Writers at Work

Lisa Unger

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Lisa Unger, the bestselling author whose latest novel is CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10. The tale involves a high concept. Her protagonist, the physically fit Adele Crane, participates in a reality competition program called Extreme Hide and Seek that's held on a remote island. The show's founder and star, the deliciously named Maverick Dylan, is aging and increasingly unhinged. The last time around, one contestant was lost and never found. So what will happen now? I won't tell.
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10 is Lisa's 23rd book. She's moved back and forth between series and standalones. Her most recent series was HOUSE OF CROWS, a four-part serial released in 2021. Prior to the new one, her most recent novel was THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B, now available in paperback, in which an apartment in a sinister New York building is the setting for a psychological thriller that recalls Rosemary's Baby and The Shining, set 1700 miles to the east.

Thomas Perry

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is author Thomas Perry, whose latest thriller is PRO BONO. Thomas had a long, exemplary career as a mystery and thriller writer. His debut, THE BUTCHER'S BOY, in 1983 won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.
It was the first in a series in which three subsequent novels appeared three separate decades apart. His VANISHING ACT, featuring his recurring character Jane Whitefield, was named by Parade magazine as one of the 101 Best Mysteries of All Time. Tom was a PhD in literature, wrote and or produced for such TV shows as Star Trek, The Next Generation and Simon and Simon.
He's enjoying well deserved attention these days, thanks to the FX series The Old Man, based on his 2017 novel of the same name. We of a certain vintage applaud Tom for creating a hearty protagonist who is AARP eligible but hardly in need of assistance.
Since then, he's published eight more novels, including additions to the Butcher's Boy and Jane Whitefield series. Last year's HERO introduced readers to Justin Poole, a private security agent for Hollywood celebrities and the 1%. Booklist, Kirkus and Deadly Pleasures magazine called HERO the best thriller of the year. How lucky we would all be if we maintain such high standards across more than four decades and through 31 novels.

Christopher Maag

Joining me today on Writers at Work is New York Times Enterprise reporter Christopher Maag. Recently, Chris wrote what I consider to be an extraordinary feature about a woman who, at age 17, survived a plane crash. I'll get back to that story in a minute.
Chris is a veteran reporter, having written for national and local magazines including USA Today, The Record, and the Seattle Times. Before joining the New York Times staff, he freelanced for the paper for a decade, covering the Midwest. When you click on the links on his website or in the Times archive, you'll find that Chris has delved into the human side of some of the biggest stories of our lifetime, including the September 11 attacks and the impact of COVID. When he covers breaking news, he occasionally will reveal a sly sense of humor. In a recent piece about a man who filmed himself while breaking into the mayor's residence in New York, Chris disclosed that Mayor Adams believes the house is haunted.
But some stories are absent humor, like his recent piece on the four-month-old who died from a cocaine overdose. As for the tale of the airline crash survivor, you can find his feature in the Times archives or via Google. The headline hints at what's to follow. The plane crash should have killed her. Sometimes she wishes it had, adding, survival has been its own ordeal.
Chris tells us that, traveling by herself, Astrid Lopez was on her way from Bogota, Colombia, to Disney World via New York, the trip a reward for her good grades. Hours after takeoff, Flight 52 crashed into a tree on Long Island. 73 passengers were killed. Chris included this bit of memorable color in his piece: Rescue workers found a toddler dangling from a tree, cold but uninjured. Astrid, now 52, has endured 70 surgeries.
Let me now pause to greet Chris, a writer whose work, to my eyes, has both the propulsion and flow of great storytelling, regardless of medium.

Henry Alford

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Henry Alford, whose latest book is I DREAM OF JONI: A PORTRAIT OF JONI MITCHELL IN 53 SNAPSHOTS. You may know Henry's work in the New Yorker, for whom he's written for a good long while, or his contributions to Vanity Fair, The New York Times, and Spy Magazine.
You can find a collection of his early essays, in MUNICIPAL BONDAGE, published in 1994. Often writing about the absurd, including absurdities he's cooked up, he's been called an investigative humorist, which just about says it. I say just about because I DREAM OF JONI emerges as a serious work of biography about Mitchell, who (Dylan fans, cover your ears) is the greatest artist to emerge from the 1960s folk scene.
Henry's 53 snapshots are sections, some a full chapter, others a few lines that, taken together, present Mitchell in a manner that I've not come across previously. I DREAM OF JONI is Henry's sixth book. He's written about dance, manners, the hard-won wisdom of the elderly, and how, at age 34, he tried to become a professional actor.
Delving into his back catalog is a trip worth taking. I've been an Alford fan for a while. I always perked up when I heard him on Fresh Air or Studio360. And it goes without saying that I'm a Joni Mitchell fan. So seeing her through his eyes was an absolute treat and a revelation.

Ken Ludwig

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is playwright Ken Ludwig. His Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise is running now at New York's 59E59 Theaters. Playbill says Ken Ludwig may be the most-performed playwright of his generation. He's had six productions on Broadway and eight in London's West End. His 34 plays and musicals are staged throughout the US and around the world every night of the week.
It's quality as well as quantity with Ken. He's won Tony awards for his Lend Me a Tenor and Crazy for You, countless other awards unique to theater communities, and one for his bestselling book, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare.
I want to talk with Ken about his approach to writing, but I'm still in the glow of Dear Jack, Dear Louise, which confirms his genius for distinctive storytelling. Jack and Louise are Ken's parents, and the play is their story, how they met by exchanging letters during World War II. Those letters reveal not only the characters, personalities and ambitions, but also a time in our country's history. What began as a long-distance meet-cute story becomes something else as the play unfolds. I'm eager to hear how Ken conceived it and wrote it.

Gail Crowther

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Gail Crowther, whose latest book, DOROTHY PARKER IN HOLLYWOOD, examines the life of Parker in an unexpected context. Not in New York, where she began a career in journalism, was a founding member of the Algonquin Roundtable, and established her reputation as a poet and all-around acerbic wit, but in Southern California, where she lived for three decades.
Three seemingly miserable decades. A writer, researcher and academic, Dr. Crowther's previous books include THREE MARTINI AFTERNOONS AT THE RITZ, a dual biography exploring the social rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, THE HAUNTED READER AND SYLVIA PLATH and SYLVIA PLATH IN DEVON: A YEAR'S TURNING co-written with Elizabeth Sigmund.
On the surface, Dorothy Parker seems an entirely different type of subject from Plath and Sexton, authors of highly personal and revealing poetry that's anything but glib. But in DOROTHY PARKER IN HOLLYWOOD, we see a talented, troubled artist whose gift for satire may have developed as a shield to ward off further unhappiness.
There is much to recommend in DOROTHY PARKER IN HOLLYWOOD, not the least of which is witnessing Parker in what to readers is an unfamiliar, often glamorous, yet unsatisfying setting. I enjoyed Crowther’s Parker portrayal, and I'm happy to discuss the book and other matters with her.

Brad Meltzer

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Brad Meltzer, whose latest book is THE JFK CONSPIRACY: THE SECRET PLOT TO KILL KENNEDY—AND WHY IT FAILED, written with Josh Mensch. It follows their three similar fact-based thrillers about plots to kill George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and FDR, Stalin and Churchill.
 
Since the publication of his first novel, THE TENTH JUSTICE, in 1997, Brad's work has been a ubiquitous presence in libraries, bookstores and on bestseller lists. In addition to his notable novels and nonfiction work, he is an award-winning, much-admired comic book writer, TV writer and host, and public speaker.
 
A tireless researcher who earned his J.D. degree at Columbia Law School, Brad enjoyed the insights and assistance of former presidents Clinton and W. Bush and has worked with members of the US Intelligence community. And let's not overlook his utterly charming and informative Ordinary People Change the World Series for Young Readers with illustrator Chris Eliopoulos.
 
A decade after the initial I AM ABRAHAM LINCOLN, I AM AMELIA EARHART, I AM ROSA PARKS and I AM ALBERT EINSTEIN were published, 2024 saw the arrival of I AM RUTH BADER GINSBURG and I AM STEPHEN HAWKING. This year will bring I AM SALLY RIDE and WE ARE THE BEATLES.
 
Because he is such a part of the cultural landscape, it can appear that Brad Meltzer arrived fully formed with success and inevitability. But as every writer can attest, it is never the case. And it was not with Brad. As his bio indicates, he has long put in the work necessary to have a forum to say what he wants to say.

Rachael New

The on this episode of Writers at Work is Rachel New, creator, showrunner, and primary writer of Miss Scarlet, the Victorian era crime drama now in its 5th season. It's streaming here and there and will launch on PBS Masterpiece on January 12.
In its four previous seasons, the series was known as Miss Scarlet and the Duke. Miss Scarlet fans know that the Duke is gone. Scotland Yard detective inspector William Wellington has left London for a position with the New York City Police Department, placing him far from the private investigator, Eliza Scarlet. What will become of their contentious relationship that has blossomed into a romance? And how will Miss Scarlet, who is a more than competent PI, adjust to a new detective inspector who, unlike his blunt force predecessor, is cool and deliberate and declares absolute disinterest in working with private investigators?
Those are questions for Rachel New, who launched the series back in 2020. Prior to that, she wrote for many TV series in the UK, beginning with Monday Monday, a comedy set in the headquarters of a supermarket chain, and Trollied, also set in a supermarket. She has a long list of credentials now topped by Miss Scarlett, which works beautifully as a crime series and a glimpse into a vividly depicted Victorian society.