Q&A with Peter W Cookson Jr!
How would you describe your new book, The Red Cadillac?
The Red Cadillac is my first attempt at autobiography. I have always been interested in social inequality. Last year I started to write a proposal for a book about the 1 percent and as a preface I decided to write why this topic means so much to me. As I say at the top of the “Cadillac” it just sort of wrote me. It’s the story of growing up in two worlds never really belonging to either. It tells the story of coming of age with feelings on invisibility and struggle.
But it is a memoir with a larger purpose. I take a close look at the values, social assumptions and snobbery of old money. I am definitely not old money, but I have seen it from the inside. Many Americans don’t know much about our secret aristocracy.
The Red Cadillac is very different from your previous books. What inspired you to write your autobiography?
Good writing is about exploration and discovery. I needed to break through the barrier of my past to get to a freer, more creative place.
Was there something about writing The Red Cadillac you found especially challenging?
Not really, it just kind of flowed. I was surprised how natural it felt. Because of The Red Cadillac I was able to finish my first mystery. It’s called The House of Cards featuring my detective alter ego Quince McCool.
Is there an author that inspired your own writing?
I have been inspired by many writers. I love George Orwell because he was fearless, honest, on fire for social justice and a magician with words.
If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a genius. It would be amazing to get his take on the world today. I wonder what he would say about the 1 percent?
What are you reading right now?
I am reading Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King. It's a great story about a great artist. I love the combination of art and history.
Are you writing a sequel to The Red Cadillac?
Yes, I am expanding the story to cover the 1960s and 70s. Those were crazy good times. The working title is The Mexican Divorce: A 60s Romance
The Red Cadillac is my first attempt at autobiography. I have always been interested in social inequality. Last year I started to write a proposal for a book about the 1 percent and as a preface I decided to write why this topic means so much to me. As I say at the top of the “Cadillac” it just sort of wrote me. It’s the story of growing up in two worlds never really belonging to either. It tells the story of coming of age with feelings on invisibility and struggle.
But it is a memoir with a larger purpose. I take a close look at the values, social assumptions and snobbery of old money. I am definitely not old money, but I have seen it from the inside. Many Americans don’t know much about our secret aristocracy.
The Red Cadillac is very different from your previous books. What inspired you to write your autobiography?
Good writing is about exploration and discovery. I needed to break through the barrier of my past to get to a freer, more creative place.
Was there something about writing The Red Cadillac you found especially challenging?
Not really, it just kind of flowed. I was surprised how natural it felt. Because of The Red Cadillac I was able to finish my first mystery. It’s called The House of Cards featuring my detective alter ego Quince McCool.
Is there an author that inspired your own writing?
I have been inspired by many writers. I love George Orwell because he was fearless, honest, on fire for social justice and a magician with words.
If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a genius. It would be amazing to get his take on the world today. I wonder what he would say about the 1 percent?
What are you reading right now?
I am reading Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King. It's a great story about a great artist. I love the combination of art and history.
Are you writing a sequel to The Red Cadillac?
Yes, I am expanding the story to cover the 1960s and 70s. Those were crazy good times. The working title is The Mexican Divorce: A 60s Romance
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