Author interview- Mindy Klasky
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Welcome everyone! This is the second author interview on Review Carnival. This time, I will be interviewing author Mindy Klasky whose works include the As You Wish series, Jane Madison series, The Glasswrights series and others.
Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her that she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice.
Mindy’s travels took her through multiple careers. After graduating from Princeton University, Mindy considered becoming a professional stage manager or a rabbi. Ultimately, though, she settled on being a lawyer, working as a litigator at a large Washington firm. When she realized that lawyering kept her from writing (and dating and sleeping and otherwise living a normal life), Mindy became a librarian, managing large law firm libraries. Mindy now writes full time. (taken from the official website)
Now here's the interview
TRIVIA
Favorite color- Blue
Favorite author- This changes, with my mood, with the weather, with whatever I happen to be reading!
Favorite book- The Lord of the Rings is the book that most influenced my life, because it was the one that first got me to think about writing, and storytelling, and becoming a full-time writer
Zodiac sign- Libra
Your motto- “Thou mayest” (from Steinbeck’s East of Eden)
City of your dreams- Florence, Italy (where I traveled on my honeymoon!)
INTERVIEW
RC- First of all, thank you very much for doing this interview with Review Carnival. We are really honoured. The first questions is: When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer? Is the life of a writer like you had imagined it to be?
Ans. My first major writing project (aside from short stories for class) was an attempt at writing a sequel to The Lord of the Rings, which my best friend and I decided to write over spring break when we were in eighth grade. (We didn’t finish, even though we spent both weekends and the entire week of vacation on the project!) That experienced whetted my appetite for writing. When I was in law school, I returned to writing fantasy novels (as a break from the tedium in some of my classes). Writing full time has been better than I ever imagined it – for the first time, ever, I have time to develop all (or at least, most) of the stories in my head!
RC- Who has influenced you/your writing style/choice of genres the most?
Ans. I bounce between genres, mostly between traditional fantasy and romance (with a fantasy element). For my romantic fantasy novels, I was most influenced by Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary – because of its light tone, its realistic depiction of a frustrated singleton, and its literary references.
RC- Do you ever have the dreaded writer's block? How do you deal with it?
Ans. I don’t have writers’ block, per se – I always have ideas for my stories, and the ability to put them in a computer file. I do sometimes suffer from laziness and/or distraction – where I just don’t feel like writing. The best solution for that, at least in my case, is to make myself sit down and start writing. After the first 10 minutes, I’m over “the hump” and able to continue working.
RC- What kind of characters/settings do you like the most?
Ans. I enjoy writing about young women who discover their inner strengths. Sometimes, in my more serious traditional fantasy novels, this discovery is literally and figuratively painful. In my lighter romantic fantasy novels, my characters don’t suffer as much – but they do discover how they can best be strong, independent women.
RC- Thanks for being with us and giving so much of your time. The last question is: What message would you like to convey to your fans?
Ans. I very much enjoy being in touch with my readers. I welcome people to stop by website – http://www.mindyklasky.com/ – and to join in on my blog posts with comments and discussion! Thanks so much for the opportunity to visit here!