Norrin M. Ripsman

I've always loved fiction and wanted to write. When I was 15, I wrote a prologue and 4 chapters of a novel I never finished. I always knew that I would return to writing fiction at some point and my father's terminal illness in late 2019 was the spark that made me realize I shouldn't put it off indefinitely.

I love Graham Greene (The Heart of the Matter, The Power and the Glory); John Le Carre (The Spy that Came in from the Cold; A Perfect Spy, The Russia House); Kirin Desai (The Inheritance of Loss); John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath); Milan Kundera (The Joke); and Ernest Hemingway (For Whom the Bell Tolls). Reading, and often rereading, these classics taught me the key elements of how to write.

My books focus on internality. I shine a light on the innermost hopes and fears of my characters, who try to navigate an uncertain world with their imperfect principles.

I have a number of favorite characters, although by favorite, I don't mean to imply that I admire them or would want to emulate them. The main character of my first novel, Gabriel, is a fascinating character. He came into being on a long walk, as I imagined an enigma: a brilliant, well-educated homeless man who doesn't drink or do drugs, but instead pursues his twisted conception of justice and religion. In Bullet Holes, I love the character of Carrie, a whimsical, well-meaning individual who is baffled by the inability of others to understand how messed up Manny is. She was born out of an understanding that only a pure of heart outsider could offer any hope for the Perlmutter's after their tragedy.

Though I have specialized in literary fiction. I have written a spy thriller that I'm currently editing. I'm also in the midst of a much more daring, experimental novel.