Rebecca Brown's Interview with
James Siegel
Author of
Epitaph

Rebecca :
“...you send me old men and this is what happens...” One of your characters in your first novel, says this at a compelling moment when a night watchman & a criminal turn a peaceful night into a killing field. Epitaph is a thriller, a whodunit all about old people. Given how young you look in your photo -- why?

James :
I always remember visiting my grandmother at an old age home & being virtually the only visitor there. The residents of this home were mostly forgotten, warehoused really, & while all of us from time to time are scared of dying, I remember being terrified at the thought of dying there.

I also remember thinking how in some ways, old age homes were eerily similar to what I knew about concentration camps. People brought there to die, to be forgotten by the rest of the world. It planted an idea in my head.

Rebecca :
How did you meet William Riskin, once one-third of the Three Eyes Detective Agency?

James :
I wanted to create someone whose life, by most definitions, had been a failure. I wanted to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Rebecca :
Did you mean to write a compelling study of the cruel & kind, light & dark, evil & good in our hearts & how shifting these opposites can be?

James :
First & foremost, I meant to write a thriller with characters that would engage the emotions. That involves creating a certain complexity in them, & that complexity invariably involves the competing impulses of good & evil.

There's a line in the book that states something to the effect that betrayal isn't reserved for certain people. It's an equal opportunity affliction. Each of the Three Eyes, for instance, is shaded somewhat differently. William, certainly the most sympathetic of the three, Santini more avaricious than anything else, & then of course Jean, who's a different matter.

Rebecca :
Epitaph gave me nightmares! That's how exciting it was. What most thrilled you about writing your book?

James :
Fashioning some characters I truly cared about, & in William, one I grew to love.

Rebecca :
“...how a seventy-year-old man or thereabouts, a man retired and used up, was able to track down a mass murderer... and... finish him off.” How important is redemption to a story?

James :
We all hope for redemption in our lives. Sometimes it's just a little redemption - you screwed up at the office or did a careless stupid thing in your personal relationship. But sometimes, of course, it's a great redemption, a redemption for a life misspent. That's what I was interested in here.

Rebecca :
& you did it well! I really liked keeping company with William & through his understanding of his two erstwhile partners, learning how each man changed the others' lives. One of William's partners survived those desperate decades in France before & during World War II. How did you do research for that time?

James :
I've always been fascinated by World War Two. Being Jewish, of course, has something to do with it. But I have friends who can't bear to read things or look at film from that horrible era because it's too painful. I, on the other hand, can't get enough of it. I've devoured myriad number of books about that era and seen every film there is on it.

Perhaps I've always been looking for an answer -- how such a thing could happen in a civilized world. Perhaps the only answer is that it's less civilized than we think it is.

Rebecca :
Ahha! Coming up in post-WWII England, we were taught that prior to The War to End All Wars, England had reached her pinnacle of civilization! How long did it take you to complete Epitaph? Do you use a computer?

James :
I wrote Epitaph in stages. All in all -- a few years probably. That
included one major rewrite where I infused a bit more humor into it. Originally long hand -- then computer.

Rebecca :
I enjoyed the comedy you sprinkled into this direful tale. Where did you get the idea for how Mr. Leonati's umbrella saved William's life?

James :
I'm not sure. I vaguely remember a film from the 1940's where a character walked into a bombed out building in London & nearly fell off the third story into nothingness. Sprinkle in a little Mary Poppins I guess -- remember how she floated in space?

Rebecca :
Yes I do, Mary Poppins has been one of my imaginary friends for years & I used to play in bomb sites when we first got to London! Is there anything you'd like our Readers to know about your thrilling novel & what's next up your sleeve?

James :
Currently, I'm reworking a second novel.

I'd like your Readers to know that writing, by and large, is done in a vacuum; & the most gratifying thing for the writer is when his work sees the light of day & people actually read it & respond. Hopefully positively.

In these days of videos and computers, books still remain for me the most engaging & life-affirming medium that exists. I hope people read Epitaph & I hope they enjoy it.

Rebecca :
I agree about reading books. Thank you, James, for writing a compelling & curious story.

Readers -- check out my review of James Siegel's Epitaph & then get yourself a copy -- it's a fascinating read & opens up a whole new world & that's what I like in a book!

Pick up a copy today at Amazon.Com.

For more about Epitaph & to read the first chapter: Click Here!

Rebecca Brown
(Published September 23, 2001)