Author photo: Mindy Schwartz Sorasky
Pam Jenoff is the author of historical novels, including the New York Times bestseller THE ORPHAN’S TALE. Her novels are inspired by her experiences working at the Pentagon and also as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland.
We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions before her reading and book signing of THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS on Wednesday, April 17 at 6pm.
Q: What does a U.S. foreign service officer do? Where was the most interesting place you were posted to?
A: A foreign service officer is a career diplomat. They are posted to embassies and consulates all over the world to do political, economic, consular and cultural affairs work. Krakow, Poland was my only posting.
Q: In addition to writing novels, you teach law school? How do those two endeavors compare and contrast?
A: I am proud to be on the faculty of Rutgers Law in New Jersey; it’s a wonderful place. There is a great synergy between writing and teaching. I can bring fiction writing techniques to the legal writing classroom in order to help my students know themselves better as writers and jumpstart creativity. Legal writing helps my novels by providing me with critical skills such as revision. Additionally, I love to balance the solitude of writing with the sociability of teaching. Truly a great combination!
Q: THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS is based on a true story, why did you want to fictionalize it?
A: I prefer to say “inspired by actual events” because I take great liberties with the history and I don’t want to stake too large a claim as to the real story – that belongs to those who lived it. I was researching when I discovered the remarkable history of the women who served as agents for Britain’s Special Operations Executive in World War II, deployed behind enemy lines to engage in sabotage and subversion. I was taken by the scope of their heroism, their tragic downfall and the dark betrayals that led to that. I wanted to shine a light on their stories through my own medium – fiction.
Q: What have you learned about publishing along the way that it would have been useful to know earlier in your writing career?
A: In the beginning, I probably did not understand the importance of historical accuracy to readers. I thought of myself as creating a world in a Tolkien-esque way and I think there were mistakes and missteps that I would do differently now.
Q: What are you reading and recommending currently?
A: I read everything. In historical fiction I loved THE WARTIME SISTERS by Lynda Loigman and IN ANOTHER TIME by Jillian Cantor. In suspense, I can’t say enough good things about Annie Ward’s new book BEAUTIFUL BAD and the forthcoming Heather Gudenkauf title, BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND. In contemporary books, I loved Kristin Higgins GOOD LUCK WITH THAT and ONE DAY IN DECEMBER by Josie Silver.
Q: Are you working on anything new?
A: It’s very early days, but my new project was inspired by the true story of a young girl who survived World War II in a sewer.
~Robin Wood, Associate Manager