Interview with Richard Warburg, Author of Around a Table: Colorful Romance

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?

Most books of this genre focus on one person and their love story. I wanted a book that was for all people and all stories, and that asked questions that most people don't know how to ask, let alone know their own answers to.

I have always admired those who know, even at a young age, that they don't fit a stereotype—they are the most amazing people among us.

For years, people have trusted me with the most private chapter of their lives—the moment they found a word that finally fit, or watched someone they loved come home using language they'd never heard.

A student discovering nonbinary after a lifetime of feeling unseen. A woman realizes why her marriage of twenty years never felt right. A father learning, late, that he wasn't interested in the widows his church kept introducing him to. A man knowing she was not a man.

I kept those stories, and I wanted to give them back as a novel—not a textbook, not an argument, but people you fall in love with around a table.

Understanding doesn't start with definitions. It starts with recognition: seeing someone's life and thinking, " Oh, that's what it feels like.

I wrote the book so a reader could have that moment many times over.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?

"If the whole book had a theme, it'd be 'I Know a Place' by MUNA—a place where everyone is safe and welcome, which is the whole idea of the table. For a few of the people you'll meet, I chose songs by artists from across the spectrum the book is about: Elena, 'The Joke' (Brandi Carlile); Walter and Miguel, 'Your Song' (Elton John); Casey, Alex, and Sage, 'Make Me Feel' (Janelle Monáe); Morgan and Singh, 'Tilted' (Christine and the Queens); a student finding their word, 'Gloria' (Sam Smith); and Lora, 'I Am Her' (Shea Diamond)."

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I really like to read something that challenges me to think and learn—themes that make you work outside the usual box. I write in many genres, and they all follow the same theme: I try my best to be nonjudgmental and nonpartisan, and to present all the views I can on a subject.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

I tend to read every book I can find related to whatever subject I'm writing about! I'm working on five new books presently and finishing up six more, so my TBR pile is full of titles on politics, humanity, and all different kinds of people. But I have two in the pile right now from authors I met at a festival who impressed me with their life stories. They're authentic and extraordinary—Etaf Rum and Nanda Reddy.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The scene where the three people in a polyamorous relationship meet and try to understand what makes it work for them. Getting inside each character's mind was both fun and challenging.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I like to be alone and outline my book quickly until it's about 50 pages long—with all the characters described in detail, the chapters defined, and so forth. Then I let it sit with me in my mind and finally try to write until I can't write any more. The first draft is usually poor, but by the third or so, it's getting to something I can print and read in book form. I find that the printed book helps me see quite differently from the screen and spot errors I've missed through multiple revisions.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

There's a seat at every table for everyone—but someone has to set it. I'd rather be the person who pulls out the extra chair than the one who decides who belongs.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That understanding someone doesn't begin with learning the right vocabulary—it begins with recognition. The words come after. If a reader finishes the book with language for a conversation they didn't know how to start, I've done my job. If they finish it caring about people they couldn't have imagined caring about before, I've done better than my job.