Augustin Erba's Biography

They tried to talk me out of writing. They said I was a born mathematician and that I should spend my life making calculations improving missile orbits.

I refused.

I thought journalism would teach me how to write. It did and it did not. It taught me how to control my words. But it did not teach me how to tap into myself, how to lose control. They tell me I should be happy being a journalist. What do you want to accomplish with your writing that you cant do with your journalism? They keep asking me those questions. You have caused newspaper headlines that changed peoples lives. You have worked at the nine oclock news where you had millions of viewers. One of your radio shows was so provocative that you and your crew set a national record in complaints. What more do you want? I tell them they don't understand. I enjoy journalism. I sometimes love it. But writing books is different. I write because I cannot not write.