| Thomas Perry - January 2008 author of the month |
Fidelity is the new book by best selling author Thomas Perry. It will be released
May 12th, 2008. Here is description of the new book as listed on Amazon.com:
When Phil Kramer is shot dead on a deserted suburban street in the middle of
the night, his wife, Emily, is left with an emptied bank account and a lot of
questions. How could Phil leave her penniless? What was he going to do with
the money? And, most of all, who was he if he wasn’t the man she thought she
married?
Jerry Hobart has some questions of his own. It’s none of his business why he
was hired to kill Phil Kramer. But now that he’s been ordered to take out
Kramer’s widow, he figures there’s a bigger secret at work—and maybe a
bigger payoff.
As they race to find the secret that Phil Kramer so masterfully hid, both Hobart
and Emily must question where their true loyalties lie and how much they owe
those who have been unfaithful to them. In Fidelity, Thomas Perry delivers
another riveting thriller.
May 12th, 2008. Here is description of the new book as listed on Amazon.com:
When Phil Kramer is shot dead on a deserted suburban street in the middle of
the night, his wife, Emily, is left with an emptied bank account and a lot of
questions. How could Phil leave her penniless? What was he going to do with
the money? And, most of all, who was he if he wasn’t the man she thought she
married?
Jerry Hobart has some questions of his own. It’s none of his business why he
was hired to kill Phil Kramer. But now that he’s been ordered to take out
Kramer’s widow, he figures there’s a bigger secret at work—and maybe a
bigger payoff.
As they race to find the secret that Phil Kramer so masterfully hid, both Hobart
and Emily must question where their true loyalties lie and how much they owe
those who have been unfaithful to them. In Fidelity, Thomas Perry delivers
another riveting thriller.
Thomas Perry has authored 14 books, highlighted by his Jane
Whitefield series. He also received his Ph.D. in English from the
University of Rochester in 1974. Every time he pens a new novel, it
comes with wonderful reviews. Each novel he writes has an
extremely high level of suspense. We have listed Dance for the
Dead on our Top 10 list this month. Check out Thomas Perry's
website for a complete listing of all his books! To order any of his
books simply click on the amazon link.
Below you will see the wonderful interview that we were able to have
with Thomas Perry.
Whitefield series. He also received his Ph.D. in English from the
University of Rochester in 1974. Every time he pens a new novel, it
comes with wonderful reviews. Each novel he writes has an
extremely high level of suspense. We have listed Dance for the
Dead on our Top 10 list this month. Check out Thomas Perry's
website for a complete listing of all his books! To order any of his
books simply click on the amazon link.
Below you will see the wonderful interview that we were able to have
with Thomas Perry.
You wanted it, we got it, an exclusive interview from a master, THOMAS PERRY
1. What is your favorite all time book (not yours) and why?
A. I don't know if I have one all-time favorite book, really. But one that stays in my
mind is Faulkner's Absalom Absalom! because it's about story-telling. In it, Quentin
Compson
and his college friend Shreve and the elderly Miss Rosa Coldfield piece together the
truth about the pre-Civil War founder of the county and the subsequent, mostly tragic,
events that occurred to him, his descendants and the rest of the county up to the
present (the 1920's). They do it by constructing narratives that begin with the few
known facts and then retelling and revising them in the light of what they know about
human nature and the possible until they have a version they intuit is right. It's
essentially an exterior version of what goes on in a novelist's mind. Over the past 30
years or so, it's come back to me frequently, and I should get around to reading it again.
2. You received your PH. D. in 1974, when did you decide that you wanted to become
an author?
A. I didn't exactly have to decide to be an author. My parents were both teachers,
and I was given to understand at a very early age that anything of value that was
thought, said, discovered, built, designed, painted, or invented would eventually show
up in one of the books on a library shelf. The big question was not whether I would
write, but what I would do to make a living while I wrote. That was the reason for the
Ph.D., in part: It seemed to me that teaching was an honorable and constructive way to
get money. I've been very lucky to be able to support myself and my family for many
years with my writing.
3. If you could meet one person, alive or dead, and talk with them for one hour, who
would it be?
A. At the risk of being unoriginal, I guess my "one person,alive or dead" would have
to be Jesus. It would be an opportunity to clear up a few things once and for all.
4. Your Jane Whitefield character is very close to the Arnold Schwartzeneger character
in Eraser, did you help them with the writing of that movie? Or did you even know about
it?
A. I've never seen "Eraser." Arnold Kopelson, producer of "Eraser" and Warner
Brothers held a movie option on the Jane Whitefield books for a couple of years before
"Eraser" was made.
5. If you could go back in time and solve one mystery, what would it be?
A. I think if I had one chance to solve a mystery, I wouldn't pick one from the past.
We've survived the past. I'd like to solve one that's coming at us in the future--global
warming, overpopulation, cheap energy, etc. I guess I should have kept taking science
courses instead of learning to tell elaborate lies for a living.
6. Do you have any or have you had any thoughts about trying to do a TV series about
Jane Whitefield?
A. For the past two or three years I granted an option to Mark Gordon to get a Jane
Whitefield series on the air He'd held the option for a Jane Whitefield movie for several
years at Paramount. When he made a deal with ABC he wanted the chance to do a TV
series. His work in television has been wildly successful, but the Jane series didn't work
out.
7. I noticed that you did many jobs, which one would you say was the worst one?
A. Probably the most unsatisfactory job I ever had was Assistant Coordinator of the
General Education Program at USC. It involved being responsible for administering the
non-major requirements for undergraduate degrees. I had to monitor the tests,
textbooks, paper topics, etc. for a large number of courses given by many departments,
and was generally the one who had to say "no" to students who needed to get around
some requirement or other. Not a road to popularity. I'm probably alive today only
because I was very low-profile.
8. What TV shows do you watch or miss from the past?
A. My wife and I worked as writer/producers of prime-time network television series
for most of the 1980's, and freelanced a bit in the early 1990's. We know too much
about the process, the cliches, etc. ever to be in doubt about what is going to happen.
My daughters often refuse to watch with my wife, who is able to see the first two minutes
and tell the rest of the plot virtually every time. We do watch many shows about actual
crimes (Forensic Files, Snapped, 48 Hours, etc.). Also the cheesiest reality shows we
can find, and documentaries or in-depth news features (Frontline, etc.)
9. What is something that you always said you would do, but haven't gotten to yet?
A. Something I've said I'd do, but haven't done? Probably I'd like to write sequels to
several of my stand-alone books--Metzger's Dog, Island, Death Benefits, and Pursuit
come to mind. My problem seems to be that I don't write fast enough.
10. Can you give us a little insight to what we can expect from you after Fidelity hits the
shelves?
A. About a year after Fidelity, which will be published in May, comes the return of
Jane Whitefield in a book I'm calling, tentatively, Dreams. For years, about half of the
email I get from readers has been requests for another book in the series. It seemed to
me that all of that loyalty should be recognized, so I decided to at least try. I found that it
was a good choice. I like the book, and so does everybody who's read it so far.
We would like to thank Mr. Perry for taking time out of his busy schedule to
talk with us.
1. What is your favorite all time book (not yours) and why?
A. I don't know if I have one all-time favorite book, really. But one that stays in my
mind is Faulkner's Absalom Absalom! because it's about story-telling. In it, Quentin
Compson
and his college friend Shreve and the elderly Miss Rosa Coldfield piece together the
truth about the pre-Civil War founder of the county and the subsequent, mostly tragic,
events that occurred to him, his descendants and the rest of the county up to the
present (the 1920's). They do it by constructing narratives that begin with the few
known facts and then retelling and revising them in the light of what they know about
human nature and the possible until they have a version they intuit is right. It's
essentially an exterior version of what goes on in a novelist's mind. Over the past 30
years or so, it's come back to me frequently, and I should get around to reading it again.
2. You received your PH. D. in 1974, when did you decide that you wanted to become
an author?
A. I didn't exactly have to decide to be an author. My parents were both teachers,
and I was given to understand at a very early age that anything of value that was
thought, said, discovered, built, designed, painted, or invented would eventually show
up in one of the books on a library shelf. The big question was not whether I would
write, but what I would do to make a living while I wrote. That was the reason for the
Ph.D., in part: It seemed to me that teaching was an honorable and constructive way to
get money. I've been very lucky to be able to support myself and my family for many
years with my writing.
3. If you could meet one person, alive or dead, and talk with them for one hour, who
would it be?
A. At the risk of being unoriginal, I guess my "one person,alive or dead" would have
to be Jesus. It would be an opportunity to clear up a few things once and for all.
4. Your Jane Whitefield character is very close to the Arnold Schwartzeneger character
in Eraser, did you help them with the writing of that movie? Or did you even know about
it?
A. I've never seen "Eraser." Arnold Kopelson, producer of "Eraser" and Warner
Brothers held a movie option on the Jane Whitefield books for a couple of years before
"Eraser" was made.
5. If you could go back in time and solve one mystery, what would it be?
A. I think if I had one chance to solve a mystery, I wouldn't pick one from the past.
We've survived the past. I'd like to solve one that's coming at us in the future--global
warming, overpopulation, cheap energy, etc. I guess I should have kept taking science
courses instead of learning to tell elaborate lies for a living.
6. Do you have any or have you had any thoughts about trying to do a TV series about
Jane Whitefield?
A. For the past two or three years I granted an option to Mark Gordon to get a Jane
Whitefield series on the air He'd held the option for a Jane Whitefield movie for several
years at Paramount. When he made a deal with ABC he wanted the chance to do a TV
series. His work in television has been wildly successful, but the Jane series didn't work
out.
7. I noticed that you did many jobs, which one would you say was the worst one?
A. Probably the most unsatisfactory job I ever had was Assistant Coordinator of the
General Education Program at USC. It involved being responsible for administering the
non-major requirements for undergraduate degrees. I had to monitor the tests,
textbooks, paper topics, etc. for a large number of courses given by many departments,
and was generally the one who had to say "no" to students who needed to get around
some requirement or other. Not a road to popularity. I'm probably alive today only
because I was very low-profile.
8. What TV shows do you watch or miss from the past?
A. My wife and I worked as writer/producers of prime-time network television series
for most of the 1980's, and freelanced a bit in the early 1990's. We know too much
about the process, the cliches, etc. ever to be in doubt about what is going to happen.
My daughters often refuse to watch with my wife, who is able to see the first two minutes
and tell the rest of the plot virtually every time. We do watch many shows about actual
crimes (Forensic Files, Snapped, 48 Hours, etc.). Also the cheesiest reality shows we
can find, and documentaries or in-depth news features (Frontline, etc.)
9. What is something that you always said you would do, but haven't gotten to yet?
A. Something I've said I'd do, but haven't done? Probably I'd like to write sequels to
several of my stand-alone books--Metzger's Dog, Island, Death Benefits, and Pursuit
come to mind. My problem seems to be that I don't write fast enough.
10. Can you give us a little insight to what we can expect from you after Fidelity hits the
shelves?
A. About a year after Fidelity, which will be published in May, comes the return of
Jane Whitefield in a book I'm calling, tentatively, Dreams. For years, about half of the
email I get from readers has been requests for another book in the series. It seemed to
me that all of that loyalty should be recognized, so I decided to at least try. I found that it
was a good choice. I like the book, and so does everybody who's read it so far.
We would like to thank Mr. Perry for taking time out of his busy schedule to
talk with us.