My brief interview with Jami Attenberg, author of the excellent debut novel The Kept Man, is up at LAist.
Sneak peek excerpt:
"Sometimes taking pictures feels almost like cheating, because now I can have this visual record of something, so I don't have to remember every little details all the time. For example, there are a few scenes in the book that take place at Mount St. Helens, and I had actually visited there a few months before writing the scenes with the intention of using the location in the book. When I actually sat down to write those scenes I pulled out the pictures as a reference, and described what I saw in those photos in the voice of my narrator, Jarvis. It flowed very naturally and I remember it being a thrilling creative moment for me, to be able to combine the two passions. It doesn't happen like that all that often, but when it does it's a real rush."
Jami will be reading at 4pm on Sunday @ Book Soup and at 8pm @ Mountain Bar for Jim Ruland's deliciously irreverent Vermin on the Mount, where she'll be joined by Veronica Gonzalez, Doug Cordell and Sam Quinones.
UPDATE: This is what happens when you have a fever and leave 1000+ posts unread in your Google reader for three days: Ed and Maud also have excellent interviews with Jami. Alas, I'm late to the dance! Fever be damned!
