Michael R. French
Author Interview - Michael R. French
Author of The Good Mother Test
An ambitous teenager, Emily, dreams of redeeming her parent's tragic loss of their Los Angeles home to a bank in a financial crisis. Her path to a top college and high-paying tech job is thrwarted, and she ends up working in a public relations firm, where her boss is soon in the throes of a divorce. Emily and Doug end up together and unintentionally have a baby girl. All is good until it isn't. Alone, with a one year old to raise,,Emily doubles down on the career that has been handed to her: being the best mother she can to little Violet. Over twenty years, her journey as a parent is met with small triumphs and serious challenges. One of them is her own child. Violet doesn't struggle in school or socially. She's a prodigy, well-behaved, but secretive. Emily becomes even more determined that Violet lives up to her potential. Her daughter has a slightly different sense of who she is. Doug marries a psychotherapist and social media star, Amanda, who takes a taking to Violet during her custody visits. Amanda and Violet grow close as Amanda lavishes the young girl with praise, designer clothes, and trips abroad. The biggest blow to Emily is when Doug and Amanda go to court for full legal custory of Violet. SPOILER ALERT: VIOLET REMAINS LOYAL TO EMILY.
Author Interview - Michael R. French
Author I draw inspiration from:
I'm dating myself by saying i fell in love with Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby when my wife and I had our first child. Rosemary's Baby made a great movie, too. The story is clever, emotional, and deals with multiple themes. Levin had an eye, and taste, for issues that get under your skin. I'm also a big fan of John Grisham. I think The Firm was so clever--the mafia has a legit law firm. And Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch is one of the world's most sympathetic PI's.
Author Interview - Michael R. French | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Not on a plane! That environment is good for watching a movie....but too distracting for me to enjoy and understand a novel's treasures. I like to read first thing in the morning after some caffeine. That's also the time I like to write.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
If I want to be stunned by fear, it would be Jack Torrance, the main character in Stephen King's The Shining. Kubrick's movie showcased Jack Nicholson as a man who does not do well with solitude.
Author Interview - Michael R. French | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I imagined I was an author as a teenager. I just kept at it. Marriage, kids, a tough day job, and all the usual challenges we go through. I was very lucky to be reviewed in New York Times in my twenties for Abingdon's and The Throwing Season.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
The Good Mother Test is my 25th novel but it will be my first audio book. It was fun working with a voice actor, Laurie Bower, who did a great job with characters with accents. In the old days, seeing my story in hardback was validation for the work every writer puts into the crazy task of creating something out of thin air. In the digital world, the medium is less important than the question writers ask themselves: how well does my story hold up when under a microscope?
The last book I read:
The last novel was Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. The book was published in the nineties and is considered a classic. After I read it for the first time, in 2000, my wife and I planned a trip to Japan.
Author Interview - Michael R. French | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
computer, definitely. I used to scratch out a story on a legal pad. My handwriting has only gotten harder to read over time. I write lots of drafts these days before I'm satisfied. A computer is not just a great file cabinet but it obviously makes editing easier, and sending copies in various stages to friends for feedback I so value the opinion of fellow writers. If you spend two years or more in what can feel like solitary confinement, getting the public to read your story is the ultimate validation. You hope they like it.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
For my generation, it was Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye.
Author Interview - Michael R. French | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I'd have mutiple careers if possible. Working with animals, and teaching kids to read and think critically, would be two of them. Also, my wife and I are advocates of financial literary classes in junior high and high school.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I guess the early 2,000's. The major transitions are impressive but often a mystery to me...first the timing...and then why something becomes "in" and what goes out.
Place I’d most like to travel:
My wife and I have traveled a lot, with and without kids. Japan, France, Italy and New Zealand are favorites.
My signature drink:
I used to drink in my twenties and thirities. I tend to create fictional characters that either love alcohol or fear it.
Favorite artist:
Anselm Kiefer, now in his eighties, is a painter iof extraordinary vision and boldness. And large canvasses. He grew up in German in the ruins of World War Two.
Number one on my bucket list:
Going to bed early and getting up when it's still dark.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Eating almost any Italian dish.
Find more from the author:
michaelrfrench.com and michaelfrenchauthor.com
Michael R. French
