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Stan Pottinger
BIO
Stan Pottinger's first book, THE FOURTH PROCEDURE, a "novel of medical suspense" was published in April 1995 by Random Ballantine and in ten foreign languages. The book made all national bestseller lists, including The New York Times.
His second novel, A SLOW BURNING, was published in hardcover by Dutton in March of 2000, and his third novel, THE LAST NAZI, was published by St. Martin's Press in September 2003.
THE BOSS, his fourth novel, will be published December 1, 2006 by St. Martin's Press.
Pottinger is president of Barnstorm Books, a book producer whose first book, A HAND TO GUIDE ME: American Reflections by Denzel Washington was published November 1, 2006 and made all national bestselling lists, including The New York Times. He is also the host of Beyond Politics, an interview show aired on Plum TV.
Stan Pottinger graduated with honors from Harvard College and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School. After practicing law in California, he was appointed Director of the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and later became Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice. Following service in the Ford Administration, in the spring of 1977 he served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General in the Carter Administration.
Pottinger is a former trustee of the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, and served as a member of the United Nations Association's Advisory Committee for Multilateral Projects. He was a director of NABCO, the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations, and a founding director of Voters for Choice, a non-partisan organization promoting women pro-choice candidates for electoral office.
Pottinger has written for a number of magazines and periodicals and has an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Lincoln University. In 1974, he was named by Time magazine as one of 200 "Future Leaders of America."
Pottinger is the father of three grown children and lives in the New York area.
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AUTHOR TALK
 December 2006
Bestselling author Stan Pottinger tackles the timely topic of the oil industry in his fourth novel, THE BOSS. In this interview, Pottinger discusses the similarities and differences between himself and his characters, and explains how his previous career in law has helped to shape his writing. He also addresses the moral questions his book raises and shares his thoughts on the status of white-collar crime.
Question: THE BOSS, your fourth novel, uses the oil industry as a background. Why did you choose this industry over others?
Stan Pottinger: Oil is a bigger addiction than crack. It's more intoxicating than alcohol and more powerful than nitro. We go to war for it, guzzle it, and make astronomical profits from it. Whenever you have this much money and power concentrated in one product, you have the perfect stage for the conflict, drama, and sex a good novel needs. We're trapped by our dependence on oil, and we'll do anything to escape it --- but not every choice is right or sensible. In comes THE BOSS.
Q: Now that women are making it to the top, are they just as ruthless as men?
SP: Of course --- and why shouldn't they be? Some are as ruthless, tough, and driven as men and some are talented, honest, and noble. Women in positions of power run the character gamut as much as men. Tacoma Reed is a beautiful, talented, and intuitive woman in ways that make her a mystery to the two men in her life. We don't know who she really is until we near the end of the book.
Q: One of the story's main characters, Spin Patterson, is a man who seemingly has everything. In your opinion, is it possible to be financially successful in life without being corrupt?
SP: It's possible, but not easy. Success as we define it in the modern world depends on power, and as Lord Acton said, "All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It's at the intersection of success and corruption that this novel lies. What are more important, wealth, money, and power, or honesty, integrity, and love? Everyone faces this question at some point or other, if they're lucky. It's the question that gives THE BOSS its drumbeat from the first page to the last.
Q: Before you embarked on a writing career, you practiced law, arguing four cases in front of the Supreme Court. How much of your legal background do you inject into your plotlines?
SP: My experience in government, politics, and law has helped shape all my books to some extent or another. The intrigue, power struggles, and energy that reflect a lust for money and power are the common stuff of life in American cities like Houston, Washington, and New York. They and other cities of political power and commerce are the "playgrounds of the rich and powerful" in real life and in THE BOSS.
Q: Black Eyes is a fictional device in THE BOSS that could detect oil tens of thousands of miles in the ground. Do you know if such technology exists today?
SP: It does exist --- though it's not yet perfected. The book is based on real technology and science that is currently in development in one form or another. You may have recently seen that a major oil producer found a deep field in the Gulf of Mexico with the help of technology reminiscent of Black Eyes, the Deep Sonar invention used in THE BOSS.
Q: Do you relate to a particular character in THE BOSS? Do Spin Patterson, Max McLennon or Joe Wright in any way mirror Stan Pottinger?
SP: All my characters, including female characters, are a mix of personal experience, observation, and good old-fashioned imagination. So no, there is no single character that mirrors my life or experience. Like most people, I have never murdered anyone, but like most people, I've imagined it. In THE BOSS, much of the story is told through the eyes of Max McLennon, the young man caught in the middle, so if any character tends to see things as I do, it would probably be him more than the others. But unlike Max, I have never fallen in love with a beautiful part-Indian, part-Scottish woman, so on that score, I envy him more instead of mirroring him.
Q: The "buried alive" scene with Max and Tacoma seems so real. How did you come to write it?
SP: When I was a prosecutor with the Justice Department, one of the enduring questions we used to kick around was one that still exists: "What happened to Jimmy Hoffa?" It raises a recurring question, which is where could you bury someone where they'd never be found? My answer to that is the scene in the book where two people are buried alive. How they try to get out of it --- and how they succeed if they do --- is apparently not something Hoffa experienced.
Q: Should readers loathe or sympathize with Max McLennon's brother, Will?
SP: Will is a complex mixture of good and evil, strength and moral weakness. So our sympathies for him will vary from one moment to the next depending on what he's doing. But I think most of us will identify with his feelings of anger and hurt, either from our own experience or that of someone we know. At the end --- without giving away what that is --- the conflicts he feels inside himself are resolved by the choices he makes, not imposed on him from the outside. Escaping self loathing --- almost regardless of how it is done --- is a moral victory that's sympathetic.
Q: Do you think we've seen the last of high-profile white-collar crimes?
SP: Not a chance. Not now, not in the future, not in America or anywhere else on the globe where humans can exploit fellow workers. In one way or another, "white collar crime" has always been with us, from the "fur collar" crime of the cave man to the "tunic collar" crime of the Roman Empire to the "church collar" crime of the middle ages to the white collar crime of Enron. Of course we'd be better off without it, but we'd probably miss it so much we'd re-invent it. It's a reflection of the real life we live, but that's the fun of reading a story like THE BOSS.
© Copyright 2010, Stan Pottinger. All rights reserved.
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
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AUTHOR TALK
 August 15, 2003
Stan Pottinger, author of THE LAST NAZI talks to Bookreporter.com readers about his new novel, what he likes readers to find in his books, and his background in the legal and justice systems and how they influenced his work. For more about Stan, go to StanPottinger.com.
Q: What do you love the most about writing?
SP: When it's over.
Q: Seriously?
SP: It feels good when I'm done with a book and I've accomplished what I've set out to do. But I've written only three novels, so I'm not the world's expert on how to write. Actually, it feels a little pretentious talking about it.
Q: What do you love about the writing itself while you're doing it?
SP: When the characters you've created are saying and doing something interesting, that's great. There's this notion that they tromp around inside your head and live lives of their own, but it's exaggerated. You're still the one with the fingers on the keyboard.
Q: And when your writing is not working?
SP: You wonder what ever possessed you.
Q: Do you write to be rich and famous?
SP: Not hardly. If that's what you want, there are easier ways to get both rich and famous.
Q: What do you want your readers to get out of your writing?
SP: Entertainment first. Without that, you don't have an audience. Beyond that, occasionally a reader will say he or she learned something new or had a new thought, but that's pure gravy. Bad metaphor; "pure gravy" is over the hill.
Q: So is "over the hill."
SP: You and my editor have a lot in common.
Q: Do your readers ever say they got something important out of your books?
SP: I once got a letter from a prisoner who said that something I wrote changed his life.
Q: Which book?
SP: THE FOURTH PROCEDURE.
Q: What was he referring to?
SP: As I recall, he said it softened his anger toward women.
Q: Were you flattered by it?
SP: It was very touching, yes.
Q: What made you start writing?
SP: I wanted to make a movie, so I went to film school in the eighties. But making a movie is a full-time collaborative effort, and at the time I had other work that didn't allow that. So I started writing fiction.
Q: Had you ever written before?
SP: No. At least, I didn't think so. But since then, I've come across some bad short stories I'd written over the years that suggest I must have been writing without realizing it. Not a good state of mind to be in if you're a writer.
Q: Writing wasn't your first career choice, law was. You argued several cases in front of the Supreme Court and had a very successful legal career. Why did you give it up?
SP: We all have to zig and zag to find out where we ultimately want to go.
Q: Did law practice influence your writing?
SP: Absolutely. It gave me experience, particularly in the Justice Department. Law also teaches you the secret of a novel, which is to do research.
Q: You were Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department during the greatest upheaval since the World War II: Viet Nam, Watergate, Kent State, cities burning down around the country. What was that like?
SP: A tumultuous period in American history. At one time, my kids found it hard to believe that there was an M-60 machine gun on the steps of the U. S. Capitol -- not during the Civil War, but in 1970.
Q: Was it difficult being in government then?
SP: In some ways, but it was also exciting. In times of peace and prosperity, government is dull. When the country's in trouble, politics is full of fun and opportunity. Perverse, but true.
Q: Is finding a story the hardest part about being a writer?
SP: Not really. I have a computer full of plots, stories, and characters. The hardest thing is the discipline. Getting sleep, exercising, eating right, shutting out email, staying focused. Thinking.
Q: Thinking?
SP: Sustained, consecutive thought is hard to do.
Q: What part of the writing process comes easiest for you?
SP: Easiest, easiest. Can't think of anything that's really easy.
Q: Relatively speaking.
SP: Relatively speaking, I'd have to say dialogue. I can't explain why, but I seem to hear it.
Q: Whose dialogue do you like?
SP: Elmore Leonard's for one -- he's everyone's favorite dialogue writer, and for good reason. I remember reading a couple of pages of dialogue in Don DeLillo's UNDERGROUND that were so good I had to re-read them a couple of times.
Q: Let's talk about some of the things you've written about. Abortion, racism, anti-Semitism in your latest novel, THE LAST NAZI -- all controversial, hot-button issues. Why?
SP: I'm trying to find subjects that haven't been trod a whole lot. When I wrote THE FOURTH PROCEDURE, I hadn't seen a book where the conflict over abortion was the backdrop issue. The book isn't about abortion per se, but the pros and cons of the issue shape the characters' behavior. In A SLOW BURNING I hadn't seen a book about racism and the brain -- where those two things intersect. And I hadn't seen a book where anti-Semitism and modern science collide, so I tried to join them in THE LAST NAZI.
Q: You write a lot of strong female characters. Why is that?
SP: They exist in real life. Women make up half the human race.
Q: Being a man, do you find women characters difficult to write?
SP: Male characters closest to my own experience are the hardest to write.
Q: Why so?
SP: Because I tend to censor myself. I present them as modest because I don't want to seem immodest. If you're not careful about this, you can end up with a male character who lacks the elasticity he needs to make him interesting. Maybe he's not as flawed as he should be, or maybe he lacks a heroic dimension he needs.
Q: What about writing characters who are unlike you?
SP: Much easier to write. Take J. J. Jackson, a crazy killer in A SLOW BURNING, the meanest, nastiest character I've ever written. Fiction allows you to go to the dark side-as a reader or writer-in a way you obviously cannot do in real life. That's part of the attraction of fiction.
Q: I'd think writing from your own experience would be easier.
SP: In some respects it is, of course, but if you grew up as a white, middle-class guy who was taught to be socially responsible, you have to get yourself out of that self-identity in order to write the dark side. You know the question that lurks: "What would my mother think if she read this?" Actually, my mother was pretty open-minded, but you get the idea.
Q: I think so many people believe they can know the writer by reading what he writes. Can they?
SP: Not much. It's not my job as a writer to present my authentic self through my characters. I'm not writing memoirs.
Q: Which of your characters comes closest to you?
SP: In my first book, Jack MacLeod was based about a third on my personal experience, a third on observation of people like him, and a third on imagination. That's the nice thing about fiction, you can make things up.
Q: What's the key to writing a good sex scene?
SP: Hm. Probably simultaneity. Two things going on at once. While a man and a woman are having sex, there should be something else happening along with it. Maybe someone is hiding in the closet and they don't know it, and we're worried about it. Maybe the woman is worried that the baby is about to cry, or the man is worried he can't make a mortgage payment. The "other" thing can be internal or external, it just needs to be enough to give the reader a fig leaf.
Q: A fig leaf?
SP: Something to hide behind. Many Americans are uncomfortable reading explicit sex, so a second agenda gives the reader some psychological cover, so to speak. Another thing you can do is simply not be explicit. Less is more. Let the reader fill in the blanks. But how far you should pull back from explicit description is hard to know, so simultaneity is probably a good idea in any event.
Q: Is there something that would surprise your readers about you if they learned it?
SP: You mean if they knew me through the book and then met me in reality, what would not fit?
Q: Yes.
SP: I don't know what they'd say. I'd love to ask.
Q: Who were some of your heroes? In real life and in literature?
SP: I'd say my father was one. He died when I was eighteen. I found a heroic side to him in the last three or four years of his life, during my high school years. He had a lot of strength -- in some ways, too much. He was a Scottish guy who was pretty demanding of himself. But he gave a lot, too. Only recently have I understood him better.
Q: Who else?
SP: Elliot Richardson was as heroic a public figure as I've ever known. He held several big jobs, including Secretary of Defense and Attorney General, where I worked for him. He was talented and effective but never used his skills without thinking about the big picture. He had this principle that sounds like a cliché when you hear it, but it was germane when you had to make tough policy decisions that were bound to help some people and hurt others. He'd say, "Why don't we do what's right?" Believe it or not, it was a valuable question that actually influenced your thinking.
Q: Any heroes in your books?
SP: Melissa Gale, the protagonist in my latest book, THE LAST NAZI, has heroic qualities because she wasn't born to be a heroine but becomes one anyway. She finds the nerve to stand up to something very bad, not only for her own sake, but for others. People who show nerve in the face of danger to their physical selves or their psyches are heroes to me.
Q: What have you discovered about yourself through writing?
SP: I think writing forces you to be honest. You can write dishonestly for a while, but you won't have much of an audience.
Q: What is dishonest writing?
SP: Political correctness is one form of it -- at least if you write it because you think it's what your audience wants to hear. Anything that intimidates you will make your writing suspect.
Q: What are some of your favorite movies?
SP: Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, The Godfather I, The Godfather II, Citizen Kane, High Noon, Casablanca. More recent movies: Mostly Martha . . .
Q: If you were to read for pleasure right now, what would you grab?
SP: Nelson DeMille, Scott Turow, Tess Gerritsen. Martin Cruz Smith. Michael Crichton when he's on. Gay Talese.
Q: If you were going to read something to learn how to be a better writer, what would you read?
SP: The only book on writing I've read that was helpful is Renni Brown's book, SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS. Most books on writing are homages to other writers or romantic notions of how the writer's life is supposed to be led. Amy Hempel, who's a great writer and teacher, says that ultimately all writers are self-taught.
Q: Would you encourage people who want to write to try, or warn them off?
SP: I'd tell them to go for it with their eyes open. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Fortunately, for those who can't do it, it's not the only rewarding life there is. But when it works, there's nothing like it.
© Copyright 2010, Stan Pottinger. All rights reserved.
Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2010, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
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