Interview with Eric Luper

By Debbi Michiko Florence

Eric Luper grew up in Springfield, NJ and has lived in various places throughout New Jersey and New York. Hooked on television as a child, writing has not come easy. Eric says, “Emily Dickinson wrote, ‘There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away,’ I just didn’t get on the boat until really late.”

With a degree in English from Rutgers College and a strong desire to become an author, Eric ran off to professional school after he was faced with the choice of being a starving artist or a not-so-starving artist.

Big Slick is Eric’s first novel and his second novel is in progress. Eric currently lives in Albany, NY with his wife and two children.

Congratulations on the publication of your first novel! Can you tell us a little about your journey to published author?

I began writing for children in earnest somewhere around 2000 when I wrote my first bad manuscript. I have a few bad manuscripts sitting on my hard drive that will never see the light of day. When I was writing BIG SLICK, though, I had this feeling that something “different” was happening—something that I had never experienced before as a writer. And the book came quickly—in a matter of months. It was also accepted quickly. FSG was one of my very first submissions.

Tell us about The Call!

Regrettably, I never got The Call. I got The E-mail. It was from my editor, Wes Adams. It said: “I'm pleased to say that my colleagues and I are delighted to make you an offer to publish your feisty and fine first novel.” Feisty and fine. Feisty and fine. I pored over those words for hours. Then, there were a bunch of numbers after that, splits and percentages and advances and all that. That’s when I realized that, although my writing might be fine and feisty, my knowledge of the publishing industry was weak and wanting.

Your debut novel, BIG SLICK, deals (ha!) with a 16 year-old poker player named Andrew Lang. Do you play poker? Are you any good?

I play poker, but not nearly as much as I did when I was writing BIG SLICK. Back then, I was playing quite a bit. And I was winning quite a bit. If you’re good with numbers and know the game well, you have a distinct advantage. Nowadays, I can still hold my own at the table but I just don’t play often enough to keep my skills sharp. That’s probably a good thing. The game can be very alluring.

How did BIG SLICK evolve from idea into the finished book?

I really didn’t know much about Texas Hold’em until a friend nagged me to watch an episode of World Poker Tour in early 2004. Once I started understanding the game, I realized how well it would adapt to fiction. Each hand is like a mini-drama with deceit, bluffing, trash-talking, pushing and pulling. I challenged myself to write a short story around an illegal poker game. It collected dust on my hard drive until the rest of the characters and what they wanted took shape in my mind. Then, it was off to the races. The rest of the book came out in just a few months. The original short story is very similar to Chapter 1 of the finished novel.

Andrew gets himself into a bit of trouble when he can’t win the money back that he “borrowed” from the register of his dad’s dry cleaning business. How did it feel to put your main character in jeopardy?

I take great enjoyment in creating characters I love and then doing terrible, terrible things to them. For me, that’s one of the most interesting parts of writing a story—I get to keep twisting the knife.

Andrew can be a bit of a geek (as is his friend Scott). What were you like as a teen?

I guess you’re wondering if I was a geek in high school? Well, I was one of those people who didn’t fall into one clique exactly. I was more of a floater. I had good friends in different cliques and I roamed between them depending on who was doing the most interesting thing that night. I was a reasonably good student, a bit of a comic book/D&D geek, a terribly reluctant reader, and incredibly fashion-forward. But of course in the mid-eighties fashion forward meant acid wash jeans, sweatshirts with the necks cut out of them, too much hair gel, and Members Only jackets. Yuck.

BIG SLICK is a fascinating tale about poker, intrigue, and romance. It has everything! (It even made me cry!) I love Jasmine, the goth-girl who works at the dry cleaners with Andrew. What were the particular challenges you had with writing this story?

Let me guess. You cried at the part where Andrew throws his pizza? I did too. I get very sad when people waste perfectly good pizza! Regarding challenges, I worked hard to make sure that I did not fall into any sort of 12-step ending. I don’t care for preachy books and felt I’d be cheating my readers if I tied up my story with a nice, neat rehabilitation bow. For sure there is redemption in BIG SLICK, it’s just far more ambiguous. But I like ambiguous. It’s such a better place to kick off discussion and reflection.

In an interview on the 2k7 site, you mention you were a reluctant reader in high school. Why do you think this is? And how does this affect you as a writer for teens?

I believe I was a reluctant reader because I never had the proper guidance or encouragement. I liked the idea of books, but it was very rare for me to find the right book for my reading level that was of high enough interest to keep me engaged. As a result, I tended to read the same books—the ones I was comfortable with—over and over again. Then in 6th grade, I got into a fist fight in the children’s section of the library that got me banned for several years. I swear the fight wasn’t my fault. It had something to do with a beef my older brother had with some other kid. But there I was…banned! I read even less after that.

I think being a reluctant reader has helped me develop an ear for a story that grabs on a doesn’t let go. Just as soon as I feel as though my reader might be getting a little bit comfortable, I twist that knife yet again.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Wow, that’s a hard question. I think my favorite part about being a writer is creating characters, putting them in stressful situations, and seeing what they do. If a writer has done his or her job correctly, those characters will act and react on their own. It’s really amazing. I get such delight when I get to the end of a chapter and my characters surprise me, make me laugh or get me choked up.

What is the hardest thing about being a writer?

For me, the hardest part about being a writer is showing up every day to write. I mean, it’s so easy to not write. There are so many other, less stressful, things to do! Yet, as often as I can, I plant my butt in the chair and bring myself someplace uncomfortable. And make no mistake about it; the best fiction—even humorous writing—comes from an author going someplace very very uncomfortable.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing/working?

I love spending time with my kids. I have a 6-year-old aspiring novelist in the house and a 3-year-old aspiring drama queen and accomplished cutie pie. There is rarely a dull moment. And when it does get dull (usually after everyone else has gone to sleep), I sit at my laptop and twist the knife some more.

What advice can you impart to writers just starting out?

Don’t listen to all the talk about market trends, what editors are “looking for” and what is selling these days. The only voices you should listen to are the one inside your head and the one inside your heart. Give yourself permission to listen to those voices. Write the book you’d love to read over and over again and trust that editors and marketing people and reviewers and other readers will feel the same way.

What are you working on now? What can fans expect next?

My next book is called Bug Boy and is slated for release in July 2009. It is the very gritty story about a young up-and-coming apprentice jockey who is pressured to throw a Thoroughbred race in 1934 Saratoga. If you thought Big Slick was a roller-coaster, wait until you read this one! There are some real sketchy and fun characters in Bug Boy. If an underbelly could have an underbelly, that’s where this novel takes place.

Do you do school/group presentations? How can fans/teachers contact you?

I love to do school and group presentations—libraries, hot-dog stands, you name it. The best way to get in touch with me is through my website, which is www.ericluper.com. I can be reached through my publisher as well at www.fsgkidsbooks.com.