{"id":9155,"date":"2015-11-09T22:39:09","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T02:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=9155"},"modified":"2015-11-09T22:39:09","modified_gmt":"2015-11-10T02:39:09","slug":"episode-142-rupert-thomson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-142-rupert-thomson","title":{"rendered":"Episode 142 – Rupert Thomson"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Virtual Memories Show #142:
\nRupert Thomson<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_142_-_Rupert_Thomson.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I often think that my ideas are exaggerations that are on the brink of disbelief, but just this side of that, so the suspension of disbelief is a challenge in my books. I like to push things as far as they can go.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"KC-cover_with-quote-260x390\"<\/a>Rupert Thomson<\/a> returns to the show to talk about his new novel, Katherine Carlyle<\/a>\"\" (Other Press, 2015). We also discuss IVF babies, doing research “in character”, keeping the reader’s interest in a “road movie” novel, prioritizing imaginary facts above real facts, his pros & cons list for becoming a parent, the challenge of writing a novel about a father’s fear for his child’s safety, the long and short answer of “Where do you get your ideas?”, how he got James Salter to blurb his new book, and more!\u00a0Give it a listen!<\/a><\/p>\n

“My wife was adopted. She told me what it was like not to be related to anyone in the world by blood. She said, ‘We learn about ourselves by looking at people we resemble, and if you don’t have that, you’re alone in the world. And the only mirror is the one on the wall.’ I felt like it was within my gift to change that for her.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rupert also talks about repetition compulsion, the changing nature of a full-time writer, learning to perform in public readings, why he wanted to name his new book Frankenstein’s Daughter<\/em> and why his wife told him not<\/em> to write it for years, who he’s reading, and what his daughter thinks about his work.\u00a0Go listen!<\/a><\/p>\n

“People would assume that you’d do all the research and then write the book, but with me it’s absolutely the opposite way ’round: I think the real facts can really get in the way of the imagined ones. I sink down into my imagination and write the book I want to write first. The imagined facts have to have priority over the real ones.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_142_-_Rupert_Thomson.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

We talked about some books during this conversation. You should go read ’em!<\/p>\n