Interview

Reed Arvin discusses how his writing was honed by experiencing divorce, cancer and a change of career, all in three months - and how he learned to handle crises from his mother, the first blind woman judge in American history.

You were a musician for quite some time, yes?
I made my living as a studio musician and record producer for nearly twenty years before I started writing. I played with Amy Grant for several years, and had a chance to see the world touring with her and other artists.
My musical voyages have taken me to some very strange places. I was once in a reggae band in which the drummer's name -- I mean the one on his driver's license, not his nickname -- was Turnip Greens. First name Turnip, last name Greens. I've been in salsa bands, and I once played in a Latin band in the garage of a Ford dealership in Guadalajara. Another time, I played for some drug dealers in Colombia. I didn't know they were drug dealers until afterwards, when they tried to pay the band with cocaine. Believe me, the music business was everything I had heard about and more. Eventually I became a producer, which at least meant I got to stay home for a change. Academically, I have two degrees in music.

Do you feel that background helped with your new career as a novelist?
For me, studying music was actually better preparation for writing than studying writing. Some things you have to learn by coming at ...