Richard Price is one of our greatest living American novelists. His readers have learned to be patient. Over the last 40+ years Price has published nine novels. He takes his time. It has to be right. But life is expensive and there are always bills to pay. So Price teaches and he writes screenplays, whatever it takes to keep the boiler running. When he decided to write his most recent novel "The Whites" he had hoped to take a different approach. His last book "Lush Life" had come out in 2008. When Price made his book proposal for what became "The Whites" he planned to write the book faster than usual and to then publish it under the pen name of "Harry Brandt."
Well, we can make all the plans we want but then we have to deal with our actual reality. As you'll discover by listening to my conversation with Richard he just could not do it that way. He still took a long time writing this stunning crime novel. He's Richard Price and try as he might he simply could not dash off a quick book. That's not the way he writes. He now regrets the whole pen name idea. He talks about that, too. Thanks, Richard, for another dazzling work of fiction.