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QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Eli Gottlieb answers readers' questions about the inspiration behind his second novel, NOW YOU SEE HIM, its autobiographical details and real-life parallels between his own life and the lives of his characters.

Carol from Omak, WA: Where did you get the idea for this storyline?

Eli Gottlieb: It evolved naturally, once I'd placed the narrator, his friend Rob Castor and Rob's girlfriend Kate together. The storyline grew outwards organically from there.

Janet from Phoenix, AZ: Is the character Nick autobiographical in any way?

Eli Gottlieb: All characters in fiction are autobiographical, in the sense that you construct them based on your memories of yourself and other people. That said, the character of Nick is not especially autobiographical, no. If you're interested in my autobiography, you might try reading my first novel, THE BOY WHO WENT AWAY.

Dana from Jackson, MS: What inspired you to write this book? 

Eli Gottlieb: I love writing novels. That's what I do. I'd just returned from living abroad for a long time, and when you return to America after a long time away, you see certain things afresh that you'd formerly taken for granted. I was excited to write what I took to be an up-to-the-minute America story after living for years in the Old World.

Dana from Jackson, MS: Did you have such a friend or were you the Castor of the bunch? 

Eli Gottlieb: Ha, that's a good one!  Having just said that Nick is not an autobiographical character, I'm now going to reverse myself and say that I'm both Nick and Rob Castor, i.e., both the nebbish and the charismatic writer --- but only the good parts of each

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