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James Frey biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

James Frey
Photo © Michael Foley

James Frey

How to pronounce James Frey: fry

James Frey Biography

James Frey is originally from Cleveland. He is the author of A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard, Bright Shiny Morning, and The Final Testament of the Holy Bible, all international bestsellers. He has sold more than 20 million books and his work is published in forty-two languages.

James Frey's website

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Interview

James Frey describes what it took to write A Million Little Pieces

I started writing A Million Little Pieces in the Spring of 1996. For two or three years previous, I had been trying to figure out how to write it. I would sit down, start to work, and whatever came out was not what was in my head. The work did not have the strength I felt was going to be needed, it was not as simple as I wanted it to be, it was not able to carry the emotions I needed to express to tell the story. I kept at it, kept working. I wrote in my free time. I spent hours and hours and hours yelling at my computer, pacing across my floor back and forth back and forth, clenching my fists and clenching my jaw, writing and erasing, writing and erasing. It was never right, never even close, never what I thought, never what I felt. I needed to be able to write what I felt in my heart. I kept working. I kept working.

I sat down one morning. I had a cup of coffee strong and hot, I had a pack of cigarettes and ashtray. I read my latest attempts and they made me sick. I dragged them to the trash and sent them away bye-bye and good riddance. I opened a new document, took a deep breath, and without thinking or analyzing or struggling or even trying, I started to write....

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Books by this Author

Books by James Frey at BookBrowse
Katerina jacket Bright Shiny Morning jacket My Friend Leonard jacket A Million Little Pieces jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for James Frey but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Nick Hornby

    Nick Hornby

    Nick Hornby is the bestselling author of eight novels, including High Fidelity and About a Boy, and several works of non-fiction including his ground-breaking debut, Fever Pitch. He has written numerous award-winning ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    My Friend Leonard

    Try:
    A Long Way Down
    by Nick Hornby

  • Susanna Kaysen

    Susanna Kaysen

    Susanna Kaysen was born on 11 November, 1948, and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her father is the economist Carl Kaysen (b.1920), formerly a professor at MIT and advisor to President John F. Kennedy.  In 1967 ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    A Million Little Pieces

    Try:
    Girl, Interrupted
    by Susanna Kaysen

We recommend 9 similar authors

View all 9 Read-Alikes

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