Sunday, April 03, 2022

Q&A with Diana Abu-Jaber

From my Q&A with Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Fencing with the King: A Novel:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

That's an interesting and tricky question for this novel. There is a literal fencing match with the king of Jordan--which the story events are leading up to. But it's also a kind of metaphor for the relationship between a monarch and their people. While the duel is only one of several climatic moments in the novel, in a sense, each of the characters is "fencing" with their own desires and fears, so I think it hits at the heart of the story.

What's in a name?

Character names are super intuitive for me. They have to not only sound right but...[read on]
Learn more about the writer and her work at Diana Abu-Jaber's website.

The Page 99 Test: Origin.

The Page 69 Test: Fencing with the King.

Q&A with Diana Abu-Jaber.

--Marshal Zeringue