"An Extraordinary Theory of Objects," by Stephanie LaCava
Jeff Glor talks to Stephanie LaCava about "An Extraordinary Theory of Objects: A Memoir of an Outsider in Paris"
Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?
Stephanie LaCava: This book has been being written since the events described started to happen. I've always written down stories and fragments of things that I hear or see here and there. I always wanted to write, but never thought I'd be a writer by trade. It was a perfect storm that pushed me to work on this until it all sort of magically came together. Not to say it wasn't very hard work, but it found its way to the final story through a kind of strange sixth sense of when it was ready and the whole thing felt right. My rhythm in sentences is the same, I just feel it. Something tells me to take out a word or add one, the same for what I included in the stories.
JG: What surprised you the most during the writing process?
SL: How much it helped me. I had never been able to articulate so many things that appear there.
JG: What would you be doing if you weren't a writer?
SL: I would be an editor or work in foreign relations, maybe for an NGO or towards becoming a diplomat.
JG: What else are you reading right now?
SL: Right now, James Salter's "A Sport and a Pastime" and Joseph Kessel's "Belle de Jour."
JG: What's next for you?
SL: Something loosely inspired by the two books above... fiction, of course.
For more on "An Extraordinary Theory of Objects," visit the Harper Collins website.
