Superstition Review Interviews T.C. Boyle

T.C. Boyle with Sara and Rebekah
Rebekah and Sara with T.C. Boyle

On February 25th, Changing Hands Bookstore hosted T.C. Boyle for a reading and questions on his most recent novel, The Women. Fiction Editor Rebekah Richgels and former Fiction Editor Sara Scoville spent about an hour interviewing the author before the event. Rebekah comments on the experience.

The idea of chatting with T. C. Boyle about his work seemed nerve-wracking at first because he’s a well-known author who has published 20 books. He arrived and we made our introductions, then Trish set up the camera and we dove right in. Sara and I had created banks of questions to choose from, but as we talked we became more comfortable and found ourselves going “off script.” Mr. Boyle entertained us with anecdotes but also respectfully considered our more serious questions. Changing Hands was the last stop on his nationwide book tour, but he answered our questions as though he was hearing them for the first time.

As we probed into the details of his literary career–his various styles, how he gets to know his characters, how he comes up with ideas–it became obvious that we were speaking with a natural talent. This is a man who finds a subject that interests him and spends months gathering and gleaning information so that when he finally sits down to write about it he sounds as knowledgeable as someone who has devoted their life to this one topic. He writes seven days a week, probably without fail, not because he has to make himself move forward with a piece, but because he has made writing so natural that it is almost like eating.

Though he is promoting his 20th book, Boyle has already submitted his 21st–a collection of stories including “Wild Child,” mentioned in his novel Talk Talk–and is more than halfway through his 22nd, another novel. He has an ability to write so that subjects are engaging and fresh, so that his characters are real, and so that each story draws you in. He writes with an ease that makes all authors jealous and makes publishers celebrate. Interviewing him was a priceless experience, and one that I am so excited to be able to share with all our readers. The podcast interview will be available on April 20th, the launch date of Issue 3 of Superstition Review.

T.C. Boyle
T.C. Boyle
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6 thoughts on “Superstition Review Interviews T.C. Boyle

  • March 4, 2009 at 10:25 am
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    T.C. Boyle was great! Thanks so much Rebekah and Sara. This interview was tons of fun.

  • March 4, 2009 at 10:40 am
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    Great job SR team! Can’t wait for the complete interview!

  • March 4, 2009 at 10:59 am
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    I can’t wait to watch the interview! What a great opportunity. I’ve read other interviews with him, and I can only imagine what fun you had.

  • March 4, 2009 at 12:22 pm
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    I enjoyed your post Rebekah. I saw T.C. Boyle on Tavis Smiley and he had really interesting things to say about “The Women”. I’m excited to see the interview at launch!

  • March 5, 2009 at 11:24 pm
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    Rebekah, what a great experience! Thanks for sharing. I am really looking forward to watching the interview…glad it was filmed!

  • March 14, 2009 at 7:46 pm
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    I’m so glad you had this wonderful opportunity, Rebekah! I’m excited to watch the interview!

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