Q & A with Summer Festival Speaker Rich Farrell and San Diego Writers Festival
SDWF: What inspired you to write The Falling Woman: A Novel?
RF: As a former pilot, I wanted to explore my fascination with flying in a story. But the more I tried to write my story, the less it felt connected to the reality of what I once experienced. At some point, I became interested in the junction of my greatest fear (falling) and my greatest passion (flying). That these two values were so contradictory seemed a good place to explore.
SDWF: Which writers have influenced you most?
RF: I was influenced a lot by the late American James Salter. I know that I tried to emulate his style early on, so much so that a writing instructor once told me I had to “overcome my Salter fixation.” At the same time, I was deeply influenced by writers like Toni Morrison, Virginia Woof, and Will Cather. I feel like that pull—between a sparse, minimalist male writer like Salter, and the lyricism and emotion of Morrison—helped me a grow a lot as a reader.
SDWF: What’s the last great book you read?
RF: Oh! Easy question. Adam Braver’s November 22, 1963 is amazing. Could not read it fast enough, except I didn’t want to stop. A tour de force!
SDWF: What was the first piece of writing you shared with someone else?
RF: I love this question! No one has ever asked me this before. I was in a writing class at UCSD Extensions, with Judy Reeves. This was the first time I was workshopped in a class. And I was trying to seem smart and writerly, and I had a scene where my main character was in the desert and came across a skull. And this younger, fairly confident writer in the workshop said, “Come on dude. A skull in the desert. Is there a bigger cliché?” And I saw, for the first time, that I couldn’t bullshit my through a story. Was not a pleasant moment, but it was an impactful one.
SDWF: Is there a line from one of your pieces that you’d be willing to share? (opening sentence(s) or something that gives the flavor of the piece?)
RF: “We were meant to fly. The sole purpose of our lives is to rediscover our wings.”
SDWF: Where can we find your blog/website or any other online links (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)?
SDWF: Thanks, Rich!
