Q&A with Richard Kramer on Book Pleasures

Excerpt:"How did you get started in writing? What keeps you going?Richard:I can’t remember anymore, if I ever could, when I didn’t write; I guess I got started as soon as I could do it at all. My parents had a house full of books, revered books and writers, and had a very good sense of what to give me when.My mother gave me THE GREAT GATSBY and LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL when I was twelve, maybe even a little younger. She loved those books (and others), and so did I. I still have the editions she had as a young woman, beautiful crumbling old Modern Library editions that you could t hold in the palm of your hand.As for getting started professionally the very first time I ever made a dollar from writing was when I won a contest that Harcourt, Brace (are they still around?) sponsored to get college kids to review a novel they were about to publish called THE PRINCESS BRIDE, by William Goldman.Everyone knows that book and the subsequent film that was made from it, but then it was a fresh experience, and whatever I wrote won me twenty-five dollars, I think. Goldman also became my mentor, which was worth a lot more than twenty-five dollars. He was the first “real” writer who let me see what being a real writer was about. From his example, it seemed that you always had a bad back, were always lying on the floor, and always listened to classical LP’s on a record player, which is all there was back then." For the full interview, click here: bookpleasures.com