Today’s post is a revival post. I had initially posted this a
I read Latha Viswanathan’s ‘Lingering Tide and other stories’ a couple of months ago and loved it. I read and reviewed the book on request and as part of a blog tour. I promised an author interview as well at that time, and what with this and that, and life getting in the way, the interview never made its way to my blog..
But here it is finally.
My author interview with Latha Viswanathan. You can read my review of her book here.
- What
do you do when you are not writing?
I love to read and dream. I also
enjoy walking and cooking which help me unwind and work through the tensions of
the day. I love to surf the net and find all kinds of information endlessly
fascinating. Another favorite activity is spending time talking to my friends
and family.
enjoy walking and cooking which help me unwind and work through the tensions of
the day. I love to surf the net and find all kinds of information endlessly
fascinating. Another favorite activity is spending time talking to my friends
and family.
- Which
authors have inspired you?
There have been so many—right from
my childhood through to my adult years—from A.A. Milne to Leslie Silko and Saul
Bellow among others. There were times in my life when I read voraciously from
diverse sources in terms of
international writers. I love Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian and
South American writers. I also love to read non-fiction as the stories there
sometimes became stepping stones for my .fictional world.
my childhood through to my adult years—from A.A. Milne to Leslie Silko and Saul
Bellow among others. There were times in my life when I read voraciously from
diverse sources in terms of
international writers. I love Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian and
South American writers. I also love to read non-fiction as the stories there
sometimes became stepping stones for my .fictional world.
- What
were your favorite books as a child?
I loved mysteries, comics and
serious literary books as a child. I had a greedy appetite for the written word
and I read in English and Tamil as child and teenager. I never cared for the
scary stuff—that kept me awake and disrupted my dreams so I picked my favorite
street character from Dickens and wondered what they would do if such and such
happened, created puzzles in my head. I also had a nasty habit of eavesdropping on adult conversations and was
very observant and a great collector of gossip as a child. All this was done
secretly of course while I went about looking clueless and nerdy, appearing to
be lost in my own world.
serious literary books as a child. I had a greedy appetite for the written word
and I read in English and Tamil as child and teenager. I never cared for the
scary stuff—that kept me awake and disrupted my dreams so I picked my favorite
street character from Dickens and wondered what they would do if such and such
happened, created puzzles in my head. I also had a nasty habit of eavesdropping on adult conversations and was
very observant and a great collector of gossip as a child. All this was done
secretly of course while I went about looking clueless and nerdy, appearing to
be lost in my own world.
- Do you
have any advice to aspiring writers?
Read and live a little before you
begin to write. Read only the best. The Classics are important. Watch human
behavior closely especially when it comes to conflict and observe every little
detail. Look at the situation from several points of view. Try to look at it
objectively. Observe even yourself as you would another—at arm’s length. You
should be able to exploit your own foibles, emotions, anger– everything
honestly so you are credible to the reader.
begin to write. Read only the best. The Classics are important. Watch human
behavior closely especially when it comes to conflict and observe every little
detail. Look at the situation from several points of view. Try to look at it
objectively. Observe even yourself as you would another—at arm’s length. You
should be able to exploit your own foibles, emotions, anger– everything
honestly so you are credible to the reader.
- Which
of your characters would you love to have as a friend?
That’s easy. All of them! Because
there’s a little of me in all of them. My characters are composites of people I
have known, a little of myself and a little of my imagination thrown in for
color. I may have made a young female friend into an old man in my book but he
has her frown, the same smirk etc. And he will think in a disjointed fashion
like me! Characters are collage, if you know what I mean.
there’s a little of me in all of them. My characters are composites of people I
have known, a little of myself and a little of my imagination thrown in for
color. I may have made a young female friend into an old man in my book but he
has her frown, the same smirk etc. And he will think in a disjointed fashion
like me! Characters are collage, if you know what I mean.
Wow, such a good interview. I can't wait to check out her books. I haven't heard of this author before yet, so thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your visit and comments.. Lingering Tide was the first book I read and I enjoyed it..