Book Lunch,
featuring talks by Susan Isaacs,
J.A. Jance, T. Jefferson Parker
and Lorenzo Carcaterra, takes
place Monday Oct. 18, at Burton
Manor, 2777 Schoolcraft, in
Livonia. The book-sale room
opens at 11 a.m. Lunch begins at
noon. Authors will sign books
after speaking.
Tickets are $30 each. Call
(734) 397-0099, Ext. 154, or go
to http://-wvvw.bookandauthotorg

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