Before he wrote A Better Place, Steven M. Forman made a name for himself with the Boca trilogy, a series of mystery novels set in Forman’s own Boca Raton. His latest novel, an epic 400-plus-page saga spanning most of the twentieth century and revolving around the story of one interconnected family, is definitely a departure from the Boca books.
A Better Place (our review) shares more DNA with John Irving’s body of work, and manages to do for twentieth century Americana what Latin American literature has been doing for generations: depicting multiple generations of a family and the ways in which one’s ancestors’ choices shape the future.
We recently had a chance to talk with the author and probe deeper into his work.
The saga of the Hensen family begins with the birth of their Golden Boy Jonas, also known as “the Ghost” due to a persona he takes on in the First World War. Jonas’ journey from small-town hero (that town being North Platte, Nebraska, itself a character in A Better Place) to big-time war hero to family man reflects the glory days of a bygone era.
Q: What inspired you to write a decades-spanning epic after a successful run of mystery novels?
A: When I was a young man I fell in love with character-driven, historical fiction sagas like the ones written by Harold Robbins (The Carpetbaggers, The Dream Merchants, The Betsy) — big, multigenerational, multinational sagas spanning generations. After writing three mystery/comedy novels I decided to write what I had most enjoyed reading.
Q: How did you research the war (and general) history that you write about in this novel?
A: I had a general knowledge of the wars I wrote about and used Google for more details. I tried to find less commonly known facts about the wars to introduce new information to the reader.
Q: Thematically, what do you hope readers will take away from reading A Better Place?
A: It is not where you start the journey of life but where you go — with what you have, and what you do to make your world a better place.
Q: Is there a particular character or era that you most enjoyed writing about?
A: I enjoyed writing most about Ziggy Zorn in the ’50s because I knew people like him and I grew up in the same era. I particularly enjoyed turning his life around and showing that it’s not where you start in life that matters but where you go.
Q: What does North Platte mean to you?
A: To me, North Platte represents small town USA where big things can happen and all things are possible.
Q: What do you envision your next project will be?
A: I have already finished Eddie the Kid and the Shotgun Man, a prequel to my Boca Trilogy (Boca Knights, Mournings and Daze). It takes my protagonist, Eddie Perlmutter, back to his youth in 1974, and involves him in an old world vendetta that travels from Sicily to the streets of Boston. Other projects are already in the works.
A Better Place is now available for purchase. For more information about Steve, visit his BookTrib author profile.
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About Steven Forman:
Steven M. Forman was born in the Boston area in 1942, graduated the University of Massachusetts in 1963 and started his own seafood marketing company in 1970. He has always had a passion for writing but he did not publish his first book until 2009.
