‘Back to normal’ for Pat Conroy

“The Prince of Tides” author Pat Conroy says he’s finishing his first novel in more than a decade, and it will mark a return to the same dysfunctional characters he’s known for.

Conroy’s last book was a cookbook published in 2004.

“I loved writing that book.... Now, of course, everybody in this new book is dying and driving themselves off cliffs,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “So I’m back to normal.”

The new novel is set in Charleston, S.C., and is already nearly 700 pages, Conroy said.

“It drives me nuts. But long-windedness ... there’s nothing you can do about it. I wanted to write a 250-page novel, but I realize I can’t even write a prologue that’s 250 pages.”