Ask the Author: Chris Bohjalian
Answered Questions (164)
Chris Bohjalian
Hi, Cynthia.
Thanks for asking. And always, please, call me Chris.
It would be a spoiler to reveal that here. Sorry about that.
But if you still wonder when you have finished the novel, feel free to email me.
Thanks for reading -- and writing!
All the best,
Chris
www.ChrisBohjalian.com
Thanks for asking. And always, please, call me Chris.
It would be a spoiler to reveal that here. Sorry about that.
But if you still wonder when you have finished the novel, feel free to email me.
Thanks for reading -- and writing!
All the best,
Chris
www.ChrisBohjalian.com
Chris Bohjalian
Awwww, thank you! Yes, you'll see my novel set in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864 in about ten months. Look for THE JACKAL'S MISTRESS on March 11, 2025. Thanks so much for your kind words about my work.
Chris Bohjalian
Awwww, thank you. I am so honored. Truly. But I am on a flight at 6:00 am out of Burlington on Friday, April 26, for a speech that day in Virginia. (Plus, I live over two hours north of the Northshire.) But if you are still at Booktopia on Sunday, April 28, I will see you then. Again, thank you for thinking of me.
Chris Bohjalian
Alas, that's not up to me. I'll be thrilled if someday the script is available -- likewise, I hope the show has a long life on many stages. See you Saturday, Anita, at Oxford Exchange. Thanks!
Chris Bohjalian
Hi, Lori. When I don't enjoy a book, I simply don't post a review here on Goodreads. I only share the ones I liked or I thought were very good, even if they were not my cup of tea. What makes a bad book? John Gardner, that great teacher of writing (The Art of Fiction) and a terrific novelist and short story writer himself, said there were two ways to wake a reader from the fictional dream: clumsiness (bad writing) and inauthenticity (bad research). I can think of a few other reasons, but those two are the principal ones. Thanks for asking -- and good luck with your own writing!
Chris Bohjalian
Awwwwwwwww, thank you so much, Michelle. I'm so glad you liked the series. Fingers crossed you enjoy the novel, too -- as well as THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS. I'm really grateful for your enthusiasm.
Chris Bohjalian
Thanks, Ann Marie. I always do my homework. And I would not say Crissy is an addict. She's damaged, as are many of my main characters in my novels. But not an addict. As for short stories. . .you can read my latest one, Slot Machine Fever Dreams, via Kindle. Thanks!
Chris Bohjalian
Oh, I'm honored. Thank you so much.
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you so much, Ann Marie. Really honored by your kind words. Yes, I have a new novel arriving on March 19, THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS. Thanks for asking. Here is how the flap copy describes it:
THE PRINCESS IS FAKE. THE MURDERS ARE REAL.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.
Crissy Dowling has created a world that suits her perfectly. She passes her days by the pool in a private cabana, she splurges on ice cream but never gains an ounce, and each evening she transforms into a Princess, performing her musical cabaret inspired by the life of the late Diana Spencer. Some might find her strange or even delusional, an American speaking with a British accent, hair feathered into a style thirty years old, living and working in a casino that has become a dated trash heap. On top of that, Crissy’s daily diet of Adderall and Valium leaves her more than a little tipsy, her Senator boyfriend has gone back to his wife, and her entire career rests on resembling a dead woman. And yet, fans see her for the gifted chameleon she is, showering her with gifts, letters, and standing ovations night after night. But when Crissy’s sister, Betsy, arrives in town with a new boyfriend and a teenage daughter, and when Richie Morley, the owner of the Buckingham Palace Casino, is savagely murdered, Crissy’s carefully constructed kingdom comes crashing down all around her. A riveting tale of identity, obsession, fintech, and high-tech mobsters, The Princess of Las Vegas is an addictive, wildly original thriller from one of our most extraordinary storytellers.
THE PRINCESS IS FAKE. THE MURDERS ARE REAL.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.
Crissy Dowling has created a world that suits her perfectly. She passes her days by the pool in a private cabana, she splurges on ice cream but never gains an ounce, and each evening she transforms into a Princess, performing her musical cabaret inspired by the life of the late Diana Spencer. Some might find her strange or even delusional, an American speaking with a British accent, hair feathered into a style thirty years old, living and working in a casino that has become a dated trash heap. On top of that, Crissy’s daily diet of Adderall and Valium leaves her more than a little tipsy, her Senator boyfriend has gone back to his wife, and her entire career rests on resembling a dead woman. And yet, fans see her for the gifted chameleon she is, showering her with gifts, letters, and standing ovations night after night. But when Crissy’s sister, Betsy, arrives in town with a new boyfriend and a teenage daughter, and when Richie Morley, the owner of the Buckingham Palace Casino, is savagely murdered, Crissy’s carefully constructed kingdom comes crashing down all around her. A riveting tale of identity, obsession, fintech, and high-tech mobsters, The Princess of Las Vegas is an addictive, wildly original thriller from one of our most extraordinary storytellers.
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you, Lorie. I'm honored, yes. And I have spent a lot of my life in New Hampshire and set books there. I know it well!
Chris Bohjalian
Thanks so much, L.B. And please thank your book group for me. Really honored whenever a book club reads one of my novels!
The same person who speaks in the epilogue is the person speaking in the prologue.
Voila! Answered without a spoiler.
Thanks again. All of you rock.
The same person who speaks in the epilogue is the person speaking in the prologue.
Voila! Answered without a spoiler.
Thanks again. All of you rock.
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you, Janine, for your faith in my work and your kind words about THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS. As a grandson of two survivors of the Armenian Genocide, that novel is extremely important to me.
As for biking, I ride five or six days a week, between 25 and 40 miles a ride.
My next New Hampshire appearance is September 23 at 7 p.m. in Newport. Pretty close to Manchester! Details in the link. Thanks again!
https://chrisbohjalian.com/events/chr...
As for biking, I ride five or six days a week, between 25 and 40 miles a ride.
My next New Hampshire appearance is September 23 at 7 p.m. in Newport. Pretty close to Manchester! Details in the link. Thanks again!
https://chrisbohjalian.com/events/chr...
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you so much, Jane. I’m honored you feel that way. THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS is such an important novel to me: two of my grandparents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
So, let’s begin with this: here are two (of very, very many) articles I’ve written about the Genocide and my family:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...
Among the books I would consider reading are:
MEMOIRS AND HISTORIES
The Resistance Network by Khatchig Mouradian
Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian
Operation Nemesis by Eric Bogosian
NOVELS
Zabelle by Nancy Kricorian
Rise the Euphrates by Carol Edgarian
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel
Thanks again for reading. I’m so grateful for your faith in my work.
So, let’s begin with this: here are two (of very, very many) articles I’ve written about the Genocide and my family:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...
Among the books I would consider reading are:
MEMOIRS AND HISTORIES
The Resistance Network by Khatchig Mouradian
Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian
Operation Nemesis by Eric Bogosian
NOVELS
Zabelle by Nancy Kricorian
Rise the Euphrates by Carol Edgarian
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel
Thanks again for reading. I’m so grateful for your faith in my work.
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you for asking, Pamela. I sure did.
The Lioness was born in a movie theater.
It was the summer of 2019 and Covid was still months away.
I had just savored a matinee and emerged from the dark into the exquisite, piercing, August daylight, an experience that reminds us all how the dusk of the cinema is a transporting, dreamlike experience, and thought to myself, “My God, movies are magic. Why have I never written a Hollywood novel?”
So, I did. I envisioned it would be set in a moment of great social and political upheaval, perhaps even my childhood in the 1960s or 1970s, and finally settled on the year 1964.
I was fortunate in that I was able to book a safari with my lovely bride before Covid would have made that impossible. (Or very less likely.) I was in the Serengeti in the autumn of 2019.
And it was the prefect book to keep me sane during the nightmare of 2020: an adventure set in a faraway land, in a world before the pandemic. I wrote it in my library in Vermont, but surrounded by all the photos my wife took, my copious notes, and all the tourism and movie magazines from the 1950s and 1960s I had amassed.
In all my books, the research matters. But it was critical to The Lioness.
I hope you enjoy it!
The Lioness was born in a movie theater.
It was the summer of 2019 and Covid was still months away.
I had just savored a matinee and emerged from the dark into the exquisite, piercing, August daylight, an experience that reminds us all how the dusk of the cinema is a transporting, dreamlike experience, and thought to myself, “My God, movies are magic. Why have I never written a Hollywood novel?”
So, I did. I envisioned it would be set in a moment of great social and political upheaval, perhaps even my childhood in the 1960s or 1970s, and finally settled on the year 1964.
I was fortunate in that I was able to book a safari with my lovely bride before Covid would have made that impossible. (Or very less likely.) I was in the Serengeti in the autumn of 2019.
And it was the prefect book to keep me sane during the nightmare of 2020: an adventure set in a faraway land, in a world before the pandemic. I wrote it in my library in Vermont, but surrounded by all the photos my wife took, my copious notes, and all the tourism and movie magazines from the 1950s and 1960s I had amassed.
In all my books, the research matters. But it was critical to The Lioness.
I hope you enjoy it!
Chris Bohjalian
A thousand congrats. That's wonderful!
Chris Bohjalian
Wow, you are so kind to say that, Ben. Thank you so much. I'm honored. The answer would be THE RED LOTUS from 2020: a tale of a missing man on a Vietnam road and an ER doctor in NYC, and the mystery that links them. Again, a thousand thanks!
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you so much, Sheila. Really honored. I have only written four novels (so far) that are historical fiction:
Skeletons at the Feast (2008)
The Sandcastle Girls (2012)
The Light in the Ruins (2013)
Hour of the Witch (2021)
In truth, I am very proud of all of them. I have written some terrible books, but I don't put these four in that group.
Again, thank you so much for your kind words. I am so grateful!
Skeletons at the Feast (2008)
The Sandcastle Girls (2012)
The Light in the Ruins (2013)
Hour of the Witch (2021)
In truth, I am very proud of all of them. I have written some terrible books, but I don't put these four in that group.
Again, thank you so much for your kind words. I am so grateful!
Chris Bohjalian
I am always writing and researching. Truly. BUT those hours when I am not, I am likely to be hanging out with my lovely bride, riding my bike, walking my dog, reading, watching movies and TV, and -- now that the world is opening up -- watching my amazing daughter perform on stage.
Chris Bohjalian
Thank you, Marci. Most grateful. The Puritans did not use three-tined forks for eating. Some had two-tined carving forks. But the three-tined implement gaining favor in Europe resembled the Devil's pitchfork, in the opinion of some worthies. It wasn't until the 1700s that New Englanders would add the dinner fork to their tables.
Chris Bohjalian
I think young adult literature is wonderful, but HOUR OF THE WITCH is definitely an adult book. That doesn't mean that young adults should not read it. But they should approach it the way they do The Handmaid's Tale or The Underground Railroad or Beloved or Magic Lessons -- or any of the wonderful adult novels that young adults read.
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