Ask the Author: John Stiles
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John Stiles
The idea for Taking The Stairs came to me when I was working as a temp at a pension board in Toronto and noticed the faces of the people who were waiting to take the elevator at the end of day; no matter how much they wanted to get out of the building on a Friday, most would just patiently wait till the elevator came instead of taking off down the stairs. The idea stuck me how easy it is to fall into a holding pattern, neither being happy nor unhappy. I based the story on a young aspiring author who was resisting this holding pattern, in his mid-thirties. The story is about the tragi-comic pitfalls that impede his pursuit of his dream to get published. I was inspired by the life experiences and 'slice of life vignettes' of male writers such as Kerouac, Henry Miller, TF Rigeloff, Mordecai Richer and by the female writer Jean Rhys whom I admire most. Taking The Stairs is a romantic novel set in modern era Toronto, which also slides back in time to 1970's London, England.
Poverty-stricken, soon-to-be-evicted and harassed by a phone that rings off the hook, Jarod Palmer is a vulnerable young lad teetering on the brink of emotional despair and financial ruin. The story is also about the women in the young author’s life. The title of the novel is taken from one of Jarod’s hopeless job experiences where he finds himself telemarketing for eight dollars and hour. Jarod`s delusions of fortune and fame crumble when he finds himself in a crowded office building in the middle of a soulless city. He realizes as he stares at the faces of the people crowding into the elevator that the last thing he wants to do is fall in line and take the elevator, he simply wants to follow his own path and take the stairs.
Poverty-stricken, soon-to-be-evicted and harassed by a phone that rings off the hook, Jarod Palmer is a vulnerable young lad teetering on the brink of emotional despair and financial ruin. The story is also about the women in the young author’s life. The title of the novel is taken from one of Jarod’s hopeless job experiences where he finds himself telemarketing for eight dollars and hour. Jarod`s delusions of fortune and fame crumble when he finds himself in a crowded office building in the middle of a soulless city. He realizes as he stares at the faces of the people crowding into the elevator that the last thing he wants to do is fall in line and take the elevator, he simply wants to follow his own path and take the stairs.
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