Tokyo Tempos received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Michael Pronko.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Tokyo Tempos, December 2024
What’s the book’s first line?
“One evening years ago, after a drinking party with students, I was heading through Shinjuku Station with one of my students who took the same train line. Suddenly, I took her arm and shuffled out of the rush of people. I pulled my pen and notebook from my pocket to scribble down an idea that had just clicked.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
These short pieces muse over the mundane and majestic aspects of daily life in Tokyo. After three decades of living in this amazing, confusing megalopolis, I write from inside and outside Tokyo life. I’ve lived here, but I’m not Japanese. So, it’s not a travel guide but more of a series of vignettes that reflect on the interesting experience of living in Tokyo.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Tokyo can be overwhelming at times, so that inspires me to respond. In reviews of my novels, reviewers often say, “Tokyo is like a character in the story!” So, I wanted to write about that character. I don’t want to personify the city, and I feel humbled that it’s too dense and kaleidoscopic to nail down precisely. Maybe it’s the very difficulty of writing about Tokyo that inspires me.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Tokyo is multilayered and fascinating, but it’s also hidden and disorienting. For me, personal narrative is one way to explore the experience of being in a place or seeing things more deeply. For anyone interested in Japan, Tokyo, or cities in general, these essays offer insights into the how and why of cities and Tokyo in particular. The focus on Tokyo’s unique details leads to universal connections.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I loved writing from as early as I can remember, going back to grade school. I always took copious notes in notebooks and have carried a pen and notebook with me for as long as I can remember. I slip it into a different pocket from my wallet, but it’s always there. In Tokyo, I found writing gigs for newspapers and magazines, paper and online, which blossomed into more writing. I teach American literature and studied philosophy, which all play into being an author. So, I’m not sure it was ever one big decision but a long series of small ones.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No, I have six novels and three other collections of short pieces on Tokyo life. Another novel is coming out in 2025, and a guidebook to jazz in Tokyo.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m a professor at Meiji Gakuin University. I learn a lot from my students, which went into one of the sections in this book. In the past, I never felt comfortable writing about what happens in or out of the classroom, but my students have been a constant presence in my life, so I wrote about my interactions with them. At a point, I had to admit how much impact they have had on me. Two of my former students are now editors of publications that print my writing. They’re tough on me!
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
As much as possible. I’m perfectionistic in the final stages, which slows things down, but writing is just integrated into my life. I do some parts of the writing process all the time. I like thinking, imagining, or scribbling notes when commuting on the train. I squeeze in focused time between classes, on weekends, and even during meetings. I write every morning for as long as I can manage.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
You have to do everything yourself, which is challenging. I think that it’s interesting to have a hand in every aspect of the publishing, editing, writing, marketing, and promotional process. I’d say there’s less luck in being indie and more work.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
I think there’s not enough time spent just hashing things out that most people will never see. Accept being inefficient. You have no choice. I throw a lot of words at the page at first and then consider that as material to shape. It’s not additive but rather subtractive in that sense, like peeling off clay from a pot thrown on a wheel.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Maybe, maybe not. I’d be pleased to “be called,” of course. Who wouldn’t? As with many power structures, they help in many ways but want something in return. It’d all be in the details.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I often wonder about that. There are different motivations on different days. There’s the big picture of expressing myself across distances. There’s the selfish pleasure of seeing my name “in lights.” There’s a compulsion to get things into words and to get those words right. And then there’s just a belief that writing will help me better understand things in this vast and confusing world. I call out a different motivation as needed.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
My list of admired writers would take so long to get down, not to mention the reasons, that I couldn’t pick just one.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
If I could have written any of the others, I would have! I can only write mine. But that’s what’s so unique about good writing: you always wish you could have written that.