Interview with Mark Pryor, Author of the “The Paris Librarian”

26 August 2016 by Janet Hulstrand    1764  
Interview with Mark Pryor, Author of the “The Paris Librarian”
Janet Hulstrand
By Janet Hulstrand
Mark Pryor is author of a popular and critically acclaimed series of mystery novels set in Paris, as well as several other books. He grew up in England, worked as a newspaper reporter in Essex, then moved to the United States, where he studied law at Duke University. He is currently an Assistant District Attorney in Austin, Texas, where he lives with his wife and three young children. He spends as much time as he can in Paris, and doing the research for his Hugo Marston series gives him the chance to do that quite often. “The Bookseller,” the first book in the series, was published in 2012. The latest, “The Paris Librarian,” which was just released, is set in and around the American Library in Paris. Mark recently took the time to answer Janet Hulstrand’s questions via e-mail. Janet Hulstrand: Let’s start with your thoughts about Paris. How long have you been coming to Paris, what do you love most about it, and how did you decide to write a series of books set there? Mark Pryor: Ah, Paris! I think we just had our fifteenth visit this year, and when we hit the streets my wife and I both sighed with relief, like we were back home. Interesting that you ask what I love, because this time I got there right after spending a few days in London, which allows me to make a fairly direct comparison. Or maybe I shouldn’t! For one thing, I noticed how crowded London has become, and how much construction there is. Paris feels so much less busy, and it doesn’t need the city-center construction because it already has the most beautiful buildings. I think for me, that’s the delight of the place, its walkability and the fact that everywhere you go you’re surrounded not by skyscrapers but by history. The café culture, of course, is another great pleasure. I’ve seen it mimicked in other cities but nowhere is it so pervasive, so much a part of the national identity. It’s also very inspirational for me as a writer. I think of all the great authors who lived and worked there and I can go sit at Les Deux Magots and imagine they are a table or two over from me. Now you see how active my imagination is! As for why the books are set there, it’s simply because it was while I was in Paris that I had the idea for “The Bookseller.” Sheer good luck, you might call it. My wife and I were walking beside the Seine and we stopped at a bouquiniste stall. For whatever reason, my mind started working and I wondered if and why someone might want to kidnap or murder a bouquiniste. Once the gray cells got to work the idea quickly formed, and we dashed to a nearby tabac to buy a pen and paper so I could write it down. In a café, sipping coffee of course. Now, some people have claimed I set the books in Paris as an excuse to visit every year, which is clearly a terrible fabrication and nothing I would ever consider doing… JH: For those readers who may be just learning about your books, can you tell us a little bit about Hugo Marston, the protagonist of your series of mysteries set in Paris?  MP: Yes, I’d be delighted to. Hugo is a former FBI profiler who now works as head of security at the US Embassy in Paris. He’s something of an old-fashioned hero, a good-looking guy but he’s not a womanizer or inclined to dramatic heroics. As I put it in “The Bookseller,” he’s a watcher, not a player. He’s also a devoted reader and has a small collection of rare books, which he adds to from time to time. His intellectual curiosity and his FBI training both mean that he’s much more likely to solve a case by talking to people than by chasing them down. Sure, he can fight and shoot when he has to, but like Sherlock Holmes, one of his heroes, Hugo finds it more satisfying and more effective to unwind a puzzle in his mind before putting himself or others in danger. Does all that make him sound less-than-exciting? Hopefully not, but in case anyone is worried, he does have Tom. Tom Green is Hugo’s best friend and biggest pain. They met at the FBI Academy and hit it off, and a decade later they are still inseparable. Well, that is until Tom goes off on one of his jaunts, doing freelance work for the CIA– usually without bothering to say good-bye. Tom is the one who keeps Hugo on his toes. Tom drinks and chases women, he swears, and he tries to get Hugo to go along with his hijinks. But when it comes down to it, he’s there for Hugo no matter what and no matter where. JH: Your latest book, “The Paris Librarian,” is set in the American Library in Paris. What made you think of setting a mystery there?  MP: I really enjoy Hugo’s love of books and, it turns out, so do my editor and my readers! Writing “The Bookseller” was a great way to introduce that passion of Hugo’s, and I wanted to return to the book theme, so it made sense to me to set a story in and around the American Library. I did check with them first, of course, and they were delighted to have someone killed in their library. In fact, they suggested I come by for a visit, so of course I did. They gave us a fabulous tour of the library, which resulted in…
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Lead photo credit : Author Mark Pryor

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By Janet Hulstrand

Janet Hulstrand is a freelance writer, editor, writing coach and teacher who divides her time between France and the U.S. She is the author of "Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You," and "A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France." She writes frequently about France for Bonjour Paris, France Today, and a variety of other publications, including her blog, Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road. She has taught “Paris: A Literary Adventure” for education abroad programs of the City University of New York since 1997, and she teaches online classes for Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington D.C. She is currently working on her next book in Essoyes, a beautiful little village in Champagne.