The Talented Ten, in the New York Times
In SLATE : Race and Power
In National Public Radio - several segments.
Random House web page - short biography reviews, questions.
In LitLovers
Author's web page
Articles by Stephen L. Carter in Bloomberg.com
Author loves to keep his readers guessing
By: Deirdre Donahue, USA Today, 07347456, JUL 23, 2009
Yale Law School professor Stephen L. Carter leads a double life -- his best-selling novels include The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White. His latest, Jericho's Fall (Knopf, $25.95), revolves around Jericho Ainsley, a disgraced and dying former CIA director, and his onetime lover. Carter, 54, spoke with USA TODAY's Deirdre Donahue from his office in New Haven.
Q: I assumed Beck DeForde -- the heroine of Jericho's Fall who as a Princeton undergrad had an affair with the older, married WASPy Ainsley -- was black. Now I read on your blog that others assumed she was white. Who's right?
A: I wanted it to be intriguing. I never mention her race in the book. With at least some of my early readers -- editors and booksellers -- the automatic default is that she's white. For me, it's intriguing to have a protagonist whose race I don't specify. In today's America, it shouldn't matter what race the character is, and I shouldn't have to say.
Q: You've switched gears with Jericho's Fall. Your other novels were more textured. This one is a spy thriller. Why?
A: About October, I woke up one morning with this story in my mind -- a shorter, quicker novel with the pace of the traditional thriller.
Q: You teach a class about secrets and the law, and now you've written a thriller about a mentally ill former CIA director. Can intelligence work drive people crazy?
A: The stress can drive you nuts. I became interested in mental illness among intelligence professionals while researching (last year's) Palace Council. Look at James Jesus Angleton. His mole hunt at the CIA almost tore the agency apart.
Q: Favorite spy novelist?
A: John le Carre, Daniel Silva and Graham Greene, whose novels often contain theological content.
Q: Both Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White wrestle with religion -- and Jericho's Fall has an Episcopalian nun as one of its main characters. How important is religion in your life?
A: My Christian faith is central to my life, although I make no claim it makes me better than other people. I get up in the morning and read the Bible. We go to church.
Q: Your first book, Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby, was published in 1991, and now there is a black president. How did you feel on election night?
A: It was hard to describe, the excitement of realizing this is going to happen. ... It's fair to say most black people did not think that they would see it in their lifetime.
Q: Would you like to serve in the Obama administration?
A: I haven't been asked! ... I'm happy doing what I'm doing.
Q: You went to Yale Law School with Sonia Sotomayor, and you've blogged about why you're excited about her nomination. What qualities make her a good candidate for the Supreme Court?
A: I'm going to rephrase that -- make it "a great candidate." She has a wonderful and inventive mind, a deep commitment to fairness, as in fairness in the courtroom. She writes very fine opinions and she's very smart.
Q: For more than 40 years, you've been summering in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, the vacation destination for the Obamas. Any fun tips?
A. Relax and enjoy the ice cream.
Q: After a diagnosis of diabetes and some other health problems, you lost almost 60 pounds. How have you kept it off?
A: I no longer take pleasure in food. I will eat what I need to eat. I will never again eat for fun.
Q: So what do you do for fun?
A: Write.
(c) USA TODAY, 2009
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