Ed Burns: From Indie Filmmaker to Novelist, His Debut Novel is a Love Letter to His Mom

The cover of Ed Burns’s first novel, “A Kid From Marlboro Road,” features a dogeared snapshot of a barefoot boy perched on top of a street sign. The kid looks suspiciously like Burns himself.

The actor and filmmaker (“The Brothers McMullen,” “She’s the One”) says his book is a work of fiction, but there are plenty of parallels to his own life. The adolescent narrator is a son of an Irish Catholic couple from New York City, where Burns himself grew up. It’s a love letter to his mother, he says.

Burns has been busy: His next film, “Millers in Marriage,” premieres this week at the Toronto International Film Festival. He stops in at Wellesley Books on Friday to discuss the book and sign copies.

We caught up with him on the phone from his home on Long Island last week.

Ed Burns: Tracing His Irish Roots

Q. Do you know where your real-life clan is from in Ireland?

A. My mom’s family, they were from a town called Mullingar in Westmeath. Most of the story as it relates to the mother character actually comes from her life. My dad said his grandparents always talked about Cork, though we’ve never been able to trace them back there. The things I didn’t know, I filled in. Some things I changed. I was trying to convey an emotion, as opposed to making sure I have all the facts correct.

Q. Have you spent a lot of time in Ireland?

A. Very much so, yeah. Probably 15 years ago, when my mom was still alive, they went back to Westmeath to find her family’s home. The old-timer who owned it, he remembered my grandfather and the family. About eight years ago I took my kids back, and the old-timer sat us down in the kitchen and told us the stories that he’d told my parents.

I just finished shooting my first film in Ireland. It’s called “Finnegan’s Foursome.” It’s about an Irish family whose Irish-born father was a golf pro who came over to the States in the ′50s. And when he dies, his wish is to have his ashes brought back to Ireland. And he wants the annual family golf outing to continue without him. So it’s a golf, Irish history, Irish wake movie.

Ed Burns: The Inspiration Behind His Debut Novel

Q. I assume the urge to write this book had something to do with your mom’s passing [in 2020].

A. When I started it, I really thought it was going to be closer to a story like “Stand By Me,” without the dead body. A group of these last-generation latchkey kids, who were allowed to just run wild over the summer with no supervision. While I started writing the book [during the pandemic], my parents are trapped down in Florida, and I’m speaking to them every day just to try to keep them company. And after a week of asking them “What did you watch on Netflix?” I was, like, “I’m gonna start asking my mom a different question every day.” Family lore, the oral history. A lot of these stories we heard around the dinner table my whole life, but I didn’t remember some of the finer points. So, what I thought was going to be a book about a group of 12-year-old boys turns into this mother-son story.

Q. You said you first thought about writing a book like this back in high school. Not surprisingly, the kid’s voice is on point.

A. I think a big part of it was when I started the book, I had no experience writing prose. So for the first five or six chapters, I wrote it as if it was a kid’s journal. I know how to write dialogue, so I tried to imagine how a 12-year-old kid would write in his journal. I quickly abandoned that, but that process helped me find the kid’s voice.

The other thing is, I coached my son’s Amateur Athletic Union basketball team from the time he was in fifth grade through high school. So I spent a lot of time in an SUV when they were 12. And the fun thing was, they’re still really goofy-innocent, but they’re starting to break through to the things the 14-year-old boys are talking about. So I was able to kind of keep that threshold moment just within reach of this protagonist.

Ed Burns: Embracing the Freedom of Fiction

Q. I picture you inviting Steve Martin and Ethan Hawke to dinner to ask, “Do you guys have any tips for me about publishing fiction?”

A. I know there’s a couple of actors and musicians who’ve written novels. At first I thought this was going to be a screenplay. The minute I decided to take a crack at it as a novel, all of a sudden the budgetary handcuffs I usually write with were off. I make independent films, so any time I sit down to write a script, I’m also thinking, “You cannot afford to shoot this scene.” With this, I didn’t have to do that. I could write a scene set in 1980, with the narrator and his mother looking in the window at Tiffany’s and crossing the street to Central Park. That’s a scene that would cost me half a million dollars to recreate. So it was really liberating for me. If I could get this thing published and it’s in a public library, that’s the coolest thing in the world. It’s already exceeded my expectations, quite honestly.

Q. There’s a funny episode where the kid has to write a poem, and he rhymes a bunch of words with Jesus, and it turns out to be an award winner. Does that poem exist?

A. It does exist. I did win the Catholic Daughters of America Poetry Contest. After my mom passed away, she had it in a folder with a bunch of our stuff. It’s godawful. I was actually kind of excited to read it. I thought, “Maybe I did show some talent.” But no.

Ed Burns: A Writer’s Journey

The book, which follows an Irish-American family much like his own, grew out of daily pandemic conversations with his mother. Burns' novel, A Kid from Marlboro Road, is a story that grew out of the kind of family stories that get told so many times over no one really remembers what's true or not. It follows a 12-year-old narrator who's at his beloved grandfather's wake, looking around at the over-full room. He doesn't yet realize how much his family and his community impact who he is or who he'll become.

The novel is a coming-of-age story about a 12-year-old Irish Catholic boy growing up on Long Island, much like Burns. The story is set in Gibson, a tiny neighborhood on the South Shore of Long Island. It’s a love letter to his mother and the family he grew up with. The book also touches on Burns' childhood experiences, including his own award-winning poem that he wrote in high school. The novel is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of family, even in the midst of change.

The book is a must-read for fans of Ed Burns and anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story. It is also a powerful reminder of the importance of family and the stories that bind us together.

A Kid From Marlboro Road: A Family Legacy

The book is, as the publisher bills it, “Out of one boy’s story a collective warmth emerges, a certain kind of American tale, raucous and joyous.”

Writing the book, Burns says, feels like cementing a legacy for his family. The book is a personal story, but it also has a universal quality. It’s a story about family, about growing up, and about finding your place in the world. Burns' novel is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of family, even in the midst of change. It is also a powerful reminder of the importance of family and the stories that bind us together. Burns has gone from indie filmmaker to successful author, and this book is a must-read for fans of Burns and anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story.