(Justin Scott notes: Readers Digest Condensed Books, whether in the U.S. or U.K. and every other country in the world is the most generous publisher any writer has ever known. When they bought condensation rights to my first Ben Abbott novel, HardScape, they invited me to a splendid lunch at corporate headquarters in Pleasantville, New York, and pleasant it was, held in a charming 18th Century cottage on their property, and followed by a tour of their enormous collection of French Impressionist paintings. But their generosity extended well beyond lunch. Instead of taking world rights, their custom was to let their foreign partners re-issue the condensed book in translation and pay the American writer, again, for translation rights. Literary agents were known to weep with frustration, unable to figure out the scam, because it wasn’t a scam, it was just plain generosity.)
Readers Digest bought condensation rights for Fire And Ice from Paul Garrison, and invited him to a splendid party at the Barbican Centre in London. (Paul enjoyed himself, immensely, but that is a story for another time.)
Here they interview Paul upon their publication of Buried At Sea.
What caused you to start writing?
I came late to writing. You could say I’m a late bloomer. I’ve experienced a variety of careers before I discovered that writing fiction stirred my juices more than anything else.
Have you always wanted to write?
I come from a long line of story tellers, so fiction has always seemed likely.
Are there any interesting anecdotes relating to the creation of Buried At Sea? In other words was it inspired by a particular sailing trip?
Transatlantic on a forty-nine foot Halberg-Rassey, a centerboard sloop that rolled like a bathtub, it gradually dawned on me that the guy who owned the boat was something of a lunatic. And I thought, what if I was the only crew and it was just him and me? I’d neither sleep that well, off watch, nor have full faith in making it to the other side. (To be fair, he wasn’t that nuts, and he was an excellent navigator, but the fictional possibilities stuck in my head.)
Later, while I was in New York researching my previous novel—Red Sky At Morning—I discovered the character of young Jim Leighton in a dedicated spinning instructor at the Chelsea Piers Sports Club–a hard-working young man who took seriously his job of helping people. Which made me think, what would happen to the spinning instructor if he was a novice sailor trapped alone on the boat with the lunatic?
Where are you from, originally?
I was born in Manhattan and left soon after on a boat. I guess my fate was sealed.
What is your profession?
I’ve worked around boats and ships most of my life. I’ve also built house and driven trucks and worked in the woods.. Business used to keep me in the Far East (Hong Kong and later, Shanghai.) Now I am able to devote most to my time to writing.
Is there anything else you'd love to do instead? Or another skill you'd like to have learned?
Ski mountain rescue.
Have you yourself done a lot of sailing?
Yes, but I wouldn’t call myself a seaman like Will Spark
Have you sailed in wild seas such as you describe in Buried at Sea?
Wild enough.
Do you find the prospect of big seas terrifying, or exciting?
Getting beat up at sea always makes me ask, what am I doing here? And why did I volunteer to do this? After all these years I still find it terrifying.
Did you have to do research for Buried At Sea?
Some research on medical technology and microprocessors–and an excuse to visit some old haunts and see how they’ve changed.
And have you visited Buenos Aires or the Falklands? If so, what were your main impressions of them?
Everyone says that Buenos Aires seems like a European fantasy city with few surface clues of South America. But it’s different when you see the faces in the poor sections. I was reminded very much of Leningrad back in Brezhnev’s day–a grand yet tired city with a decaying European past set in an alien land–the gracious buildings growing old and shabby under the weight of poverty. The people are generous beyond description. The sort of “guest in my country” kindness you find in Spain. The Falklands reminded me very much of Scotland’s Highlands and West Coast–dramatic vistas, the snug crofts, millions of sheep, and the knowledge of being very far away. And generous Highland hospitality.
Where do you live currently and where in the world would you most like to live and why?
I still travel far too much, but my current base is the northeastern USA. It’s inland, but close enough to the coast to hitch a ride on a boat.
Are you married and do you have any children?
We are married and happily child free.
Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?
I’m laughing at how enormous an answer I could write. But it’s a great question. The first thing that pops into my mind is the desire to finish a huge novel about William Shakespeare that then becomes a smash Broadway musical. (Since then, I’ve began to study the piano–a major heretofore-unfulfilled ambition–PG/JS)
What's hardest about writing a novel, in your view?
First draft. I love re-writing, and when in despair I fantasize about hiring someone to write my first drafts for me.
Are you already at work on another novel?
I am finishing another sea story at the moment called Shipwrecker. (Became Sea Hunter) It’s about a lonely charter captain; a nature filmmaker, desperate to prove herself; a gigantic dolphin of a species never seen before; a mysterious five-masted windship; an uncontrollable nuclear submarine; vast stretches of the North Atlantic; and a sailboat not up to the task.
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