Steven Rowley

Steven Rowley is the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book of 2016 and The Editor, named by NPR and Esquire Magazine as one of the Best Books of 2019. His fiction has been published in nineteen languages. Lily and the Octopus is being developed as a feature film by Amazon Studios. The Editor was optioned by Twentieth Century for director Greg Berlanti. Steven has worked as a freelance writer, newspaper columnist and screenwriter. Originally from Portland, Maine, he is a graduate of Emerson College. He currently resides in Palm Springs.

Twitter: @mrstevenrowley          

Instagram: @mrstevenrowley

Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?

When writing my first novel, LILY AND THE OCTOPUS, I was influenced by two film adaptations of novels: JAWS and MOBY DICK. As anyone who has read LILY knows, there's an extended fever dream entitled The Pelagic Zone, which is essentially a hunt that takes place at sea. I've always loved the 1956 adaptation of Melville's classic directed by John Huston and starring Gregory Peck (it was co-written by Ray Bradbury!). Peck made Ahab's obsession palpable! My protagonist in LILY, Ted Flask, was even named after the Pequod's third mate. I love Melville's novel as well, but when writing I kept seeing Gregory Peck's face -- so weathered in comparison to his role into another literary classic, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. JAWS is the rare film that improves upon its source material and the scene where Brody, Quint and Hooper compare battle scars is cinema at its finest -- revealing, haunting, and human. There's a direct homage to that scene in my book, even though one of my characters is a dog. Dogs have scars too, and it was a joy to recreate that scene. 

Beyond that, I'm inspired by directors. The balance of comedy and drama I strive for in my work is the result of growing up loving the films of James L. Brooks, Mike Nichols, Sydney Pollack among others.

Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?

I feel like an imposter all the time, mostly because I'm such a fan of so many people I now call colleagues. It started before my first novel was even published. I was attending the American Bookseller Association's Winter Institute when I met Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Russo. I also grew up in Maine and I love his work, so I was completely starstruck. But he was happy to rub elbows and further told me, because of how our last names align alphabetically, that our books would soon be rubbing spines in bookstores! He could not have been nicer. Some days I feel more confident than others. If I read something I like, I feel like I have the ability to approach that author and tell them, and that's a real perk of the job. But deep down I still feel more like a fan than a contemporary. And some things I'll never be able to wrap my head around. Isabel Allende was a fan of my first novel. She wrote about it on her Facebook page, and recently mentioned to Entertainment Weekly that she had read it a second time (!) and that it was the last book that made her cry. We've never met, but she's been so generous and so kind. I won't ever think I'm worthy. 

I try to support upcoming writers as much as I can. I don't want anyone ever to be intimidated by me. 

What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?

I think there's a big difference between being a writer and an author -- and it's largely sartorial! At home, I'm a writer. I schlep around the house in sweats and a bathrobe, wondering where I left that fourth cup of coffee. I go days without shaving. There's maybe some of those seeds from the granola I had for breakfast in my teeth. What are mirrors? They are of no use. Getting dressed up means putting on gym clothes, even though I know I'm unlikely to work out. 

I'm an author when I leave the house, and I have a whole wardrobe for that. I'll trade the robe for a waistcoat, slippers for wingtip shoes. Being a writer is torturous a lot of the time, but being an author is fun. I get to speak publicly, meet readers, dine in restaurants with healthy cuisine. The only thing I have to write is my name. There are writers who prefer the work, introverts for whom touring is the real agony. But I'm a social person and interacting with other who love books as much as I do is the reward for all the time I spend alone. But one does not exist without the other. There is no joy without the satisfaction of hard work. So, I'm grateful for both of my jobs.  

What do you worry about?

Given the state of the world, I worry about a lot of things now. But in quieter moments I worry about running out of ideas. I just completed my third novel (THE GUNCLE, coming Spring 2021 from G.P. Putnam's Sons) and I was speaking with someone recently who pitched me an idea I politely declined and they said, "Well, maybe for your tenth book." And my response to that was an absolute panicked I HAVE TO WRITE TEN OF THESE? And yet somehow the next idea always comes, perhaps when you least expect it.

What brings you great joy?

My dog Tilda brings me great joy. Novel writing is a very solitary (and sedentary) occupation and I highly recommend having a dog, both for the company and a reason to get out of the chair every few hours and walk. Additionally, my partner Byron Lane's first novel A STAR IS BORED (Henry Holt) is being published in July. It's a brilliant debut, and it's a joy to see him get all the recognition he richly deserves. It's also fun to experience the process through the eyes of someone else.