Author Barry Lancet reveals how his years as an editor in Tokyo shaped his thriller “Japantown”: The Japan Times
The recent success of Barry Lancet, first time author and resident of Japan for over 25 years, reads like a bar-stool fantasy for any wanna-be writer, and Lancet’s definitely enjoying the dream-like reality. With the TV rights optioned by Hollywood, positive reviews surging in across the globe, six countries joining the bids for translations, his mystery-thriller “Japantown” provides ample reason to celebrate. Yet Lancet modestly raises a glass to his main character, Jim Brodie.
“The idea for ‘Japantown’ started with Brodie,” Lancet says. “I had this character in my head, and I wanted him to explain the cultural side of Japan, but because it’s a novel and because you must have conflict, you can’t only focus on the highs. You need the lows for balance.”
