Faithful to the Book Festival, and for good reason, Guillaume Musso is a writer from Antibes. He was long compared to Marc Levy due to the noticeable similarities in his first novel “And Afterwards?” with the books of the author “If Only It Were True…”.
However, Guillaume Musso is different. Today, having made his mark with his two other novels, this author is starting to shed this flattering label, becoming truly unique in his style of writing.
“And Afterwards?”, “Save Me”, “Will You Be There?”, 3 novels to read this summer!
For now, let’s leave a page of writing to Guillaume Musso.
Nice-Première: As a professor of economics in Antibes, how did you come to writing?
Guillaume Musso: It started in tenth grade when a French teacher organized a short story competition in my class. I won the competition by writing a text inspired by my readings at the time: Stephen King and Alain Fournier. The fact that one of my texts could resonate with others guided me toward literature.
N-P: So, it’s thanks to school that you’re a writer?
G.M.: Yes. But my mother is a librarian. I was immersed in the world of books from a very young age. But yes, that competition was the triggering incident.
N-P: Will you be able to live solely from writing?
G.M.: I could have for the past two years because it’s been very successful. Financially, I could say that I’d give up my job for 2 or 3 years. But well, I like what I do and financial criteria are not the only ones that count when I make a decision. So, for now, I am flourishing in my two worlds: my profession and my passion which is writing. Why change?
N-P: What are your sources of inspiration?
G.M.: My sources of inspiration are absolutely everything. Of course, there are classic sources of inspiration: literature, theater, cinema, but also little moments of daily life. I always think when I watch people – “What if?” I always keep an ear out in the subway, because I live between Paris and here, or at a restaurant. Not to be voyeuristic, but to feed off people’s behaviors. Otherwise, the cinema is my other great source of inspiration. I often say that we are from the VHS/DVD generation where we discovered films, not like the previous generation with film clubs, but with the ability to deconstruct the film: pause, rewind… I replay the scene, dissect it… Having analyzed the structure of films from a very young age taught me how to construct a story.
N-P: Speaking of cinema, it seems that one of your novels “And Afterwards?” is going to be adapted into a movie?
G.M.: Yes, the rights were sold. It was bought by Fidélité Production, which produced films by François Ozon, Podium… It will be directed soon in New York with an international cast. But cinema takes a long time. Often when the rights to a book are purchased, it takes several years before it is put on the big screen. They want to do it well, meaning it isn’t too distorted from the book. The last version of the screenplay was close to the novel: I am confident.
N-P: What actors would you see playing the roles?
G.M.: I don’t have any particular fondness for actors in that world. I’m not a “groupie.” The world of cinema doesn’t particularly make me dream so… I don’t know. Even an unknown actor can deliver a good performance. I trust them.
N-P: How do you construct a novel?
G.M.: First, there’s a period of 6 to 7 months where it’s solely the structure of the book, the skeleton. That’s where we pay attention to the twists, to the factual construction of the book. It’s about ten pages where the chapters are in the form of summaries. The mechanics need to work well.
Then, there’s the actual writing and research, the construction of characters. A bit like putting skin on the skeleton. That, however, is not something technical. It’s what readers generally prefer. When I meet them in person or through emails or letters, they always tell me: “What we really like is that your characters are human.” And there’s no recipe for that, you just have to have compassion for your characters.
Two major steps. What’s interesting is when that somewhat mysterious chemistry forms and creates an emotion. For me, there’s nothing better than the emotion a reader feels when they close your book. That’s what I call goosebump literature. What really interests me is the emotion that the writer has felt.
N-P: What is a good book to you?
G.M.: It’s a book that makes the reader happy. I believe that’s the definition that suits me best. There are no good or bad books. There’s a good book for someone. Your good book might not be my good book.
N-P: Why do your scenes always take place in the USA?
G.M.: There’s no starry-eyed fascination with the United States. It’s a country I know well. I went there quite young to work. New York is a mysterious city. Often people say, “Anything can happen in New York.” My stories involving the supernatural, love, a thriller aspect, naturally fit well in that city. My last book “Will You Be There?” takes place in San Francisco because part of the book is set in the 70s. Each story must be enhanced by a city, a country that will give credibility to the story. Maybe one day, I’ll write a novel set in France.
N-P: You are often compared to Marc Levy?
G.M.: Yes. It’s not annoying, on the contrary. At the beginning, I was labeled in the lineage of Marc Levy by readers, bookstores, journalists. It’s true that we have common elements: the supernatural, the USA, love stories, a cinematic way of writing. But we have different universes. In recent articles, journalists have somewhat dropped this comparison. They’ve made others: Harlan Coben for the suspense aspect, Anna Gavalda for the accuracy of the emotions. It’s a comparison that pleases me.
N-P: Finally, if I say “First or First,” who or what comes to mind?
G.M.: The woman I love.
