James Magruder interview

This interview with James Magruder, author of Sugarless, was first published in June 2009.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Washington, D.C. We moved around a lot in my childhood, but my disastrous adolescence was spent in Wheaton, Illinois, a Christian fundamentalist suburb of Chicago.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I was a bookworm. That seems part of the recipe. Competing with my siblings for the limited emotional resources of my parents, I discovered that doing well in school got me the right kinds of attention. I recall writing an essay in the sixth grade, responding to a picture of a Viking ship in our English book. I used every ten-dollar word I knew, and the teacher told my mother that I was writing at a college level. That impressed us all.

Which writers have influenced you the most? James Magruder, author of Sugarless

There are specific books I read and re-read as a kid--the most influential being Wouk's City Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder. More grown-up influences would include Welty, Forster, Flannery O'Connor and Mann and Nathaniel West for their sense of the grotesque, Cheever, William Maxwell, Purdy, Wharton, Dawn Powell, Thornton Wilder and Chekhov's plays. For a pick-me-up, I dip into Confederacy of Dunces or The Loved One or the Mapp & Lucia novels.

What kind of things do you write?

I make tens of dollars translating and adapting classic French comedies for the American stage. I used to write plays and librettos for musicals, less so now. I turned seriously to fiction in 2002.

What are you working on now?

I am revising stories for a book and balefully avoiding jumping into another novel.

What is your writing day like?

I'm best in the morning. Ideally, I revise yesterday's catch and press on.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

Being surprised by what happens next.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

Surprises don't grow on trees.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

Don't worry so much about the blocking--coming from the theater, I tend to obsess over getting characters from doors to chairs, or putting soup bowls on the table when it's time to eat.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

I tend to trust that what amuses or engages me first, will eventually fly. I say "eventually," because every sentence gets written dozens of times.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

The homepage is coming.

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