Writers at Work

Dennis Lehane

My guest today on Writers at Work is Dennis Lehane, an exceptional novelist and screenwriter whose body of work reveals the tender heart of his characters as they yearn, even as the world explodes around them.
His novels and short fiction and the films adapted from them, MYSTIC RIVER, SHUTTER ISLAND, GONE, BABY GONE, and THE DROP among them, are now part of the American cultural and artistic landscape. In addition, he's written for, consulted on, or was involved in the production of episodes of such programs as THE WIRE, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, MR. MERCEDES, and now SMOKE, premiering on June 27 on Apple TV+. That, my friends, is as fine a resume as you'll find for a writer in our time.
Before we proceed, I should tell you that Dennis and I shared an agent, and he invited me to contribute to his short story anthology, BOSTON NOIR. But my admiration for his work is unencumbered by anything other than my admiration for his work.

Craig Thompson

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Craig Thompson, author and graphic artist. His latest is the epic GINSENG ROOTS: A MEMOIR.
Craig's first graphic novel, GOOD-BYE CHUNKY RICE, was published in 1999 and won high honors such as the Harvey and Ignatz Awards. That year he began his first masterwork, the 600-page BLANKETS, described as a memoir of first love and faith lost in rural Wisconsin. The Bloomsbury Review said it is a superb example of the art of cartooning, the blending of word and picture to achieve an effect that neither is capable of without the other. I disagree slightly, but okay. It won several awards and praise from the likes of Jules Pfeiffer, Alan Moore and Art Spiegelman.
Now we have GINSENG ROOTS. It employs as its springboard the story of Craig's childhood, in which he and his siblings spent their summers harvesting ginseng. Ranging far in his tale, Craig conveys the history of agriculture In Wisconsin, the 300-year-old saga of the global Ginseng Trail, and the hardships faced and not always overcome by Ginseng farmers such as his parents and neighbors.
Never far from the heart of Jensen ROOTS is his family story, informed by unforgiving labor, evangelical Christianity, and the conflicting need for home and escape as we meet the Thompsons as they are then and now. I found GINSENG ROOTS to be an astonishing work of storytelling, monumental in scope, yet never far from intimate. I don't think there was a page in which Craig didn't teach me about something I didn't know or made me rethink my opinions. I'm very eager to learn how he came to create a work I'll never forget.

Sarah Lampert

Joining me on this episode of Writers at Work is Sarah Lampert, writer, executive producer and creative force behind Ginny and Georgia, the smash hit now in its third season on Netflix. Sarah is a bit of a miracle in today's media landscape. As I understand it, Sarah wrote the pilot during a writing class.
This is her first program. I'll ask her to tell us how Ginny and Georgia came to be. I said smash hit a few seconds ago. How smash? In its second season launched in 2023, Ginny and Georgia was the most watched show on Netflix from January into June of that year; one episode achieved 162 million hours viewed and was in the top 10 list in 88 countries. But popularity is one thing and quality is another. For the uninitiated, Ginny and Georgia is the story of a family trying to find its place.
Ginny is a 15-year-old who is whip smart and sensitive. Her younger brother Austin is a sweet magnet for bullies. And Georgia, who had Ginny at 15, is rebuilding a life after suffering abuse by men. Her assets are a quick wit, bottomless resolve and sexy charm. All three leads are abetted by a large cast of complex characters, most of whom are at least as imperfect as we all are and beset with problems worthy of a daytime soap opera.
But Ginny and Georgia is much more than a soapy pastime, especially when we are with Ginny, who is experiencing high school life and what appears to be a social and sexual minefield. Sarah and the writers room keep several always believable, if incredible, plots moving forward. I found myself deeply engaged during several heartbreak scenes. And I should add, there's ample humor and murder in the mix.

Chris Pavone

Joining me on this episode of Writers at Work is Chris Pavone, author of THE DOORMAN. Described by the New York Times as a state of the city novel, a kaleidoscopic portrait of New York at a singularly strange moment, THE DOORMAN has drawn comparison to Tom Wolfe's THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES.
Rightfully so, I'll add, as Chris displays a keen gift for ascetic satire but serves it without drawing attention to a flashy style. THE DOORMAN is Chris's sixth novel. Its predecessors include THE EXPATS, which won both the Edgar and Anthony Award, and the bestselling TWO NIGHTS IN LONDON. He's a veteran of the publishing and magazine industries, having worked as a copy editor, executive editor, deputy publisher and ghostwriter.
As a journalist, his articles appeared in The Times and Salon, among other publications. Set in New York City, THE DOORMAN finds Chris on familiar terrain and new terrain. Familiar because he was raised here, new because he's known for his international thrillers with characters careening around Europe. As a longtime New Yorker, I found THE DOORMAN vivid and real, even when Chris placed me in situations I've yet to face, and entirely plausible.
I'm happy to meet Chris and talk about his work and how he goes about it.

Julie Gilbert

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Julie Gilbert, author of GIANT LOVE: EDNA FERBER, HER BEST-SELLING NOVEL OF TEXAS, AND THE MAKING OF A CLASSIC AMERICAN FILM. Julie brings a special insight into her latest work. She is the great niece of Edna Ferber, author of the novel that was the Source for the 1956 George Stevens film starring James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor.
She is also the author of the biography of FERBER: EDNA FERBER AND HER CIRCLE published in 1976. That book was nominated for National Book Critics Circle Award and her OPPOSITE ATTRACTION: THE LIVES OF ERICH MARIA REMARQUE AND PAULETTE GODDARD was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times praised GIANT LOVE as a tender and patient homage to a titan of American letters who has fallen most grievously out of fashion.
That's so, but there's more. I found it a delight. Dishy, deeply affectionate, yet instructive, as Julie tells us tales of the film stars and how the picture came to be made. But more so how Ferber came to write a sprawling novel that entertained while it revealed the schisms in Texas society.
Julie quotes Ferber's assessment of Texas as she did her initial research in and out of Texas towns, talking to scores of Texas people, amazed by their viewpoint, their braggadocio, their seeming unawareness of the world outside their own vast commonwealth, beguiled by their easy charm, grateful for their spontaneous hospitality, touched by their lavish giving of time, energy, thought to a tourist stranger. All that majesty of Texas was captured by Ferber in GIANT and by Stevens in his film version. Julie Gilbert tells us how in a beautifully crafted book that's part biography, part memoir and a full pleasure.

Michael Amherst

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Michael Amherst, whose debut novel, THE BOYHOOD OF CAIN is available now. Set in rural England, it's a coming-of-age tale of Daniel, a boy who struggles to understand himself and his place in a small but growing world. Michael's storytelling skills put us inside Daniel's emotional turmoil, a place that isn't always comfortable, but is often all too recognizable.
Michael is well regarded as a journalist, publishing in the Guardian, the Spectator, New Statesman, among others. His essay Go the Way Your Blood Beats won the 2019 Stonewall Nonfiction Prize. He also won the 2020 Hubert Butler Essay Prize and was shortlisted for the Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts.
His short fiction has been similarly acknowledged. As it is for many first-time novelists, Michael's journey to writing and publishing THE BOYHOOD OF CAIN was anything but linear. He joins us from London to discuss that journey, THE BOYHOOD OF CAIN, and whatever else crosses his mind.

John W. Miller

Joining me on this episode of Writers at Work is John W. Miller, author of THE LAST MANAGER: HOW EARL WEAVER TRICKED, TORMENTED, AND REINVENTED BASEBALL. John is a contributing writer to America magazine and prior to that was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. During his time at the Journal, John reported from more than two dozen countries and wrote stories on the Tour de France, the World Cup, uranium mines, Belgian beer brewing, monks, old geologists, a chicken that lays giant eggs, and a hippo on Death Row.
In addition to his writing, John is a co-director of the film Moundsville, a documentary about a West Virginia city of the same name. Baseball is a great passion. In addition to his Weaver bio, John served as a scout for the Baltimore Orioles and coached two teams in Brussels, Belgium in the Little League World Series tournament. You can find online many stories about the greatest game written by John for various publications. Invariably, they are a delight.

Virginia Feito

On this episode of Writers at Work, I speak with Virginia Feito, author of VICTORIAN PSYCHO, a title that is ideal yet only hints at what lies between the book covers. VICTORIAN PSYCHO is Virginia's second novel. Her 2021 debut, MRS. MARCH, straddled the line between psychological thriller and social satire, said Vogue magazine, adding that it's as literary as it is pulpy.
It was snapped up by Hollywood and is under development, with Elisabeth Moss attached as star and producer. I'll have to ask Virginia about its progress to screen. I'll also have to ask her about how she wrote a novel so keenly praised for its precision in depicting the foibles of New York's upwardly mobile despite her having never lived in New York. She was raised in Madrid and Paris and studied in London. She writes in English.
I admit to a particular fascination with her latest, VICTORIAN PSYCHO. On the surface, it's a gruesome tale of a psychopathic governess, Winifred Notty, immune to fear, dismissive of pain, who carries within her a darkness. Capital D, Darkness. Much explicit violence ensues. If this is not your cup of tea, let me say that VICTORIAN PSYCHO contains some of the most perfectly constructed sentences I've ever read, each word carefully chosen to elicit a squeamish reaction. Yet they flow together with ease, the writing as much as the psychological terror oozed its way under my skin.
I can't remember the last time I came across a novel that compelled me to tap my wife on the shoulder and read a few sentences aloud and then do the same thing a few minutes later. And then again.
VICTORIAN PSYCHO has been optioned as well, and I'm told Margaret Qualley will play Miss Notty.