We are immersed in fiction. The murky soup of marketing, the dirty swamp of politics, and the disjointed, unaccountable stories we concoct about ourselves and others are all based more on imagination than anything like empirical fact.

Is it that real life is too dull? Or too complex? Both maybe. We are drawn to bad dramas on TV because, as unrealistic as they are, they’re more consistent and less bewildering than life itself.

We need a daily escape. And the best means of escape — falling into another credible, well-drawn world for a while –  is still a good novel.  So when I run into someone with the talent it takes to conceptualize and produce a coherent, congruent work of fiction that people will actually sit still for, I’m full of questions. (If you’ve written a novel and wouldn’t mind discussing it, please let me know in the comments.)

Previously Lee Polevoi and I  did a question-and-answer interview on the occasion of his first novel, The Moon in Deep Winter. Recently I’ve been talking with Ben Mason about his first novel, Sunrise On Moonville, set in California’s Central Valley.

It’s a late coming-of-age comic adventure that reminds some readers of A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy O’Toole.  Besides the book itself, we talked about the process of writing, the rise of ebooks, and his next work in progress.  Ben is also an accomplished copywriter with an impressive portfolio.

1. Lots of people believe they have a novel in them, but few ever bring a book to publication. What did it take to get yours out?

I suspect most people who believe they have a novel in them first get excited about the concept of “being a writer” — and all the romantic images that evokes. When it comes to actually “writing,” though, not so much. That was certainly the case with me. I mean, I wrote some short stories and plays in high school and college, but mostly I just concocted kind of outlandish premises for novels and talked about them at parties as if they were actual works in progress. I suppose that’s a kind of an art form, too, but I don’t think they give any awards for it. I’m all about awards.

Anyway, I guess I figured I’d better produce some actual work or everyone would start thinking I was a charlatan. Obviously that backfired, as now that the book is out there, my charlatanism is pretty well-established.  Read more...