By Shepton Montague
Richard Tyler Jordan, an American ex-pat now living in England, prefaced our telephone Q&A session by apologizing in advance and telling me that he really, really, really (his word) dislikes interviews and being quoted because he doesn’t think that he has anything interesting to say and who really cares what he has to say anyway and that something he does say might get him into hot water because he thinks he’s a bit of a complainer and has a lot of opinions. “My thoughts flow through my fingers, not my lips,” he says before we begin. “Plus, on a keyboard, I can edit out all the stupid stuff I think before I actually say that stupid stuff out loud.” Still, he said he trusted me and that he’ll try to behave himself. We'll see. Quick bio for Richard Tyler Jordan: Richard is the author of a dozen or so books, most popularly, perhaps, the Polly Pepper Mysteries or his nonfiction book But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame! He also had a cool second career in publicity/marketing at The Walt Disney Studios in Hollywood. He took the last decade off from writing books so that he could selfishly (his word) concentrate on doing whatever he likes and the hedonist pleasures of travelling and not having publishing deadlines to worry about. He recently completed a new cozy mystery (thanks to the restriction of COVID lockdown and not being able to get on a plane). Richard now lives in England (which he loves), in a country cottage that he tells me is more than 400 years old and came complete with a playful ghost. But that’s a story for another day. For now, we just want to concentrate on books and the ones he likes to read.
What’s your favourite novel that nobody else has heard of?
Hmm. Probably The Lost Souls' Reunion, by the amazing Irish writer Suzanne Power. Maybe people in England have heard of it. I had not. The novel was published twenty years ago—but I only discovered it a couple of years ago. It’s one of the most stunning and ethereal books I’ve ever read. It’s jaw-droppingly rich in imagery, vivid characters, and the colours and sounds of coastal Ireland. It’s a novel that I think is timeless and should be read slowly in a quiet space and every word savoured. I tucked myself away in my writing room at home and allowed all the invisible stuff that surrounds me to permeate my body and mind and soul. (Do I sound like a typical Californian?) I’ve hardly ever been this impressed with a novel. I live in a really old house, and the atmosphere here is ideal for reading a multi-generational story. Please read this brilliant novel! It’s long out of print, but you can still find copies online and, I think, as a Kindle download. It’s time for me to read it again. Which writers working today do you admire most?
Yikes! That’s a tough question because there are so many, really. And in this day and age, when the news is as hideous as it is, I just want to crawl into the pages of a book. I sorta vacillate between genres. Some days I want the hilarious cozy mysteries of Laura Levine or the short stories of Susan Taylor Chehak. Other days I want the sumptuous fiction of Ian McEwan or the newspaper columns of Mark Morford—although he’s left the writing business—he’s now a yoga master and hasn’t written a column in years. Each of these brilliant writers makes me feel totally inferior like I can’t really string words into sentences and I shouldn’t be calling myself a writer. And that’s completely fine with me. These talented people serve as inspirations. If that makes any sense.
What’s the best book that’s been made into a great movie?
I know I should say something high-minded like Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, which is brilliant and I love it to bits, but I have to say it’s Patrick Dennis’ hilarious novel Auntie Mame, from way back in 1955.
Yeah, I know, I’m totally biased because my first published book was But Darling, I’m Your Auntie Mame, a history of Dennis’ fictional character. But I still think that the 1958 film adaptation, starring the magnificent (and totally underrated and now, nearly forgotten) Rosalind Russell, should be classified as a “great” movie. Actually, it is considered a classic in many circles. Certainly, in all the circles in which I travel!
What book would you most like to see turned into a movie or TV show that hasn’t already been adapted?
I know this is a very cheeky response, but how ‘bout one of my books? Ha! Any of the titles in my own Polly Pepper Mysteries series would make terrific films or a Netflix series. I’ve had a few options from producers and/or screenwriters over the years, but none of them has gone beyond that initial stage—and no money! But in all seriousness—actually, I am serious about my books as movies—I would love to see Suzanne Powers’ The Lost Souls' Reunion adapted for the screen. Oh, what a wonderful change of pace to have such a magnificent story on film. Sure beats all those crummy Marvel superhero movies—although I probably shouldn't comment on superhero movies because I’ve only seen a few. But those few were sort of stinkers, in my book. That's the type of crap I had to work on when I worked in Hollywood. I’m not denigrating superhero films completely. Well, maybe I am. They’re just not the types of stories I want to see. I’m more of a Merchant-Ivory kind of guy. Remember those brilliant stories on film? Howards End, Maurice, A Room With a View, etc.? Do you count any books as guilty pleasures?
Oh, sure! Absolutely! I get a huge kick out of reading celebrity biographies, especially ones written by stars from the so-called “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Among my favourites are the long-out-of-print Don't Fall Off the Mountain by Shirley MacLaine, Life is a Banquet by Rosalind Russell, and Yes, I Can by Sammy David Jr. I’ve read Rosalind Russell’s book quite a few times. Her “ghost,” Chris Chase, captures her voice perfectly, I think. Yeah, I’m a sucker for celebrity bios. But not celebrities like the Kardashians, who are only famous for being famous and having mammoth butts and tawdry sex tapes.
What’s the last book you read that made you laugh?
One of the things I love most in life is laughing. When a writer, or an actor, is able to tickle my funny bone, I’m in paradise. I think I write some pretty funny stuff myself, but not like my comedy heroes Joe Keenan and P.G. Wodehouse. I think, most recently, the book that made me laugh out loud is Last Writes by Laura Levine.
This author just knows how to arrange words in a way that makes me scream—with jealousy. I’m sort of a slave to her work. She’s written something like 24 books in her Jane Austen Mysteries series, and every one of them is a comedic gem. I look forward to her yearly addition to my bookshelf. When a new book is published, I put everything else aside for a day of fun reading. I wish Joe Keenan would write another book too, but he’s probably too rich and too busy writing stuff for TV in America.
The last book you read that made you cry?
Oh, God, I’m such a weeper! I confess to that! I cry so easily and for all sorts of random reasons. I cry when images of war or of an old person in agony over the loss of their life partner and knowing that life will never be the same. I cry when I see someone doing something generous for another person. I cry over beautiful writing. Or beautiful music. Or masterful figure skating, even. I cried when I read in the New York Times an excerpt of Chloe Cooper Jones’ memoir, Easy Beauty. I rushed to buy her book and cried more because of her stunning prose. So yeah, the answer is Easy Beauty. That’s the most recent book that made me cry, but it certainly won’t be the last, for sure. Which genres do you avoid?
I’m fairly egalitarian when it comes to most literary genres. However, I’d have to say that I don’t much care for Sci-Fi. Other than stuff by H.G. Wells—I loved The War of the Worlds—I just can’t get into time travel stories and books that take place far in the future on other planets or galaxies or in multiple dimensions. Oh, I also don’t read comic books. But I have a few friends who love comic books. They’re just not my cuppa, so to speak. I’d probably spend too much time looking at the pictures and admiring the artwork and not reading the story. I used to do that with the pamphlets that Jehovah’s Witnesses would leave when they came knocking at our door when I was a kid. I avoided their scary stories about Armageddon and the rapture—I thought they were a bit farfetched. I still do. But I thought the artists did a cool job of depicting what the JW's think happens to pious Catholics and Jews and Hindus and atheists and Islamists and Buddhists and anyone who doesn't get on board and believe what they believe. Which, frankly, I always thought was sorta bullshit and arrogant of them. But what the hell do I know? I’m just an ignorant heathen. Am I rambling too much? How do you organize your books?
Oh, God, I don’t. If you could see my bookshelves, they’re stuffed every which way and totally disorganized. But I like it that way. I like a messy bookcase. Some people like to arrange their books by size or the colours of the dust jackets or by author. Although I like to have order on my desk, I like cluttered jumble on my shelves. I have a lot of autographed books, so I know I should devote a special bookcase to those, just to make it easier to find in case someone wants to sell them after I die. But as things are now, my shelves are just a total mess. Curiously, I seem to be able to put my hands on any given title right away. What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
That’s a good question. Maybe they’d be surprised that I have a Bible and Quran and The Dao De Jing and The Science of Mind Textbook. See, I'm not a total heathen! As I said before, I’m fairly egalitarian about books, so actually, maybe people wouldn’t be all that surprised to find those titles on my shelves.
Oh, I know, if someone’s browsing through my books, they might look sort of askance when they see Monica’s Story, Andrew Morton’s biography of Monica Lewinsky. Remember Monica Lewinsky? She was a White House intern who gave President Clinton a blowjob in 1998, and it nearly caused a constitutional crisis in America. Frankly, the only reason I have it at all is that it was a birthday gift from a friend, and it’s signed by Monica Lewinsky herself. I’ve never read it, but I think I’ll put that on my list. It might be fun.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
Oh, easy peasy: Maya Angelou. Truman Capote. And Mark Morford. My first literary love was Maya Angelou. I still re-read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings every couple of years, and it still has a huge impact on me. I give copies away to friends here in England. I first discovered this book in the mid-1970s, and I still have the paperback edition that I bought way back then. I left home at nineteen and only took two books with me to Los Angeles: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Gather Together in My Name, both by Maya Angelou. I got to see Dr. Angelou lecture twice in California, and she was as fascinating as her books. I really wish I could have known her personally. As for Capote, his short stories are probably what made me want to be a writer in the first place. In high school, I fell in love with his work. His short story, Children on Their Birthdays, was so vivid that I swear I could taste the hot, chalky, summer dust on the road in some wretched rural Southern town that he was describing.
The other writer I’d invite, Mark Morford, is still alive, so he might be easier to convince to come over for a meal. He’s only written one book, The Daring Spectacle, and it’s actually a collection of his newspaper columns from when he worked for the San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s on my desk and filled with Post-Its marking my favourite sentences. He writes in paragraph-long sentences. He makes me laugh as much as he makes me think and draws my attention to important social issues. What do you plan to read next?
I’m afraid that I get bored very easily, so I’ve got half a dozen books in various stages of being read. But as soon as I can dive into Taffy Brodesser-Anker’s Fleishman Is in Trouble, which has been out now for several years now and sitting on my desk, I’ll immerse myself in that novel. My friends keep recommending it to me; they know the type of books I like to read.
* * *
Richard Tyler Jordan wasn’t nearly as inarticulate as he was afraid he might be. He was actually quite interesting. At least I thought so.
He seems like a cool guy but maybe has an inferiority complex, which I don’t understand because he's had a really interesting and fulfilling life, and I like his books. You can follow Richard Tyler Jordan on Twitter @Rtjordan12. And his website is www.Richardtylerjorda.com
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