Readers Place

Lolly Winston interview/review

Barnes and Noble, 2005

1. What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?

Flannery O’Connor. I began reading her short stories when I was 15 — around the time I started writing fiction. My first short story attempts were poor Flannery O’Connor imitations. (You can’t write southern gothic fiction if you’re from Hartford, Connecticut.) I think O’Connor is one of the best descriptive writers. I also like how she puts characters in extreme situations that serve to reveal their true natures. The way she blends horrifying and humorous details in the same story is brilliant.

1. What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?

These lists are hard! As soon as I make a list of favorite books, I have a forehead-slapping moment on the freeway or in the shower when I think of a book I love that I wish I’d included. To narrow it down, I’ll stick to novels written in the latter half of the 20th century and not mention the short story collections and memoirs I also love
The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
and short stories by Raymond Carver
Donald Barthelme
Christie Hodgen
George Saunders
Aimee Bender
Ethan Canin
Lorrie Moore…. I’m officially cheating now.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov — I love this book because it’s so dark and funny at the same time, and because the language is so extraordinary. And it has one of my all-time favorite moments: Humbert Humbert drives down the wrong side of the road; he figures he’s already violated every other law of human nature, so why not drive down the wrong side of the road and see how it feels? It’s great how this one moment captures the essence of the story and his angst.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath — Another dark yet funny novel. Lolita is about obsession, while The Bell Jar is about depression. Two of my favorite topics, I hate to admit.

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy — I love this novel because I identify so strongly with the male protagonist. When I first read it I felt like Percy knew me. To me, this signifies what fiction is about — not the male or female experience but the human experience. I don’t think we need to categorize fiction as much as we do, into women’s fiction, lad lit, etc.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson — Gorgeous and haunting. This book inspires me to write.

About a Boy by Nick Hornby — Hornby’s one of those can’t-wait-until-his-next-book-comes-out writers to me. I love his writing, his characters, and his combination of humor and poignancy.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon —This novel broke my heart and made me laugh at the same time. I always seem to look for that combination in fiction.

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer — A fabulous story that’s beautifully written, with details that made me want to bust out a highlighter pen. After Anna Karenina , I think this novel has the best opening ever.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt — A thriller and a literary masterpiece all in one. What I particularly like is how we learn right up front that the character Bunny is murdered by his friends. If we already know what happens, then why keep reading? Because we need to know how and when and why.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides — This book, which crosses the Atlantic and spans generations, simply knocked my socks off.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham — I usually fall in love with a book because I fall in love with the beauty of the writing, and that was certainly the case with this book. I loved it more than Mrs. Dalloway , its inspiration. Can I say that? Will someone come and take my English degree away?

1. What are some of your favorite films, and what makes them unforgettable to you?

I love Woody Allen. Among my favorites are
Love and Death
Annie Hall
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Mighty Aphrodite
and Interiors .

1. What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you’re writing?

I don’t listen to music when I’m writing; I find it too distracting. But I do love music. Among my all-time favorites are:
Elvis Costello
the Talking Heads
Bob Marley
R.E.M.
Dave Brubeck
Chopin (especially when I’m sad, I love those stormy, keeling-over-from-TB pieces)
and Vivaldi.

I also love Jennie Stearns, Emmylou Harris…. It’s hard to stop naming music that I enjoy.

1. If you had a book club, what would it be reading?

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
The Master by Colm Tóibín
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Don Quixote by Cervantes
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
and The Odyssey by Homer.
This is the current stack in the queue on my nightstand. I haven’t read Jonathan Lethem yet, and I have a feeling that as soon as I do he’s going to move onto that top ten list.

1. What are your favorite kinds of books to give — and get — as gifts?

Signed books. I’m a groupie. I love to go to readings and get books signed for myself, and give them as gifts.

1. Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you’re writing?

Cats, cat hair, and caffeine. I write from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Then I eat lunch with Terri Gross. (I listen to her radio program, Fresh Air.) Other than some coffee shop troll hand-editing, I don’t work in the afternoons, because I don’t have as much creative energy. In the early evening, while I’m cooking dinner, I usually spend another hour or two up in my office rewriting. Many writers are hardly “overnight success” stories.

1. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?

I’ve been writing since I was 15 and wrote short stories for years. A few were published, but I have a bulging folder of rejections notices. Sophie’s bakery for the Broken-Hearted  is my first novel. It took me five years to finish it. For four years I didn’t really make it a priority. Then, as my 40th birthday approached, I decided I had to finish. So I ran up the Visa bill and reached the finish line. I’ve also been writing and publishing essays and feature stories for about ten years, but I don’t really consider myself a journalist. I’m a fiction writer first.

1. If you could choose one new writer to be “discovered,” who would it be?

My friend Eileen Bordy. She’s mostly just published essays, but she also writes fabulous fiction. She is one of the most funny, poignant writers I’ve ever read. If any agents are reading this, they should drop everything and call her. In general, I think many books and authors don’t get the attention and level of promotion they deserve. There’s an imbalance. So much luck seems to be involved.

1. What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?

Well, Woody Allen said something like, “90 percent of life is showing up.” And that seems to be what writing is all about. First, show up and do the work. Then, show up at workshops or writing groups or friends’ houses, and get feedback from others. When your work is polished, show up at conferences and learn all you can about connecting with agents. There’s a lot of persistence involved in the process of writing and publishing. An irrational amount, when you get right down to it.