Joanne
Sydney Lessner is the author of Pandora’s
Bottle, a novel inspired by the true story of the world’s most expensive
bottle of wine (Flint Mine Press), which was selected as one of Paperback
Dolls’ top five books of 2010. The
Temporary Detective (Dulcet Press) introduces Isobel Spice, aspiring
actress and resourceful office temp turned amateur sleuth. No stranger to the
theatrical world, Joanne enjoys an active performing career in both musical
theater and opera. With her husband, composer/conductor Joshua Rosenblum, she
has co-authored several musicals including the cult hit Fermat s Last Tango and Einstein
s Dreams, based on the celebrated novel by Alan Lightman. Her play, Critical Mass, received its Off Broadway
premiere in October 2010 as the winner of the 2009 Heiress Productions
Playwriting Competition. She is a regular contributing writer to Opera News and holds a B.A. in music,
summa cum laude, from Yale University.
What are you currently working on
and when do you plan to release your next book?
I’m coming
into the homestretch on the second Isobel Spice novel, Bad Publicity, which I’m planning to release early next year. I also
just finished an Isobel short story for an anthology edited by Jen Blood to be published
by Adian Press in the fall. Besides that, I’m working on the book to a musical
I’m writing with my husband on commission for the Signature Theater in
Arlington, Virginia. It’s an adaptation of the Wilkie Collins novella The Haunted Hotel. Gothic, spooky fun!
Do you have a favorite genre for
your writing or do you write whatever moves you?
I always
try to let content dictate form, so I bounce back and forth among novels,
plays, musicals, and screenplays depending on which medium I think will be most
effective for the story I want to tell. I love writing with my husband—we’ve written
five musicals together—but there is something I cherish about the solitary
craft of novel writing, or noveltry as my ten year-old daughter calls it.
What is the best piece of advice
you were given about writing?
From
fellow writer Marc Acito: it’s amazing how much you can get done in five-minute
bursts. It’s absolutely true. It’s very freeing to realize you don’t need to carve
out a huge chunk of time to write. There’s less pressure to produce brilliance,
because, hey, it’s only five minutes! At the same time, you can’t use lack of
time as an excuse. But that’s how books get written, even if you do block out
an entire afternoon: bit by bit. I wrote my first novel, Pandora’s Bottle, in three months, largely while the pasta water
was boiling.
Do you have a special spot where
you like to write or are you a “have lap top will travel” writer?
I write
at my desk. My husband sits three feet away from me at his keyboard, composing or
practicing with headphones. It’s very companionable.
What is your favorite book and
favorite author?
Oh,
that’s so hard! I will say that the book that influenced me most as a writer
was Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s
Men, which I read in AP Lit my senior year in high school. The funny thing
is that I almost didn’t take the course because of that book! A friend a year
ahead of me was reading it, and I scanned the blurb and thought, “A slog about
southern politics? I’m just going to hate this!” Boy, was I wrong. It changed
my life.
When did you discover your passion
for writing?
I’ve
always written. In fourth grade I wrote a seven-page murder mystery play for my
class. I came across the script recently in my parents’ basement, and my
daughter and I read it aloud in English accents. We had a good laugh over it—it
was pretty bad! But I really got hooked in eleventh grade when my father
brought home an electric typewriter for me to type my term paper. I finished
the paper, but was having so much fun typing that I kept going and wound up
writing a novel—also recently unearthed in my parents’ basement, but
significantly better than the play.
Do you have a favorite beverage
or snack you must have while writing?
I’m
currently addicted to Celestial Seasonings Peppermint Tea. I also like Trident
Layers gum in strawberry/citrus. So I guess that makes me equal parts little
old lady and tween girl.
What inspires you?
Seeing
great theater, hearing great music, reading great books. Not only do they inspire
me to act, sing and write, I find that witnessing other people’s
accomplishments tangibly makes me better at mine.
Do you have a favorite vacation
destination and do you write while vacationing?
We’re
big cruisers in my family. It’s the ultimate relaxation vacation. I never write
while we’re away, although my husband and I do enjoy bouncing ideas around. We
often use it as a time to take stock of our projects, which can be easier at a
distance. That said, we did scribble down ideas for our very first musical on a
napkin while drinking hot chocolate at Demel in Vienna on our honeymoon.
Do you have any advice for other
writers on any subject you choose?
James
Thurber put it best: don’t get it right, just get it written. Try not to judge
yourself every step of the way. I’m pretty self-critical as a performer, but
for some reason, when I write, I’m able to get out of my way and let the ideas
flow through me onto the page. A lot of times I feel like I’m channeling. It
can be a real leap of faith, but you have to give up control to get control. It’s
true of performing as well.
Any last thoughts you would like
to add?
I’ve
been very fortunate in my life to be able to juggle all my creative pursuits:
writing, singing, and acting. Sometimes I get frustrated when I see other
people shoot to the top, but I honestly don’t think I’d have been as happy
having to choose one career over the others. I think you have to do what fulfills
you creatively, whether it’s one thing or ten.
The Temporary Detective
An
Isobel Spice Novel
By
Joanne Sydney Lessner
Publisher:
Dulcet Press, April 9, 2012
ISBN:
0615605818
ISBN-13:
978-0615605814
Phones,
light typing…and murder.
Think
breaking into show business is hard? Try landing a temp job without office
skills. That’s the challenge facing aspiring actress Isobel Spice when she
arrives in New York City, fresh out of college and deficient in PowerPoint.
After being rejected by seven temp agencies for her lack of experience, Isobel
sweet-talks recruiter James Cooke into letting her cover a last-minute vacancy
at a bank. New to his own job and recently sober, James takes a chance on
Isobel, despite his suspicion that she’s a trouble-magnet. His misgivings are
borne out by lunchtime, when Isobel stumbles across a dead secretary in a
bathroom stall and discovers an untapped talent for detective work—a
qualification few other temps, let alone actresses, can claim.
Pandora’s Bottle
By
Joanne Sydney Lessner
Publisher:
Flint Mine Press, June 12, 2010
ISBN-10:
0982520824
ISBN-13:
978-0982520826
What
happens when you pin all your hopes on a single event and it all goes terribly
wrong? When that event is the uncorking of a fabled bottle of 1787 Chateau
Lafite once owned by Thomas Jefferson, the repercussions are emotional,
financial, theatrical and, in every way, unexpected. When Sy Hampton purchases
this legendary bottle, which, through a quirk of preservation, may yet be
drinkable he shocks the wine community by choosing to uncork it privately with
a female companion, rather than at a special public event. Sy intends the
evening to be a quiet reassertion of his virility in the throes of middle age,
but for ambitious restaurateur Annette Lecocq, the event offers an irresistible
opportunity for much-needed publicity. Their competing agendas are not the only
things to collide on the fateful night. Caught in the crossfire are Tripp
Macgregor, a waiter on the verge of his long-awaited Broadway debut, and
Valentina D Ambrosio, the beautiful but unworldly working girl from Brooklyn Sy
hopes to impress.
[There
are excerpts from both books on my website in flipbook format]
Follow
me on Twitter: @joannelessner
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