Wilmington native Lea Carpenter is a prolific author and screenwriter known for her captivating novels and work in film and television. Here, the New Yorker discusses her 2024 novel, “Ilium,” and how her Delaware roots inspire her creativity.
What inspired you to start writing?
After college, I moved to New York City, worked in publishing, and helped start a literary magazine. Then I went to business school and made a series of choices that seemed to take me farther from writing a book. When I helped then-Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who was considering writing a book, my passion for writing was reignited. I wrote my first book, “Eleven Days” [Vintage, 2013], which was inspired by [the experience of] losing my father and my interest in military intelligence.
Tell us about “Ilium.”
It was inspired by the real-life story of William Buckley, a CIA station chief in Beirut in the 1980s who was kidnapped and assassinated. The book revolves around a group of friends avenging one of their own who is assassinated. It’s a classic espionage story with a young British woman at its center, and the narrative unfolds in reverse. I am interested in real-life stories and how I can translate them into fiction or use them as a peg to inspire a made-up story.
How does working on films and television compare to writing a book?
With a book, the author [is] the absolute dictator; [they] make every decision, alongside an editor. Some people prefer that control, but it can be freeing when someone else makes the decisions. In film, the director is the absolute dictator, and as a screenwriter, you are in service of the director’s vision. In television, the writer or showrunner plays a significant role, similar to a CEO.
How has your Delaware upbringing shaped your work?
The landscape has been a significant influence. While writing my first book, I had a copy of Andrew Wyeth’s “Otherworld” painting hanging over my desk, in which his wife Betsy is [depicted] inside a jet overlooking the Delaware and Chadds Ford landscape. I was imagining this sense of always wanting to get back to the beauty of that. I’ve tried to travel the world a little bit, but I’ve never been in a place quite as beautiful as what I think of the rural parts of Delaware and Chadds Ford.
I always remember people asking my father why he would choose to live in Delaware. Why not Paris or Istanbul or Los Angeles? And he said, “In Delaware, you can have work that’s meaningful, but you can also encounter a deer on the drive home at night.” Not to overly romanticize it, but I do think there’s something about the size of the state that can allow you to do something impactful in whatever line of work you choose, and yet you have this beautiful landscape. Despite living in New York City now, I am a country kid at heart, and Delaware will always be home.
“Ilium” (Penguin Random House, 2024) will be available in paperback in early 2025. For more information, visit leacarpenter.com.
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