An Interview with Jenny Siler (1/3) By Steve Rudd

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3).

For those people who love their novels to be fast-paced Thrillers that are packed to the rafters with drama aplenty, then the consistently captivating books of American writer Jenny Siler will be right up your gunshot-riddled alley. The best-selling author of titles such as Iced, Shot, Easy Money and, more recently, Flashback, Jenny recently released her latest novel: An Accidental American. Here, in an exclusive interview with Steve Rudd, she talks candidly about the book, and her reasons for writing on this occasion under a different pen name.

Hi Jenny,how are you doing? The truth: I'm depressed beyond belief by the current state of my country and the world. Fortunately, I now live within reasonable walking distance of Canada. So at least I know I have that option if things get really bad.

You have recently unleashed your latest swaggering novel, An Accidental American. Was it a work that was a long time in the making? Actually, yes, it was. I believe it took me longer to write this book than any of my previous novels. Part of that was due to the fact that I had a baby just as I was starting work on it. That's the kind of thing that can slow a person down for a few months. We also moved during the writing of this book, so that was an added distraction. Plus, the history behind the book was just really difficult to get a handle on. Not only did I have to learn all about the Lebanese Civil War, but I also had to understand how military interrogators work. Obviously, there was a lot of reading involved.

Given that you have travelled extensively over the years, does such a fact inevitably make it easier for you to set your stories in foreign lands? I suppose so. I mean, there's no way I could write about being in exile or an expatriate without having experienced these things myself. Travelling in general has given me a sense of the greater world beyond our shores. In that sense, I suppose I have a perspective that many Americans (including George Bush, it would seem) lack entirely. For instance, the fact that I spent time behind the Iron Curtain as a child has instilled in me a strong appreciation for the civil liberties that are being trampled by our current government. And of course it's quite difficult to set an entire book in a place you've never been, so having experienced these places first hand is quite useful.

Continued .... Next Page (2/3)

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