title: Illuminating Fiction
author:  Sherry Ellis 
description: Among the 19 authors Ellis interviewed for this book, there are two points of consensus. Almost all of the interviewees call revision the most essential element of successful writing, and in general they agree that a love of reading is the best preparation for a writing career. Ellis (<i>Now Write!</i>) is an astute reader. Her questions show insight and sensitivity. Most of her subjectswho include Jill McCorkle, Edward P. Jones, Paul Lisick, Ron Carlson, Margot Livesey and Julia Glassseem open, candid and eager to talk about their creative process. (Yiyun Li, author of the novel <i>Vagrants</i>, offers the most provocative opinions.) Yet for all of the interesting information, the interviews have a certain sameness, due in part to the q&amp;a format, with the same questions in every interview: how do authors choose a title; what comes first, plot or character; she quotes from authors like Virginia Woolf or Ha Jin in each interview, asking the interviewee to agree or disagree. Those cavils aside, this will be a useful volume to aspiring writers and to readers eager to plumb the creative process of writers whose work they admire. <i>(Nov.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  **Praise for Richard Rossiter**
  
  
  **For** _**Arrhythmia**_
  
  
  ‘It’s hard not to be swept up in the intoxicating mystery of this beguiling
  collection of short stories from Richard Rossiter … Rossiter draws us into a
  compelling narrative which explores the emotional mind. Highly recommended for
  readers of short stories and lovers of good literature.’
  
  
  **C ANDICE CAPPE**, _Bookseller_ + _Publisher_
  
  
  ‘Rossiter’s collection is so rich with connections and suggested associations
  that reading it invites a sort of double cognisance … Collectively [the
  stories] work as a masterful structural feat—and a worthy example of the whole
  being more than the sum of its parts.’
  
  
  **N ICOLA REDHOUSE**, _Indigo_
  
  
  ‘A quietly impressive collection of linked stories … Rossiter writes as some
  professionals play tennis, “within himself”, and the modesty and restraint of
  the book’s style is an effective foil for the drama of its contents.’
  
  
  **K ERRYN GOLDSWORTHY**, _Sydney Mornin