After hearing last year about Boris Johnson’s thriller, then about Saddam Hussein’s romance novels, I got thinking about why people from all sorts of backgrounds are drawn to writing fiction. Reading them, I’m struck by two thoughts, firstly by how easy lots of professional writers make writing fiction look, and secondly by how much you can come to understand a person by the way they write.
Are there any novels you know of from unexpected authors? Have you found any that are decent as books apart from their creators? What is it about novels that draws non-writers that’s missing from, say, pottery or interpretive dance?
Craig Ferguson, the comedian and talk show host, is an excellent writer.
I never expected Anthony Bourdain to write murder mysteries.
One of my favorite authors, Nevil Shute Norway (1899-1960), was a British aeronautical engineer who wrote under the pseudonym, Nevil Shute, to protect his career in engineering. He was afraid his employers and co-workers would not view him as a serious person if they discovered his writing ability. I think this view has changed 180^(0) in the past 97 years since he wrote and published his first novel.
One of my favorite authors, Nevil Shute Norway (1899-1960), was a British aeronautical engineer who wrote under the pseudonym, Nevil Shute, to protect his career in engineering. He was afraid his employers and co-workers would not view him as a serious person if they discovered his writing ability. I think this view has changed 180^(0) in the past 97 years since he wrote and published his first novel.
Nicole Ritchie wrote a fiction book about a rich party girl… I remember being mesmerised by it when I was younger, though looking back I’m sure it was terribly written.
Nicole Ritchie wrote a fiction book about a rich party girl… I remember being mesmerised by it when I was younger, though looking back I’m sure it was terribly written.
Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher was pretty good.
Worth noting she had been a script doctor for a long time too
From The Edge?
Worth noting she had been a script doctor for a long time too
Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher was pretty good.
Jimmy Carter is a very good fiction writer.
Jimmy Carter is a very good fiction writer.
There is a book about literature written by dictators called the Infernal Library by Daniel Kalder
There is a book about literature written by dictators called the Infernal Library by Daniel Kalder
Winston Churchill wrote a Ruritanian romance novel called Savrola.
I was surprised to find out that Sir Winston Churchill had written a Ruritanian romance called Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania, his only novel.
Fran Lebowitz wrote a kids book in 1994, Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet the Pandas, her last published book.
Winston Churchill wrote a little-known novel, Savrola. Churchill was, for most of his adult life, a professional writer (among other things!), but entirely in nonfiction - history, biography, etc. I believe Savrola is his only work of fiction.