Lee Upton
Author Interview - Lee Upton
Author of Wrongful: A Novel
When the famous novelist Mira Wallacz goes missing at the festival devoted to celebrating her work, the attendees assume the worst—and some hope for the worst. Ten years after the festival, Geneva Finch, an ideal reader, sets out to discover the truth about what happened to Mira Wallacz. A twisty literary mystery about duplicity, envy, betrayal, and love between an entertainment agent and a self-deprecating former priest, Wrongful explores the many ways we can get everything wrong, time and again, even after we’re certain we discovered the truth. https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/wrongful/
Author Interview - Lee Upton
Author I draw inspiration from:
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
Author Interview - Lee Upton | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
At my home with my rabbit beside me. He's a superb housemate and seems to enjoy keeping anyone company while they read. You just have to keep one hand on your book and the other hand ready to pet this sweet guy. Few things are as relaxing as reading a book with this velvety little buddy next to you.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
The attractive sea monster (Larry) in Rachel Ingalls's Mrs. Caliban. It would be such a riveting adventure. First, we would attempt to calm each other down.
Author Interview - Lee Upton | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
During early childhood, although I imagined all authors were all already dead.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I enjoy all those formats--but a hardback is always the most beautiful as an object of tactile and visual art.
The last book I read:
The Hypocrite, by Jo Hama. An ambitious, mesmerizing novel about a father and daughter, both of whom are artists.
Author Interview - Lee Upton | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I move between pen and paper and laptop and back again, repeatedly. I print out a copy and revise the printed copy, marking the page with my pen, writing inserts in longhand, and next typing the changes into my laptop and editing and revising on the screen. And repeating the process multiple times.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Dorothy in Mrs. Caliban. I would enjoy being her confidant. She would be very good at keeping secrets too.
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I have been fortunate to teach writing for years. I had a number of jobs when I was starting out--including working in a credit agency, waitressing, typing, administering door-to-door surveys, and free-lance writing for a newspaper.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
1940's--I admire those elegant, narrow-waisted suits that women wore. How wonderful, too, that the men donned those nice hats.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Spain--for its haunting beauty
My signature drink:
Champagne!
Favorite artist:
The intrepid painter Philip Guston
Number one on my bucket list:
Traveling to visit family members in multiple states; renting a little cottage by the seashore and taking walks through the mist
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thanks so very much!
Find more from the author:
Facebook: Lee Upton
Instagram: leeupton45
website: www.leeupton.com
About Lee Upton:
Author Interview - Lee Upton
Lee Upton is a multi-genre author of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and literary criticism. Her novel Wrongful, a literary mystery that deals with writers behaving badly, is due out in May 2025 from Sagging Meniscus Press. Her comic novel, Tabitha, Get Up, appeared in May 2024 from the same publisher. Another novel, The Withers, is forthcoming in 2026 from Regal House Publishing. Her other books include The Day Every Day Is (Saturnalia 2023); Visitations: Stories; Bottle the Bottles the Bottles the Bottles: Poems; The Tao of Humiliation: Stories; and the essay collection Swallowing the Sea: On Writing & Ambition Boredom Purity & Secrecy. She is also the author of an award-winning novella, The Guide to the Flying Island, as well as six additional books of poetry and four books of literary criticism. Her poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Southern Review, The Massachusetts Review, and three editions of Best American Poetry.
