106 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2018
JODI PICOULT: AN OPEN BOOK
From Montauk to Manhattan, brought
to you by Bethpage Federal Credit Union
By RUTH BASHINSKY
Best-selling author Jodi Picoult
will be at the Landmark on Main in
Port Washington, sharing her latest
book, A Spark of Light. Long Island
LitFest is presenting this October
event.
Interviewed by phone at her New
Hampshire home, Picoult admitted
she can be a workaholic and laughed
when asked if she gets cranky when
she doesn’t write for a few days. She
talked about how much she adores
her fans, how she can sometimes
be brought to tears while writing
her novels, and how you will never
see her in a Starbucks typing on a
laptop.
At the Landmark event, Picoult
will be signing copies of her 25th
book and will give her fans an opportunity
to take a photo with her.
Long Island native and critically
acclaimed author Meg Wolitzer,
whose latest novel is called The
Female Persuasion, will be part of
the festivities too.
The Press spoke with the widely
popular author as she was gearing
up for the book tour that kicks off
this month and will take her all
over the United States, Canada and
the UK.
Did you ever imagine reaching
this level of success? No. No one did.
I would have been delighted to write
books and have my mother and her
friends read my books. I never expected
to be successful this way.
I need to ask about your fans.
You have such a huge following.
My fans are awesome and they are
devoted. They will pick up a book
with my name on the cover without
even knowing what it is about. A lot
of writers don’t have that freedom.
My books are about really tough
topics. My readers are really willing
to go wherever my brain is going at
that particular moment and that is a
freedom that is a delight that I never
lose sight of.
Your novels address some difficult
issues: teen suicide, gun violence,
race. Can you tell us about
that? A lot of people don’t want to
talk about tough topics. It is uncomfortable.
Fiction is a terrific vehicle
for a contentious issue because when
you pick up a book of fiction … you
think you are reading about made-up
characters and made-up situations
and you are — but if I did my job
right, by the time you finish the book
you are asking yourself a lot of really
hard questions and hopefully you
are willing to have a conversation
with someone about that difficult
topic. That is really all I can hope
for when I am writing a book.
Are you drawing from any of
your own experiences? Where
do you get your inspiration and
ideas? I don’t really draw from
my life. I have a really charmed
and wonderful life. I am grateful I
don’t live the life of my characters.
I draw my inspiration from things
I don’t understand and questions
I am not able to answer. The act of
writing the book for me should be
the act of reading the book for the
reader.
Is there any particular book
you wrote that was more difficult
to write than others? Small Great
Things was hard for me on a personal
level because I was learning
a lot of things about myself that I
did not find very complimentary. I
thought I was a really good person.
I thought I was not racist and I definitely
had not acknowledged my
privilege as a white person until
I began to do the research for that
book. I live my life very differently
now because of the way that book
really opened my eyes. On a professional
level, A Spark of Light nearly
killed me (she laughs). It was my
idea to write the book backwards,
but oh, my god, was that hard.
How was it growing up in Nesconset?
Do you ever visit? I had a
great time in suburbia and a great
childhood and I’m very grateful for
that. I don’t come back very often
because my parents moved. If I come
back it is usually for a book tour.
Landmark on Main Street,
232 Main St., Port Washington,
landmarkonmainstreet.org. $35.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 2.
PRESS BUZZ
Jodi Picoult is coming to Long Island to discuss her 25th book,
A Spark of Light.