A philosopher leaps in with two feet and pens... a crime novel: Lee McIntyre

HALLIE EPHRON: Lee McIntyre is a genuine philosopher, one of those amazing people who thinks deeply and systematically, and relishes talking to people who disagree with him. His non-fiction books have taken him far and wide -- Post-Truth(Post-Truth which was named a Best Book of 2018 on the PBS News Hour), and The Scientific Attitude  about pseudoscience and science denial. His op-ed pieces have appeared in publications like The New York Times and he's been an invited speaker at the United Nations.

But as long as he's been working on those books, on the side he's been nurturing his first work of crime fiction, The Sin Eater. It's about a high-tech executive who fights back when social services acting on a complaint from a disgruntled nanny, tries to take away his daughter. As any parent will attest, those are high stakes indeed.

Today, celebrating the release of The Sin Eater, we're hosting Lee. And I'm wondering when he decided to let his career fork in two different directions.

LEE MCINTYRE: In 2004, I came to the point in my career where I was either going to make good on my dream of becoming a writer or I wasn't. And if I was going to leap....well why not with both feet?

As a philosophy professor, I'd written some very twisty, complex essays, but probably not what you'd call a "page turner." My ambition had always been to write philosophy for a general audience -- to get others as excited about philosophy as I was. Non-fiction seemed a good bet and, after some success with a few books, I finally broke through with a bestseller called POST-TRUTH (MIT Press, 2018). To say that I hit the "zeitgeist" of the post-election moment would be an understatement.

But I harbored a deep secret, for all along I'd also been working on a novel. It's a little known fact that many philosophers adore crime fiction. Even a genius like Ludwig Wittgenstein...he ate it up! Maybe it's the mystery. Or the fact that it engaged his brain. Anyway, it's what I read too. Then one day I thought "how hard can this be?" Well....as it turns out....

Philosophy played a role here. The kind of suspense that really excites me isn't the six foot six ex-Green Beret whom you just know is going to cut through people like butter. Instead, I like the "ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances" type of thriller: Joe Finder, Linwood Barclay, Harlen Coben, and Brad Parks. I want a hero I can identify with, who has to reach deep within himself to figure out how to do something he never thought possible. For what stakes? For me it's always family. I teach ethics, but let me tell you: seeing your family in peril is what would probably make almost anyone cross a moral boundary. 

So I got the idea for a thriller called THE SIN EATER, which is about a Dad who has his daughter taken by child protective services, based on a false complaint from the family's new nanny. When the nanny turns up dead, all hell breaks loose and "dad" has to go badass -- hiding out with his friend in a biker club -- to learn how to solve the conspiracy against him and get his daughter back. I'm overjoyed that THE SIN EATER was picked up by Braveship Books and will be published this fall!

So here's the thing everyone wants to know: which is harder to write, fiction or non-fiction? For me, it's fiction. With non-fiction you're building a wall; with fiction you're in a snowy field trying to find your way home. I will say that I think my non-fiction improved as a result of writing fiction. Sometimes what really convinces people isn't an argument but a STORY.

Next, I've got another non-fiction project, where I go out on the road and talk to science deniers, trying to convince them with argumentative techniques based on the latest research. But I've got another novel in the works too. This one is about a guy who loses his family in a tragedy, then finds redemption in a series of "moral" crimes to make the world a better place. Think BEAUTIFUL MIND crossed with DEATH WISH. There's some philosophy here too. I joke that the working title of my book should be "utilitarian vigilante." But instead I've decided to call it THE ART OF GOOD AND EVIL. Hey, even a philosopher needs to make a few sales!

HALLIE: I so agree with Lee -- fiction is infinitely more difficult to write than nonfiction, though my nonfiction is far less rigorous than his. I love his analysis: nonfiction is like building a wall versus fiction which is trying to find your way home. 

So readers and writers, what's more challenging for you to READ or WRITE? Fiction or nonfiction.