The Power Trio, with S.E. Boyd

S.E. Boyd is the creation of veteran journalists Kevin Alexander and Joe Keohane, and editor Alessandra Lusardi. All lightly damaged Catholics prone to extensive over-analysis, Alexander, Keohane, and Lusardi have, between them, authored four books, edited dozens more, and written for Esquire, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, among others. Alexander also won a James Beard Award for food writing, a fact Keohane and Lusardi are both tired of hearing about. They joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about their first novel, The Lemon.

How our celebrity-obsessed culture influenced the book’s premise, and their particular fascination with what they call “the Celebrity-Death-Industrial Complex.” Their unique writing process, and why it has more in common with a TV writers’ room than typical novel-writing. Why the character at the center of the book is called John Doe: “In dying famous, he became the property of others; he is a cipher for whatever you want him to mean to you.” Their backgrounds in the food industry, print and digital media, and publishing, and how that insider knowledge informs THE LEMON Why they were drawn to writing about the food world – and why food celebrities are “often the most entertaining.” Their research for the book, and how various plot threads – about music, Belfast and Northern Ireland, upscale design firms, and more – came to be.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UZB4s2

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9780593490440