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Sixty seconds with Lisa Brackmann...
Lisa Brackmann is the critically acclaimed author of the Ellie McEnroe novels (Rock Paper Tiger, Hour of the Rat, Dragon Day) and the thriller Getaway. Her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Travel+Leisure and CNET. She lives in San Diego with a couple of cats, far too many books and a bass ukulele.
RTE: Describe yourself in a sentence?
Brackmann: Eccentric, lively, intense and prone to melancholy. Wait, that’s a sentence fragment – does that count?
RTE: What's the one record you'd take to a desert island?
Brackmann: I guess I will go with Talking Head’s "More Songs About Buildings and Food" because of the huge influence it had on me in terms of understanding what rock music could be, how the songs spoke to me and my own experiences, and how it showed me that music was something I might actually be able to do myself – I later taught myself bass, learned how to sing, wrote songs and had a band in Los Angeles for many years.
RTE: What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Brackmann: At various times, a zookeeper, an astronaut, Secretary of State, and always, a writer
RTE: Who's your oldest friend?
Brackmann: I have a bunch of friends from high school, which was…a long time ago. I’m also great friends with my mom and my sister, and we’ve been friends for even longer.
RTE: If I ruled the world...
Brackmann: I would be a stern yet kind ruler. I’d make sure we solved this climate change thing, I’d strengthen protections for endangered species and wild spaces in general, I’d end extreme poverty around the world, I’d empower women, create free quality education for everyone and open up opportunities for talented people to contribute to society, no matter what their background. I’d limit the obscene accumulation of wealth by the very privileged few. I’d fund the arts. I’d make it easier for writers to earn a living off their work, that’s for sure!
RTE: Which book do you wish you'd written?
Brackmann: I really can’t think of a book I’ve read where I’ve thought, "I should have written this!" There are so many great books out there, but they are great because of the author’s singular talent and experiences. I want to write a great book that could only come from me.
RTE: What makes you angry?
Brackmann: Injustice. Stupidity. Greed. Intolerance. The way we humans are destroying the beauty of this earth. I actually have a rather long list.
RTE: Name your five dream dinner party guests.
Brackmann: Here’s where I confess: I am terrible at any kind of list-making involving favorites, bests, most hated, etc. I guess I will never have a career writing listicles. Generally I’m more focused on whatever/whoever I happen to be reading/watching/having dinner with. But one guest would be Zhou Enlai, the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China. He was such a fascinating, ambiguous and ambivalent sort of character. I’d love to ask him about some of the choices he made.
RTE: Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?
Brackmann: Right now it’s a tossup between Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.
RTE: What inspired you to start writing?
Brackmann: I really don’t know. I’ve always wanted to write. I started writing my first novel when I was five years old. It was to be an epic tale of cats who went camping. Unfortunately I did not know how to spell “tent.”
RTE: Where would you most like to live?
Brackmann: I’ve thought about this question a lot, actually. I travel a fair amount, and I love seeing the world. There are many places I’d love to spend some time in, many more I’d like to explore. But when it comes down to it, I live in California, and California is pretty awesome. We have some of the most spectacular and diverse scenery on earth, people and cultures from everywhere in the world. We make and grow all kinds of things. And I think in spite of our difficulties, we still keep moving forward. I may already be in that place I’d most like to live.
RTE: Sum up your latest book in no more than 12 words.
Brackmann: American woman in China just wants peace, can’t stay out of trouble
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