Ask the Author: Robert Westbrook
Answered Questions (6)
Robert Westbrook
Hi, Figgy. This is a difficult question for an author -- or at least it is for me. I know that some of the books I enjoyed most to write aren't the ones that a reader might most want to read. So I'm going to hedge my bets and give you two choices. First, fiction -- my new novel, "The Torch Singer" (and you should definitely start with Book One, "An Overnight Sensation.") And non-fiction, the memoir I wrote about my mother and F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Intimate Lies." If you're STILL in the mood for more, I'd suggest going on to my New Mexico mysteries, starting with "Ghost Dancer." I'd love to know what you think. All best, Robert
Robert Westbrook
My Hollywood trilogy -- "The Torch Singer" -- comes from my own long-ago childhood. My mother was a well-known Hollywood figure of the 40s and 50s (the gossip columnist, Sheilah Graham -- best remembered today as the last girlfriend of F. Scott Fitzgerald) and I grew up in a world where everyone I knew earned their livelihood at make-believe. I've struggled all my life to come to terms with this odd heritage, and these books are the result.
Robert Westbrook
"The Torch Singer" trilogy: the rise and fall of Sonya Saint-Amant, a B-singer who is struggling for fame and fortune -- breaking all the rules -- in Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s.
Robert Westbrook
Read, read, read! And read the best books, not junk -- Tolstoy, Dickens. Bathe your brain in the beauty of the written word! Then let it mix it your soul like a cocktail -- stir, don't shake -- and pour it out into a frosty glass.
Robert Westbrook
I've been a writer for over 50 years -- my first book was published by G.P. Putnam's when I was 17 years old. I love it, and there have been times when I've hated it, too. These days, the whole process has mellowed out and there's more joy than despair. I'd say the thing I like about being a writer most is that I can do it anywhere as I travel -- I'm in Sardinia at the moment working on the third book of "The Torch Singer" trilogy. Also, I'm going to be 69 this year and I plan to keep writing until I'm 90 . . . as a writer, you don't have to retire, not ever!
Robert Westbrook
Keep writing, at least for an hour or two every day. There are good days, and bad days when no ideas come. You simply have to accept that gracefully and stay with it. A week, two weeks can go by -- sometimes longer. Then all of a sudden, the words flow and it's magic. But if you don't put in the groundwork first, nothing will grow.
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