Best-Selling Author Returns with a Moving New Novel About a Writer and the Woman Whose Stories Change the Course of His Life
From FRED WAITZKIN, Author of Searching for Bobby Fischer
"This is like sitting by a fire with a master storyteller whose true power is the realm of imagination and magic."--Gabriel Byrne
NEW YORK, May 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Far from home, in a picturesque Costa Rican fishing village, a man glimpses the heart of the book he's struggled to write in the captivating stories of a young woman.
Narrated by a novelist forced to earn his living as an exterminator, STRANGE LOVE (Open Road Integrated Media; May 18, 2021; Ebook Price: $15.99; Print Price: $15.99) tells a story of disappointments, unusual desires, and the things people do when their dreams haven't materialized in the ways they had hoped.
While vacationing in a remote village, the narrator becomes obsessed with a young Costa Rican woman. Mesmerized by her beauty, the details of her past, and the way she describes them, the man finds himself hinting that he is in fact the wildly successful author he once dreamed of being—and that he has the power to change her life.
"Fred Waitzkin effortlessly recreates a singular world with uncanny insight and humor," said actor and director Gabriel Byrne. "This is like sitting by a fire with a master storyteller whose true power is the realm of imagination and magic."
In an interview, Fred Waitzkin can discuss:
- The intersection of real-life characters and fiction in his novels.
- How his displacement by the COVID-19 pandemic led to inspiration for STRANGE LOVE.
- His writing process after decades of honing the craft.
- Collaborating with Sofia Ruiz, a brilliant painter who illustrates STRANGE LOVE.
- Fathering a prodigy, why Searching for Bobby Fischer became #1 best-seller on the list of books about parenting and chess.
The New York Times once said of Searching for Bobby Fischer that "Mr. Waitzkin stokes a fire in the basement of his book that will end up making us sweat and squirm." In STRANGE LOVE, Waitzkin crafts the same tension, this time evoking the pathos of lost lives until the most unlikely love affair tantalizes with a last chance.
STRANGE LOVE is illustrated by the captivating paintings of the Costa Rican artist, Sofia Ruiz. Ruiz has won many national and international awards, and her work has been displayed the world over. Ruiz's paintings suggest what lies behind an apparent normality. Her characters are often beautiful on the surface, but almost always are haunted, incomplete, and fractured.
About the Author
Fred Waitzkin was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1943. When he was a teenager he wavered between wanting to spend his life as a fisherman, Afro Cuban drummer, or novelist. He went to Kenyon College and did graduate study at New York University. His work has appeared in Esquire, New York magazine, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, Outside, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, the Huffington Post, and the Daily Beast, among other publications. His memoir, Searching for Bobby Fischer, was made into a major motion picture, released in 1993. His other books are Mortal Games, The Last Marlin, and The Dream Merchant. His most recent novel, Deep Water Blues, was inspired by a true story about the private war for control of a small Bahamian island. Waitzkin lives in Manhattan with his wife, Bonnie, and has two children, Josh and Katya, and two grandsons, Jack and Charlie.
About Open Road Integrated Media
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