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The Edge of the Forest: I'm so glad you agreed to be the Blogging Writer for this month's issue of The Edge
of the Forest, Eric. Welcome!
Eric Luper: Thanks for having me!
The Edge of the Forest: Your blog, Eric Luper's Random Musings,
highlights events in your life as a debut author, as well as whatever fun activities cross your mind. My personal favorites
include the domino maze you created using copies of your new book, Big Slick, and the Google Ping, where you test
various authors to see how frequently they Google themselves and their books. Who has the fastest time in locating
themselves on your blog, by the way?
Eric Luper: The current record holder for Google Ping is the illustrious David Lubar. He responded to the Google
Ping in 1 hour 39 minutes. There is some question regarding John Green's response time of 45 minutes. An anonymous
commenter on my blog claimed to be him, but there was no way to truly verify.
The Edge of the Forest: I know this may be uncomfortable, but I'm going to skip right to a rumor I heard and ask
you directly if it's true. I heard that you were spotted in an illegal casino. Is that where you got the idea for
Big Slick, or was it really "research" for the book? Hmmm?
Eric Luper: I did visit a few illegal poker rooms during the writing of Big Slick, but I assure you
that the spark of the idea came after watching a poker tournament on television. My interest with the game only grew as I
was writing the book. And that led me to some seedy seedy places, stained ceiling tiles and everything.
The Edge of the Forest: I mentioned in my review of Big Slick
that the book has a variety of awesome characters, especially the protagonist, Andrew. Will you tell us a little about your
characters and how they came about?
Eric Luper: I love my characters. Each of them tickles a different part of my brain. The fun part is putting them at
odds with each other and seeing what they do.
As far as how they came about, they sort of appeared and provided the energy the story needed to engage me. I'm not the
sort of writer who makes complex profiles of characters and catalogues all the details on paper. I just think about the
character for awhile and get to know who they are. Then, when I put them in a situation I know what they'd do or say—just
like I know what my closest friends would do or say. The fun part is when my characters surprise me—and believe it or
not they do that quite often.
The Edge of the Forest: I've heard that Big Slick has the makings to be on the Big Screen. If that were to happen
and you were given a choice, who would play Andrew Lang?
Eric Luper: This is a question I love to ask other authors, but hate getting myself. If I had a time machine, I'd
pull young Johnny Depp to the present and make him do it. But if I had to pick a present-day young actor, I think I'd pick
Shia LaBeouf (Holes, Transformers) because he would handle the humor of the book very well. Second place
goes to Zac Efron (High School Musical 1 & 2).
The Edge of the Forest: What kind of audience do you hope to reach with Andrew's story, and why did you feel it was
an important one to tell?
Eric Luper: I didn't write Big Slick because of any lesson or moral I wanted to get across. I didn't even
write it because poker is hot these days. I wrote Big Slick because the idea of the story excited me. It is
exactly the book I would have loved to have in my hands when I was a teen. I hope teens today (boys and girls alike) enjoy
it too. Although people like to pigeonhole Big Slick as a "poker" story, to me the most engaging aspect of the
novel is how Andrew deals with his challenges and how they affect his relationships. The story is just set in some very
sketchy places and involves some very dangerous people! And let's not forget the filthy filthy ceiling tiles.
The Edge of the Forest: Let's talk more about your blog. Do you think it's been as important as your website in
establishing a web presence for you and Big Slick?
Eric Luper: Websites and blogs are intangible ways of getting your name out there. Sure you can track website hits,
but there is no way to see how that translates in book sales or if people are checking your book out of the library.
I created a website because I felt obligated to do so. These days I look up things on the Internet more often than
anyplace else, so I wanted a friendly, fun site where people could get information about me and my writing.
I do the blog because it helps me shake out the cobwebs when I'm writing. Not to mention that I have a lot of fun with it!
I hope readers enjoy it too.
The Edge of the Forest: You seem to come up with lots of zany stuff to do for your blog. Is this because you want to
stand out amongst all those other writerly blogs, or are you just a naturally zany guy?
Eric Luper: Which definition of zany are you using: OED or plain old Webster's?
Either way, I'm not sure I'm particularly zany. I just think that for me to expound upon "writerly" things on my blog would
be pretentious. I mean, I wrote a book. Plenty of people have written books. And guess what? Each one of us did it in a
different way. Just like eating a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup, there is no one right way to do it. Sure I share a few
tidbits here and there—things that may work for me—but I'm not a soapbox kind of guy. Unless there's soap in it.
I like soap.
I'm one of those people who always finds himself involved with very peculiar projects. During the past two years, (in
addition to writing two novels and part of a third, having a full-time job beyond my writing, owning my own business,
owning a house, being married, and having two young children), I've worked on a documentary about one of the largest
Thanksgiving dinners in the country, written a script for a Brady Bunch spoof, grown odd vegetables in my yard, been
involved with writing, directing, filming and editing several short films for local film festivals, built a table, made a
quilt square, done open heart surgery on an inflatable penguin, and designed contests both for the Class of 2k7
and my own book release.
Now that I've listed everything, I don't know how my wife puts up with it…
My intent is not to stand out among blogs. My intent is to share a little about who I am and what I do. But would anyone
read if I just wrote about the mundane stuff? No. Would people read if I just wrote about the writing process? Probably
not. No, people want to see me play dominoes and build towers with 85 copies of my novel, which, by the way, I would do
even if I didn't have a blog.
The Edge of the Forest: Okay, now for the really juicy questions:
The book (or Cliff's Notes) that most changed your life?
This is hard to say because different books have profoundly affected me at different
parts of my life. If I had to pick just one book, it would be The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster. As a kid I was amazed and amused by it. I read it annually from
age 9 to age 25. Even though I was a reluctant reader, that novel kept my fascination
with books burning as a tiny ember. For long stretches it was the only book I read.
I wish I had more books on my shelves like that—ones that I could go back to
and get that "comfy" feeling.
Bunny slippers or combat boots?
Bunny boots. I tried combat slippers but they fell off every time I wiggled into
a foxhole.
Marcia, Jan, or Cindy?
This is sort of a creepy one because I'm used to the question, "Ginger or MaryAnn?"
which is sexual in nature.
If you're asking which one of the Brady girls I was most fond of, I'd have to say
Cindy. Marcia was always so stuck up and Jan was plain psychotic. As I said before,
I recently wrote a script for a Brady Bunch spoof. This required me to watch all
five seasons in one weekend. In the old episodes, Jan actually heard voices in her
head…and argued with them!
Name your two favorite blogs (preferably blogging writers)
I love Lisa Yee's blog (especially when she shows us the escapades of Peepy...sorry
Lisa, you're being upstaged) and David Lubar's because he keeps it short and sweet
and terribly amusing.
About the Author
Eric Luper grew up in Springfield, NJ and has lived in various places in New York as well as a brief stint in New
Brunswick, NJ. With a degree in English/Creative Writing from Rutgers, Eric discovered that writing was what he
really wanted to do.
Aside from writing, some of the jobs he's had include: paperboy, dry cleaning store manager, predatory bird cage
cleaner, bartender, and factory worker. More recently, Eric has tried to farm pumpkins but aside from one sickly
green gourd his plants haven't produced anything.
Big Slick is Eric's first novel and his second novel is in production. Eric currently lives in Albany,
NY with his wife and two children.
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