A Walk Across the Sun
1. What can you tell our readers about your new book A Walk Across the Sun?
It's a novel about justice and human dignity, about family, about loss and survival, and about the power of love to overcome even the most unimaginable obstacles. It addresses one of the most compelling human rights issues of our time--human trafficking--within the framework of a fast-paced, hopeful story that spans the globe.
2. John Grisham, said that it is 'a novel that is beautiful in its story and important in its message. A walk Across the Sun deserves a wide audience.' How does it feel to have a positive review from such a well known author?
John was incredibly gracious to offer me an endorsement for the book. As his own stories reveal, he has a deep passion for justice. It's an honor to have his support for this project.
3. What made you want to tell this tale?
My wife gave me the idea for the book after we watched a film that exposed the reality of sex trafficking in the United States. My goal in writing the novel was twofold. I wanted to humanize and personalize the subject of modern slavery for readers, and I wanted to leave people around the world with an inescapable question: Now that we understand that women and children are being horribly exploited all around us, what are we going to do about it?
4. The disaster of a tsunami is something that is approprite for the times, did you have to interview anyone who was a survivor of this natural disaster?
I spent over a month in India doing research for the novel. I visited the areas of Tamil Nadu affected by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, and I was privileged to interview a young woman who was swept away by the waves and survived. Her story was critical in helping me write the opening sequence of the book.
5. You began your career in law, so is this why your character Thomas Clarke was introduced?
Thomas is not a reflection of me. He is his own man. However, my experience as an attorney helped me to shape and understand his character and the world of both corporate law in Washington, D.C. and non-profit law in Bombay.
6. Who would you say have been your greatest influences in helping write this book?
I like to tell people that it took a village to write this book. So many people had a hand in it--from heroic activists in the field who showed me the truth about human trafficking to friends at home who supported my family while I was traveling to my amazing team of agents and editors who had a strong voice in how the book turned out. I give the most credit to my wife, Marcy. Without her love and support, the book would not exist.
7. Who do you most like to read?
In the world of fiction, my tastes are eclectic. I like thoughtful thrillers, historical fiction, issue novels, and international fiction. If it's well-written and compellingly plotted, if it teaches me about the world and takes me to a place I've never been before (or exposes a familiar place in a way I've never seen), I'll probably love it.
8. The novel starts in India, is this somewhere you visited to become familair with the surroundings?
I spent a week in Tamil Nadu researching the tsunami and three and a half weeks in Bombay with an NGO working on the streets to rescue minor girls from sex traffickers. My in-country research was extensive. I wanted the book to be thoroughly real in every respect.
9. This is your first novel, so what is next for you?
I'm finishing up the edit on another novel called "The Garden of Burning Sand," which addresses a handful of interrelated human rights issues in the context of Southern Africa and the United States. The new book is part mystery, part African legal thriller, and part American family drama.
10. The novel touches upon the sensitive subject of human trafficiking, so how do you go about handling it so well?
There were two keys to bringing human trafficking into fiction. First, I had to tell an honest story without delving into graphic detail. Second, I had to end the story on a note of hope. The ending reflects my personal feeling about this subject. Slavery is not inevitable. As our ancestors defeated African slavery, we can overcome the modern incarnation of the monster. I wanted readers to finish the book sobered but optimistic about the future of our world.
Female First Lucy Walton