Pat Conroy to Publish 1st Book Since '95

Novelist Pat Conroy, class of 1967 at The Citadel, delivers the commencement address to The Citadel class of 2001 at McAlister Field House Saturday morning, in a May 12, 2001 photo, in Charleston, S.C. "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.(AP Photo/Post & Courier, Mic Smith, file) (Mic Smith - AP)

FRIPP ISLAND, S.C. -- "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 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."

Conroy, 62, said his wife Cassandra King, author of "Queen of Broken Hearts," is a much happier writer.

"I'll hear her cackle with laughter at some funny line she's written," he said. "I've never cackled with laughter at a single line I've ever written. None of it has given me pleasure. She writes with pleasure and joy, and I sit there in gloom and darkness."

Conroy has not published a novel since 1995's "Beach Music." He spoke to the newspaper to promote a fund-raising appearance he's making for a library foundation.