Adam O'Fallon Price, "Vera Something"

It’s December 10. Adam O’Fallon Price, author of The Hotel Neversink, would walk five hundred miles, but not a step further.

How would you describe your story?

ADAM O’FALLON PRICE: “Man who met the love of his life one night and then lost her number spends the next ten years trying to find her."

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

AP: "Vera Something" is a chapter from my novel The Hotel Neversink that got axed during the editing process. Not because I didn't like it! In fact, it was one of my favorites in the book. But my editor and I discovered that what really worked best for the book was mostly limiting the stories to members of the family (and a couple of employees), and so it got cut. The writing process was really the same as the rest of the chapters, just imagining people visiting, living, and working at the Hotel Neversink over the course of three generations.

What kind of research went into this story?

AP: A little historical research and reading about the matchmaking process at Grossinger's, as well as fact checking some stuff from that era, for instance, about Levittown. And looking at maps for street names in Brooklyn.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can’t?

AP: Short stories can pry up the edges of human psychology and give you a glimpse into the abyss better than any other narrative form, in my opinion. Their condensed nature allows the author to get at the heart of a character without much fooling around or world-building. And they're perfectable in a way novels aren't—there are many perfect short stories, but probably no perfect novels.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

AP: My website, I suppose: www.adamofallonprice.com.

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

AP: My parents gave me and acoustic guitar at age 14, that I still have and play 30 years later, and which would be the first thing I'd save from a burning building after my wife and dog and I suppose my laptop, if I had no back-up of all my writing. So, that.

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