My father was a Mathematics teacher, a charming teacher who coaxed students into learning. He was not a scientist. I was, however, always interested in philosophy and physics. The professor in the book is much more intellectual than my father and the intellectual preoccupation is my invention. I have this belief that philosophy is related to childhood.
Children ask simple questions that are deeply philosophical.
I wanted to capture that. My novel is a hybrid between autobiography and invention. It was 1993 and my literary agent got discouraged easily. I then started my second novel, which became The Professor of Light . A small press approached me and I sold them my first novel.