Entitled
by Leonard H. Orr
Synopsis (from Amazon):
To protect their lavish allowances, four charismatic sisters in their thirties try to seduce, cajole, and mislead their less well-off neighbor Benjamin, who their father has hired to investigate an attempt to smother him while he was in the hospital recovering from a car crash. Their feckless brother responds by threatening Benjamin with a shotgun, while their socialite mother falsely confesses to the crime. Trying to dominate everyone is their father, a wheeling, dealing, helicopter-flying entrepreneur who is afraid he might have hallucinated the smothering, even more afraid that it might have been real, and terrified that he might be losing control of his family and fortune. Desperate, he implements a devious and dastardly scheme . . .
Played out on the fashionable Connecticut shore and Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the shenanigans of the entitled rich don’t prevent Benjamin from finding the truth, and maybe even love.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218456153-entitled
Author Interview:
There are many books out there about wealth affecting families. What makes yours different?
I’m familiar with the milieu I write about, so I hope people can learn something about it. I’m particularly interested in the debilitating effects of wealth and success on family life, especially children. Also, I try not to over-explain. I want readers to use their own experience and perception to fill in the blanks.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?
I used to think writing was a constant struggle between me and writer’s block. Now I feel the experience is more like a vigil, where I need to wait out my lack of ideas until something useful strikes me. The only things that help are time and rest.
What is your next project?
I’m writing a novel about madness and greed and murder on Wall Street.
What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
There was a subplot where Jody and a local hooligan sabotaged each other’s vehicles. It was fun but a distraction.
What advice do you have for budding writers?
When I was younger I received all kinds of good advice, often from myself. But I didn’t, or couldn’t, follow it. Nevertheless here goes:
- Write about what you know.
- Find good readers and editors and listen carefully to their reactions. By and large, the angrier it makes you, the more accurate it is.
In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?
I often wake up at night with ideas for writing. I jot them down on a notepad near my bed. They’re usually useful but sometimes worthless.
If you were stuck on a deserted island, which 3 books would you want with you?
The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Crime and Punishment. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
If there is one thing you want readers to remember about you, what would it be?
I value my privacy and don’t enjoy self-promotion, but it seems to be how books and a lot else are sold these days. So indulge me.
Author bio:
Leonard H. Orr has written for The Village Voice, The New York Times, and other publications. A graduate of Swarthmore College, he has also been an editor and investment manager, where he’s been a witness to the ambition and entitlement and sorrow his novel portrays.
Website: https://www.leonard-orr.com/
Praise:
“A knotted and frequently engaging tale of deception and family secrets.” – Kirkus Reviews
“In his literary debut, Leonard Orr demonstrates that he is a superb writer of spare, precise, and compelling prose. At the core of Entitled is hyperwealth and how it embroils a family. Like the The Great Gatsby, Orr’s gripping novel brings romance, selfishness, familial enmity, irony (even a touch of humor), and terrible tragedy to these lives of privilege. I highly recommend it.” – Peter Carry, writer, editor
“The twisted plot of this surprising whodunnit is a hunt for who didn’t do it-who it was that tried but failed to kill the rich and ruthless old patriarch. From the start, however, those suspects include even the old man’s loved ones. Set among the strivers and connivers of New York’s upper 1%, Orr’s engaging tale is a feast of family dysfunction, privilege, and secrets.” – William C. Rempel, bestselling author of The Gambler and At the Devil’s Table
“This is an intelligent, strong, intricate narrative, carried along by characters who are well drawn and complete, at least for the purposes they play in this narrative. While Benjamin claims much of the spotlight, Charlie Cantling’s presence is remarkable in its various roles – catalyst, antagonist, egomaniacal patriarch, with personal traits that all point to meanness and manipulation. Beyond that, four distinctive sisters, a woebegone brother, and Benjamin’s own brother come across as the various components of a complex mélange, each with his or her own psychological damage stemming from Charlie’s machinations. There’s a sophistication to all this that is quite refreshing, and very well done.” – Greg Fields, author of The Bright Freight of Memory
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