Film vs. Fiction

PW talks with Robert Ellis

by Alison Friesinger -- Publishers Weekly, 4/30/2007

In City of Fire (Reviews, Apr. 16), Robert Ellis introduces Lena Gamble, a young Los Angeles detective who works her first big murder case against the backdrop of the literal and metaphorical fog of a forest fire.

You began your writing career in film and television. Do you feel there are advantages to these over novels?

What's so amazing about films is that you can see it. You can feel it. The push of story. You know when it's working and when it's circling the drain. And that's why I think every writer, no matter what medium they're working in, must be a student of film, at least at some level.

Are novels more difficult to break down?

At least for me they are. You have the story structure, but you have the tone and cadence of the writer's words, a character's thoughts and actions. There's a certain balance here. All three have to work seamlessly if you're going to tell a story that resonates.

So what do you see as the advantages of novels?

Novels are still the closest thing to real experience because we're inside the character's head. In City of Fire we can see what the main character is doing. But because it's a book, we also know what she thinks, believes and guesses. Because it's a book, we can peel the layers of experience away until we get to her fears and doubts and know how fast her heart is beating. And I'm not just talking about the hero. How many times have you heard an actor talk about how great it was to play a really bad, bad guy? Let me tell you something. It's a million times greater writing one.

Your writing is very cinematic. Are your books potential movies?

I'd like to think my stories are tight enough to work on the screen. I certainly think that the characters have the depth to pull it off. But this gets back to the differences between a book and a film. A novel is a complete experience. A screenplay is more like a blueprint of a complete experience, an experience in waiting.

Would you consider creating a series some time in the future?

City of Fire is the first of three books that will feature Lena Gamble. There could be more, because I'm not really planning any of this. Lena's a very special character. I've never run into anyone like her before. She's strong, but still vulnerable and very real. Anything's possible. I'd like to see where it all goes.