Stephen Parrish, author of The Tavernier Stones is here today to answer a few of my questions, but before we start the interview, I want to tell you to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Tavernier Stones. It’s a great novel full of adventure, mystery and puzzles to solve and it is a perfect summer reading book. I really enjoyed this novel, and in one of those weird ways that real life and fiction have of intersecting when I sat down to read it, I was surprised to find that a big chunk of the story was set in Lancaster, PA where I had just been a few days earlier. Also if you need one more reason to read The Tavernier Stones (you shouldn’t!) it is published by Midnight Ink, which like Flux (who is publishing my novel next year) is an imprint of Llewellyn so their is obviously some sort of connection between The Tavernier Stones and The Subrosa Semesters.
Here’s a more official details about The Tavernier Stones:
“When the well-preserved body of a seventeenth century mapmaker floats to the surface of a bog in northern Germany, a 57 carat ruby clutched in his fist, the grisly discovery ignites a global race to find the fabled Lost Tavernier Stones.” You can read more about it at www.stephenparrish.com
By the way if you are a treasure seeker or just like diamonds Stephen is giving away a one carat diamond to the first person who can find the image of one he has hidden somewhere on the web; the contest is described at www.tavernierstones.com.
And now, on to that interview:
What inspired you to write The Tavernier Stones?
I didn’t want to at first. I wanted to write other things. But the odd combination of maps and gems, both of which I was pursuing professionally at the time, naturally led me to conjure up an idea, one that subbornly refused to be ignored. I spent four years kicking the idea back into its drawer each time it tried to climb out, before finally relenting and writing it. Maybe that’s how all stories ought to be written: the next one you tackle is always the one that’s pestering you the most.
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The Tavernier Stones features a cast of interesting characters. Do you have a favorite?
I identify best with John Graf, the Amishman and reluctant treasure hunter. Funny thing is, he wasn’t the main character in the first draft; an early reader plucked him out of the narrative and said, “Here’s your protagonist.” I’m also very fond of a couple of people I had to cut. They’re waiting idly in Character Land for another role, but since they’ve been type cast, jobs are hard to come by.
The Tavernier Stones is all about finding treasure. What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found?
Fatherhood. I had no idea I’d love it so much. But you probably mean stuff on the ground, and as far as that goes, I’ve lived a wretched and pointless life. I read the Golden Guide to Rocks and Mineralswhen I was very young and naively thought gemstones were laying about, waiting for people to pick them up. So I spent the better part of my boyhood searching gravel roads as I walked back and forth to school and work. Uphill both ways. And never found a thing. Where were the rubies? I’m still searching.
What were the biggest suprises you encountered in publishing or promoting this book?
Pretty much every preconception I had turned out to be a fairy tale. The biggest one was that as I crossed the line from unpublished novelist to published novelist a transformation would occur. Maybe trumpets would blare. The sad fact is, after all the writing, rewriting, ducking under the blows of criticism, more rewriting, submitting, ducking before a hailstorm of rejections, all followed by the long, tedious process of agreeing to a contract, correcting galleys, soliciting blurbs—and this isn’t even half the story—when publication day finally arrives all you feel, if you’re lucky, is quiet satisfaction. If you’re unlucky you experience what a friend of mine calls post-publication depression. And then the reviews begin to arrive . . .
What is your writing day like?
I think my pet goldfish might be sick. I need to watch him for a while, to make sure he’s okay. Is the mail here yet? No? I’ll check later. Mustn’t forget to change that lightbulb in the basement. Dammit, I want to write, but the lawn needs mowing. Was that the mailman I just heard? No? I’d better eat something, to keep my blood sugar up, so I have the energy to write. Might as well watch the news while I eat. And I just remembered, we’re almost out of olives. Only two jars left. Better go shopping. Crap, this is so unfair; when will I have time to write? Wait, I heard a noise. The mailman? Yippee! Only bills, oh well. But I really should study them, make sure I’m not being overcharged for something.
What’s next?
An unconventional spy novel. I hope to have it ready shortly. After that I want to write a family saga, one that takes place on a vineyard; I want to try my hand at magical realism. But before I get started on any of that I need to take my goldfish to the vet.
What I'm Reading | Alissa | 
August 26, 2010 3:33 pm | 
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