2 Photos
Chris Pavone’s 2012 debut novel, “The Expats,” is a suspenseful and fast-paced story about Kate, an American woman who moves to Europe to follow a spouse’s job, leaving behind a well-established professional identity to become a stay-at-home parent. The story’s protagonist struggles to adjust to her lonely life abroad, where she knows no one and doesn’t speak the native language. It was easy for Mr. Pavone to craft this story—because he based it on himself.
“That was me,” Mr. Pavone said of his inspiration for the main character. “My primary research was my life.”
Mr. Pavone worked as a book editor at various publishing houses for nearly two decades before shifting careers. The New York City native credits Luxembourg, the setting of “The Expats,” for giving him the push he needed to pursue his long-awaited dream of writing his own novel.
“I’d always wanted to write fiction, but it wasn’t until I was 40 years old, living in Luxembourg and not working a paying job, when I had the space to really focus on figuring out what sort of novel I ought to write, and to sit down and actually execute it,” he explained.
Mr. Pavone learned a thing or two while playing such an important role in the publishing process over the years, and the author said it was his prior knowledge and experience that helped challenge him during the writing process.
“One of the most important lessons I learned as an editor is that books are published for the benefit of readers, not just because an author wants to write something or other; that’s what diaries are for,” he said. “So I challenged myself: What is it that I can deliver to the public better than other writers might? What can I offer readers based on my combination of life experience, point of view and style?”
While Kate was crafted as a result of Mr. Pavone’s own experiences, he said that his most enjoyable characters to create are, surprisingly, the minor characters, as it can be a rewarding experience to build a realistic person in a short amount of space.
“I love all of these minor characters, even the ones I sort of hate,” he said. “And because I write thrillers, many of them exist primarily to get killed, which is also fun.”
“Although I don’t have favorite characters, I definitely have a favorite sort of scene to write: the paragraph-length final sentence of every one of my four novels is each a scene unto itself, a mini-story that wraps up the book,” he added. “There’s nothing I work on more than this final sentence, except perhaps each first chapter.”
Many writers keep an ideal reader in mind when crafting a story, but for Mr. Pavone, that ideal audience is himself.
“There are many people who love the same sorts of stories I do, featuring credible, fully realized characters who find themselves thrust into high-stakes conflict with one another, set in interesting places, with plenty of action, a fast pace, and a rich, complex puzzle to solve,” he said.
Since it was published six years ago, “The Expats” has become a New York Times bestseller and international bestseller, and has been printed in 20 different languages. The author has since published two books: “The Accident,” in 2014, and “The Travelers,” in 2016. He is currently working on a fourth novel set to debut next May.
Chris Pavone will appear at the Southampton Arts Center on Monday, July 16, at 3 p.m. to discuss “The Expats,” as a part of the Never Stop Learning summer book club series. Tickets are $15. Visit southamptonartscenter.org.
on Jul 5, 2018