Interview from Jai! Wow, good questions.
(moving stuff to behind cuts, because these are way long.)
1. What person do you admire most, and why? This can be a historical figure or someone that you know, but a real person, not a fictional character.
Hm. Used to be I admired Peter Wingfield tremendously for quitting med school shortly before taking his boards in order to pursue his acting dream, ’cause he didn’t want to be able to fall back on medicine. Then I read some bio somewhere with a less glowing spin and got the impression he was going to bomb out of med school anyway, so the decision to quit wasn’t so dramatic and impressive to me anymore.
I greatly admire Margret Sanger, an early 20th century proponent of birth control. Also Ernest Gruening, who was … many things in Alaskan history. Territorial governor, state senator (one of two who voted against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to attack Vietnam), and before coming to Alaska, newspaperman and doctor, but he quit the doctor job because he thought telling the truth in papers was more important and more influential. Didn’t go over well with his father the doctor.
I admire the hell out of Elizabeth I and Eleanor of Aquitaine, women who held positions of tremendous power in times when women weren’t supposed to, largely through force of personality. Oh, lots of people, clearly. But I guess those are some of the biggest. :)
2. What’s the most important thing you ever forgot (and later remembered that you forgot)?
I don’t remember!
3. If you had the power to go back and change the outcome of one historical event, would you use it? Why or why not? If yes, what event would you change, and how do you think it would impact the present/future?
Woooow. Oooh, I think I probably would, nevermind the paradox aspect of it all. I think I would go back and save the Library at Alexandria. Legend (I hesitate to say history, because it’s so poorly documented) suggests that invaluable records, including medical practices and knowledge, were lost with the Library. Maybe without the sacking of the Library, we wouldn’t have had the Dark Ages in Europe; maybe we’d be hundreds of years more advanced than we are now.
4. How is your life now different than how (as a child) you imagined it would be?
Well, I’m not a movie star, but I’m about to be a published author, so I got half of those things right. Um. I don’t have kids, which I thought I would by now, but I remember distinctly thinking that 28 was very old and would be a good time to have kids, and by the time I got to 28, it really didn’t seem that old at all and kids seemed like something that’d be better another several years down the road. :) I wasn’t sure if I’d be married, and I am. Hm. Let’s see. I think, overall, I’m pretty much where I expected to be. Aside from the not being wealthy beyond my wildest dreams part, anyway. :)
5. Of all the novels that you are working on (actively or not) do you think will be the most successful?
RIGHT ANGLES TO FAERYLAND. I think it has the potential to become a classic (ah, the modesty of me!), so with an eye to long-term influence on the literary field or staying power, that’s my guess for most successful.
Here are my questions:
1. Assuming cost is no concern, where are the top 5 places you have never been to before that you would like to visit?
2. If you could meet any one person currently living and talk with him/her for 2 hours, who would it be and what would you talk about?
3. If you could be any mythological creature, what would it be and why?
4. Do you think the world is a better place now than it was in the past? Do you think the world of the future will be better or worse than the world today? Why?
5. What that you have personally experienced filled you with an intense sense of wonder (it doesn’t have to be a comprehensive list)?
I think you probably already got my questions, yes? Or shall I re-post them here?
I got ’em!
I have to answer one of your questions:
What person do you admire most, and why?
I admire my Uncle Hugh Malone for the very important role he played in establishing the Alaska State Permanent Fund Dividend, and the hard battle he was always fighting in order to continue protecting the interests of the citizens of Alaska, not the politicians. Despite being black-balled in Juneau, he was always on the look out for issues, bills, laws, etc. that were threatening our rights. I feel he was truly a “People’s Politician” without hidden agendas like most of the political representatives currently and over the years.
P.S. I REEELLY think you should get permission to use that picture of the children sculpture in the backyard of your friend’s parents on the cover of your Right Angles book. I also think you should seriously reconsider the title “Leader Green”… it is out of the ordinary, and including a color in the title makes it that much easier to remember, and from a marketing stand point it makes more sense that one would want people to be able to remember the title easier so they go out and purchase the book. Plus, the picture and the title would work SOOOO WELL together. Heheheheh!
Plus, RUSEN loves that title and thinks his word is law. *wink* LOL (silly man of mine)
Oh, and neither of us can remember the Right Angles title without looking it up on your site first… Sorry :o(
BUT we have always remembered the Leader Green title. You only get one chance to make a title stick, and the simple fact is: the shorter and catchier the title the better.
Remember, you are marketing to people who are not friends or family, people that have no link to your story or any way remotely involved in it other than the simple fact that they are dreamers and can actually imagine themselves as a character in your story.
(Just a few suggestions from those who love ya!)
The picture and the title ‘Leader Green’ have absolutely nothing to do with each other unless you’re one of us, hon. :) RAtF is a better title for the book. There’s too little to do with Leader Green in the book for it to be a good title.
But, y’know, if RUSEN likes that title…! :)