Thumper's
Corner Home
Glenville Lovell Chat Transcript - January 14 2004
Glenville Lovell is
the author of three novels, several short stories and a number of prize-winning
plays.
In 1995, his first
novel, Fire in the Canes, was published by Soho Press to wide acclaim, as was
his second novel, Song of Night, published in 1998.
Too Beautiful To Die is Lovell's third novel
Too Beautiful To Die
Click to order via
Amazon
or
Barnes and Noble
by Glenville Lovell
ISBN: 039915048X
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Pub. Date: June 2003
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group, The
glenville
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Glenville Lovell
glenville:
LOGGED IN
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January 14, Wednesday 7:58:54 p.m. ~
Thumper:
*lol* ok.
~
January 14, Wednesday 7:59:01 p.m. ~
Linda:
Of course so is the Titan
~
January 14, Wednesday 7:59:06 p.m. ~
Linda:
Hello Glenville
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January 14, Wednesday 7:59:21 p.m. ~
glenville:
buyaka!
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January 14, Wednesday 7:59:28 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Good evening Glenville. How are you
doing this evening? Did you have any trouble getting to the chat room?
~
January 14, Wednesday 7:59:42 p.m. ~
glenville:
not at all. i'm fine
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:00:13 p.m. ~
glenville:
thanks for inviting me
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:00:31 p.m. ~
Thumper:
You're welcome. I won't hold you
long. I'm grateful that you came to talk to me.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:00:55 p.m. ~
glenville:
my pleasure. it's a rare treat to be
able to talk to youo
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:01:29 p.m. ~
glenville:
how r u
linda?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:02:00 p.m. ~
Linda:
I am well and yourself
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:02:13 p.m. ~
glenville:
it's all
good.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:02:27 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Flatter will get you no where. *big
smile* Money can, though. As you already know, I loved Too Beautiful to Die?
What made you decide to write a mystery?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:02:39 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Forgive my misspelled words.
Obviously I rely on my spell check too much.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:03:16 p.m. ~
glenville:
The
challenge more than anything. I wanted to see if I could actually write a novel
where I had to hold fast to a defined plot
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:03:33 p.m. ~
glenville:
Also, I
thought it would allow me greater exposure
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:03:58 p.m. ~
glenville:
Since
nobody actually read my first two novels
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:04:15 p.m. ~
glenville:
When I
used to dance I did modern dance, jazz, and all types
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:04:47 p.m. ~
Thumper:
And that in itself is a crime.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:04:49 p.m. ~
glenville:
It seemed
to me that being a versatile writer could only be a good thing
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:05:13 p.m. ~
glenville:
So I
decided the mystery offered me the best chance to show my versatility and get me
more exposure
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:05:42 p.m. ~
Thumper:
I still haven't read your first
novel, but your second, Song of Night is a stunningly beautiful novel. I can't
strongly recommend it enough.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:05:53 p.m. ~
Linda:
So has the exposure been better with
this one thus far
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:06:11 p.m. ~
glenville:
Thanks
thumper. Some people find it too dark
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:06:16 p.m. ~
glenville:
Yes, the
exposure has been loads better
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:06:30 p.m. ~
glenville:
Thumper has noticed.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:06:45 p.m. ~
Linda:
Will you try mystery again or branch
out more
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:06:56 p.m. ~
glenville:
And given me mad props, for which
I'm grateful
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:07:04 p.m. ~
Thumper:
I didn't find Song of Night dark at
all. Do you think that the fans of your previous novels accepted Too Beautiful.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:07:35 p.m. ~
glenville:
Well, the Blades series I hope to
continue for a while, but I will be going back to "literary fiction" for another
book which i'm working on
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:07:45 p.m. ~
Thumper:
I was hoping you would say that.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:08:10 p.m. ~
glenville:
Some do. Some don't. There's this
impression by some people who read high brow that mysteries can never really
appeal to them
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:08:47 p.m. ~
glenville:
They have been very complimentary of
the "literary" tones of Too Beautiful
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:09:07 p.m. ~
glenville:
but then they say they want to see
me write more "literary novels"
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:09:27 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Do you find being "labeled"
restricting?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:09:59 p.m. ~
glenville:
I've come
to realize that a good story is a good story
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:10:02 p.m. ~
glenville:
Yes,
that's one of the reasons I will keep writing the mysteries
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:10:18 p.m. ~
Linda:
Soooo true
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:10:20 p.m. ~
glenville:
I love
writing Blades. The character fascinates me
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:10:40 p.m. ~
glenville:
And that
to me is the key to good fiction
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:10:52 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Exactly.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:11:03 p.m. ~
glenville:
Great
characters who make you want to find out more about them and I'm anxious to see
where Blades is going with his life
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:11:19 p.m. ~
Thumper:
And the character having one hell
of a dysfunctional family doesn't hurt either.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:11:31 p.m. ~
Linda:
What do you think about the new trail
intohip-hop-street lit
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:11:41 p.m. ~
glenville:
lol. Yes,
it give you a lot of latitude
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:11:49 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Which Blades does.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:11:49 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Can we expect to see more of them?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:12:08 p.m. ~
glenville:
I think
it's great. They are so many stories to tell. The world is a vast place. And it
is capable of rendering voiceless people invisible. No part of our life should
be invisible
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:12:45 p.m. ~
glenville:
Blades'
family?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:13:08 p.m. ~
Thumper:
yeah, the sister that seems to
barely stand him.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:13:48 p.m. ~
Thumper:
His father, his brother, did his
marriage survive. All of that stuff.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:14:24 p.m. ~
glenville:
Lol. Yeah.
I want to explore the whole dynamic of that family. From the father to the
mother. The brother and the sister too. I think it's really intersting
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:14:28 p.m. ~
glenville:
In the new
book (Love and Death in Brooklyn) his father come back.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:14:49 p.m. ~
glenville:
His father
comes back
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:15:00 p.m. ~
Thumper:
No kidding!
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:15:14 p.m. ~
glenville:
And
there's a big surprise at the very beginning which I think deepens Blades'
character considerably
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:15:45 p.m. ~
Thumper:
The mystery portion of the book was
tight. Was writing a mystery all that it's cracked up to be?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:16:47 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Filling in gaps, debating what to
expose, what not to expose, when to expose it.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:17:39 p.m. ~
glenville:
Yeah, The
wonderful thing about working with this character and writing mysteries,
especially hard-boiled mysteries is that it allows me to reflect on the society
around me
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:17:45 p.m. ~
Linda:
Can you tell us a little about your
next project *wink*
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:18:33 p.m. ~
glenville:
I try to
offer some insight into the social, political and moral climate of New York and
America
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:18:47 p.m. ~
glenville:
Well, the
new Blades book should be out in July, after that I'm working on a novel set in
Barbados about an American-born woman with Barbadian parents who returns and
falls in love with an artist
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:19:58 p.m. ~
glenville:
Then I'd
like to do another Blades novel
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:20:48 p.m. ~
Linda:
Hmmm...sounds like romance. Will there
be anything else going on in the undertones
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:21:33 p.m. ~
glenville:
lol. The
romance is only a tease
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:21:48 p.m. ~
Linda:
I figured as much *lol*
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:22:04 p.m. ~
Thumper:
You have a wonderful way of
capturing the female voice, as is evident with Cyan and Obe, did it come easy
for you.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:22:58 p.m. ~
glenville:
This
artist is a radical. The government hates him but he is fearless. The woman
comes from an upper-class background and defies all conventions by falling in
love with this man
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:23:10 p.m. ~
glenville:
Thank,
Thumper. I grew up among women
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:23:28 p.m. ~
Linda:
How hard is the trasitions of
expanding for you. Is the mystery easier or the lit fiction
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:23:53 p.m. ~
glenville:
I listen
to them well. Whenever I could I waited for their stories
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January 14, Wednesday 8:23:57 p.m. ~
Linda:
Pardon my spelling!
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:24:11 p.m. ~
glenville:
Mysteries
are hard because of the constraints of plot
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:24:25 p.m. ~
glenville:
At least
for me. You can't wander. It's good discipline, though for any writer
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:24:48 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Who are the writers that inspired
you?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:25:56 p.m. ~
glenville:
But I've
found that the only mysteries that appeal to me are those that are
character-driven, where the main character is well-drawn and all the secondary
characters stand out
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:25:58 p.m. ~
glenville:
In general
or mysteries?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:26:09 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Or storytellers.
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January 14, Wednesday 8:26:16 p.m. ~
glenville:
Writers in
general or mystery writers?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:26:29 p.m. ~
Thumper:
In general.
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January 14, Wednesday 8:26:44 p.m. ~
glenville:
lol. The
women in my village were the ones who inspired me to tell stories
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:26:47 p.m. ~
glenville:
But the
writers I admire are Toni Morrison, Derek Walcott, Garcia Marquez
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:27:10 p.m. ~
glenville:
Yusef
Kuminyaka
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January 14, Wednesday 8:27:43 p.m. ~
Linda:
Excellent choices
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:28:37 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Glenville, our time is almost up. I
thank you for dropping by. Do you have any parting words for the people?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:28:45 p.m. ~
glenville:
Thanks. Go
out and buy my books: Too Beautiful To Die, Fire in the Canes, Song of Night.
And thanks for the support from the African American community.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:29:49 p.m. ~
Thumper:
lol
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January 14, Wednesday 8:30:28 p.m. ~
Linda:
Thanks for stopping by Glenville. will
we see you at BEA
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:30:28 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Glenville, you're going to the BEA?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:30:45 p.m. ~
glenville:
bea?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:31:01 p.m. ~
Linda:
Book expo America
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January 14, Wednesday 8:31:17 p.m. ~
glenville:
Oh. lol.
I'm so clueless
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:31:32 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Book Expo America. I'll send you a
link off-line
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:31:39 p.m. ~
Linda:
Chicago June 2-6
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:31:53 p.m. ~
glenville:
I'm be at
the Chester Himes event in Oakland
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January 14, Wednesday 8:32:02 p.m. ~
glenville:
Maybe I'll
come to Chi-town. I'll check it out
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January 14, Wednesday 8:32:32 p.m. ~
Thumper:
When?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:32:34 p.m. ~
Thumper:
When will you be in Oakland?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:32:50 p.m. ~
glenville:
Feb 26-28?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:32:59 p.m. ~
glenville:
I think
it's called the Chester Himes African American mystery conference
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:33:20 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Do you have any other tour dates?
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January 14, Wednesday 8:33:21 p.m. ~
Linda:
Ooo...might have to check that one out
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:33:28 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Me too.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:33:39 p.m. ~
glenville:
Where else
can you get all of the African American mystery writers in one room. should be
fun
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:34:05 p.m. ~
glenville:
If anyone
wants to check out my schedule it's posted on my website:
www.glenvillelovell.com
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:34:36 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Linda, how come nobody told us? I'm
on my way to having my feelings hurt over here.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:34:43 p.m. ~
Thumper:
big smile
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:35:01 p.m. ~
Linda:
I know what you mean. Now I'm hot in
the collar
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:35:19 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Thanks Glenville. Can we see you
back around July or so?
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:35:28 p.m. ~
glenville:
Absolutely. It's been fun. I enjoyed it.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:35:45 p.m. ~
Linda:
It's been great. Time just flys to
fast
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:36:32 p.m. ~
Thumper:
Good night everyone. Troy's trying
to be a taskmaster again. *eyebrow raised*
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:36:36 p.m. ~
Linda:
Good night
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:36:57 p.m. ~
glenville:
Caio. Nice
talking to you Linda
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:37:04 p.m. ~
Thumper:
I amuse him every now and then.
Good night.
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:37:08 p.m. ~
glenville:
Thanks
again, Thumper
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:37:12 p.m. ~
Linda:
You also. Talk to you soon
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:37:45 p.m. ~
glenville:
LOGGED OUT
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:38:08 p.m. ~
Linda:
LOGGED OUT
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:38:43 p.m. ~
( IP
Address: 205.188.208.41 )
Thumper:
LOGGED OUT
~
January 14, Wednesday 8:50:31 p.m. ~
Related Links
Glenville Lovell Official Web Site
http://www.glenvillelovell.com
Too Beautiful To Die - AALBC.com Review
http://aalbc.com/reviews/too_beautiful_to_die.htm
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