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Is it possible to be a good writer without being a good reader? Absolutely not. Garbage in, garbage out; you have to read good books in order to write good books. According to a report of the Independent Book Publishing Association, over five million American adults belong to reading groups. What, do you believe, is the basis for this country's love for literature and books? I have no idea, because I can’t imagine NOT loving books. Have you ever belonged to a reading group? No. But I know I’d love to join one. One of the sad facts about writing full-time, however, is that I usually have a fine case of eyestrain by the end of the day. I do most of my reading during the short breaks between books. What advice do you have for reading group members when it comes to selecting books for discussion? Hmm. Don’t limit yourselves? What books are you reading now or do you plan to read? The Night Watch by Sarah Waters, La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas, and Kicked, Bitten and Scratched by Amy Sutherland. And I’m re-reading an old favorite, The Gorgon by Tanith Lee. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you to read, what would it be and why? I wouldn’t want a book – because I want every book ever written, so having to choose one would be impossible. I’d settle, instead, for an unending supply of paper and a pen, so I could keep the world’s most boring journal. If you could have dinner with three writers (dead or alive) who would they be and why? Margaret Atwood, because her sensitivity and talent are remarkable – and I would love to ask her how she goes about constructing her novels; Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), because I love his wit and intelligence, and think he’d be a marvelous dinner companion; and Sarah Waters, because I’d love to ask her how she managed the amazing research she did for her novels Fingersmith and Affinity. Wait, I just remembered the amazing Angela Carter – can I invite four? Have you ever read anything you're too embarrassed to admit (except in this interview)? The Enquirer. I took care of my mother when she was seriously ill, and used to read it aloud to her so we could both enjoy some comic relief during a tough time. It’s wickedly good entertainment. Favorite book when you were a child? A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle. I loved that book, and sent it to my niece when she was old enough to enjoy it. If you have children, is this the same book you read to them? If not, what is your favorite book for your children? No children, just dogs. And they seem pleased no matter what I read to them. Favorite heroine in literature and why? Favorite hero in literature and why? I’m going to answer the heroine/hero question with a single response about my favorite protagonist. I thought a long time about this question, and realized I don’t have a favorite protagonist. I do, however, have some favorite villains. I grew up adoring Dracula (Bram Stoker’s novel was one of my childhood favorites) and, later, Hannibal Lecter. Oh, and that big mother monster in Aliens – was I the only one rooting for her? – but maybe movies don’t count. I’ve tried writing novels about goody-goody heroines, but they bored me. I far prefer a protagonist with a streak of darkness in her. Favorite first line from a book? I can’t think of one. So instead, I’m going to share some lines from the novel Dracula which have, for some mysterious reason, stuck in my head for some forty years. They’re from Jonathan Harker’s diary, describing how he felt when he was abandoned in front of Dracula’s castle at night: “It all seemed like a horrible nightmare to me, and I expected that I should suddenly awake, and find myself at home, with the dawn struggling in through the windows, as I had now and again felt in the morning after a day of overwork. But my flesh answered the pinching test, and my eyes were not to be deceived. I was indeed awake and among the Carpathians. All I could do now was to be patient, and to wait the coming of morning.” When I’ve been in very difficult or sad circumstances, I think of that line: “I was indeed awake and among the Carpathians.” And I remind myself that no matter how terrible things seem, I just need to be patient, and wait the coming of morning. And morning almost always comes. Favorite last line from a book? It’s from Patrick McGrath’s brilliant Asylum, a fictional case study written by a fictional psychiatrist. You can’t really tell from reading it, but in one simple, elegant sentence, McGrath forces you to shift your entire understanding of what actually happened in the novel. My head exploded in the most wonderful way when I read it. It forced me to stop and say, “Wait a minute, wait a minute…” I won’t explain it, because I hope that readers find the book and enjoy it… and let me say that if you are going to read the novel, stop right here, because the last sentence is a spoiler : “And I still, of course, have him.” Book that changed your life? The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury. It was the first of Bradbury’s books that I read, when I was eleven or twelve, and it made me want to write the way he did. Words to live by? “Will you be my very best friend in the whole world? You actually READ…” (From a 1980s sitcom, from a desperate screenwriter in reading-averse Hollywood, to her new – and obviously literate – producer.) And if I must be serious, I’d choose words attributed to the Buddha: “Seeing impermanence, have compassion.”
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