(Contest and Interview) with Efrem Sigel, Author of The Disappearance
Contest is located after the interview – don’t miss the bonus 
I reviewed The Disappearance by Efrem Sigel earlier this month, you can read my review on it here. It’s a really good book, one of the better books I’ve read this year. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview the author and I had a few questions for him. Thank you, Mr. Sigel, for taking the time.
earlier this month, you can read my review on it Candy: I really enjoyed how far you delved into the characters for this novel. I felt like I knew them by the end… how were you able to develop such strong characters?
Efrem: The Disappearance is really two books, or if you prefer, one book with two themes. One is a mystery about a teenager who disappears: why the disappearance, what happened to him, who is responsible. The other is a family drama about the parents of this boy: how do they deal with this tragedy, how do they live their lives day to day, will their marriage survive or be ripped apart. I knew that if the story was going to work as a family drama, it had to be about two strong people with very different personalities and very different ways of reacting to this crisis—and that out of these differences would come conflicts that would drive the story. At the outset they were just sketches: Joshua as restless, hyperactive, a seeker of truth; Nathalie as cerebral, disciplined, withdrawn, and immobilized by grief and depression. By having these characters interact with the events in the story, and then with each other, they became, for me, real people and my hope was that readers would see them in the same light.
Candy: The writing seemed so life-like, has your own life been touched by the disappearance of a loved one?
Efrem: The short answer is no. The longer answer is that I do know relatives and friends who have lost children, and I can sense the shadows in their lives. Also, as a parent I have experienced those moments of dread when a child, especially a teen, is not home when he or she is supposed to be, times when you don’t where he or she is, and when, in spite of yourself, you imagine the worst. I tried to plumb the depths of those feelings of dread to imagine parents living with the reality of a missing child for days and weeks and months.
Candy: I was intrigued with the small town – almost a secondary character in and of itself. I also enjoyed the story of the selectmen and development that was going on in the background of the book. What made you choose the setting for this book?
Efrem: For me fiction, whether short stories or novels, always starts with a strong sense of place: First the place, then the outline of a plot, and then the characters that people the story. I know Western Massachusetts and its little towns well. I thought the contrast between a village in a bucolic setting where nothing ever happens, and the reality of this awful event, would heighten the suspense of the story, and the anguish of the parents. And since the Sandlers are outsiders, that added yet another element of conflict. Knowing the setting as I do, I tried hard to make it come alive with the variety of people that you find in such a place. It doesn’t matter whether the locale is New York City or the fictional town of Smithfield; the variety of human beings, their motivations and actions, is endlessly confounding.
For more information on the author, Efrem Sigel, visit his website at www.efremsigel.com. His book is available for purchase on Amazon.
=== Contest ===
I enjoyed this book so much that I want to share it. I’m giving away my copy of this book. If you would like to enter, the rules are below:
1. Entries are taken until Noon (Central), Wednesday, April 15, 2009 (tax day!)
2. To enter, just give me a comment on this post and include your email address (spell it out if you want) or give me some other way to get in touch with you.
3. I’ll randomly draw someone’s name and contact them and mail the book right out to them.
4. Sorry, US addresses only.
5. BONUS! If you want an additional chance(s) to win, please place a link to this post on your own blog, Twitter about it, talk about it on FaceBook – talk about it somewhere else anyway – pointing out the contest and interview. Make sure to place another comment below with a link.
Good luck and happy reading!
No need to enter me, my friend. I’m just dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I’ve got this posted at Win a Book.
Please enter me and thanks for the giveaway!
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com
Interesting interview, helps me understand where the author is coming from. Would enjoy reading the book. PLease enter me.
grumpydan[at]netzero[dot]com
Having teenagers this sounds like a scary but interesting read. Please enter me also
msboatgal at aol dot com
Sounds great! Please enter me. I would love a chance to read this. Thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net
I’ve blogged about it here:
http://completepoppycock.blogspot.com/2009/03/efrem-sigel.html
Thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net
Please enter me. It sounds really good and I would love the chance to read it.
bacchus76 at myself dot com
This sounds like a real good book, I’d love to read it. Thanks.
I like the way he shares his thoughts/beliefs about writing fiction…first the place, then the plot then the characters..I had never looked at writing like this before.
Thanks for sharing!
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com
sounds like a great book and loved the interview. Please enter me. I’m meshe over at Bookobsessed.
I also linked to it on my blog.
http://meanderingwithmiche.blogspot.com/2009/03/contest-at-candiebs-blog.html
Great giveaway. Love the sound of this book.
Valorie
morbidromantic@gmail.com
Blogged:
http://www.morbid-romantic.net/2009/03/16/book-giveaways-0316-0322/
Valorie
morbidromantic@gmail.com
Please enter me for this one. It sounds interesting. Thanks!
tiffanyak1986(at)hotmail(dot)com
Great interview! I would love to read this, it looks great!
vmlay@artsci.wustl.edu
Great interview. I love books with family drama. This sounds like a book I would really like.
fabulous interview and sounds like a great read thanks for the giveaway
Please include me in your giveaway.
Thanks
Debbie
debdesk9@verizon.net
ounds like a great read.
Thanks for the giveaway!
kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com
The book sounds good.
13rubberducks [at] gmail [dot] com
I would love to read this book! Thanks for the giveaway!
whitten100@yahoo.com
Please enter me, this sounds suspenseful!
Thanks! foxsquirrelrabbit at gmail dot com
count me in mrs.mommyyatgmaildotcom
Love to have this.
Thanks,
darkfyre1(at)gmail(dot)com
Excellent interview. It makes me want to read the book even more.
wow sounds like a good book. I would love to win. Thanks
This sounds like a great read. Thank you for a great giveaway!
tatertot374@sbcglobal.net
sounds like a wonderful read…. thank you for contest
Sounds like a good book! Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Sounds like a good book! Please enter me also.
imadisneymom at yahoo dot com
sounds like a great read
freebiegoddess03 at aol dot com
It does sound really good, thanks for sharing!
Favorite genre…
ilikecitylights @ gmail dot com
I’d love to read this book.
i’d like to read this book
Sounds like a great book. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me.
Sounds like a great book! Thanks
hmahan_0529 @ yahoo dot com
Sounds like a good read!
sachidewey ((at)) yahoo (dot) com
thanks-I’d love to read this
tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com
Sounds like a good book. Thanks for the giveaway.