The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

First ideas, then outline, then first draft, then revision, then readers’ comments, then second revision, then more comments, then third revision, then copy editing. I think the most important “secret,” if you will, is never to look too far down the road. Yes, I really do enjoy writing, which is lovely, because it means I get paid to do what I adore. So what’s your secret to enjoying both the writing process and the result? Given your comments in previous interviews, it sounds as if you actually like to read your own books and write them (imagine that!), and that you don’t find the writing life especially torturous. Last week a man I met in a bookstore said to me, rather plaintively, “I never meet Garth Nix fans I just meet Garth Nix addicts.” Yep.

Name 2 writers you admire – one writer for grown-ups, one writer for children / young adults. As long as the folks around me can control their imbecilic cell-phone conversations, I’m okay anywhere there’s heat. I’ve worked in hotel rooms (see above), airports, Starbucks, libraries.

I also work in the den, which truly is a place of loveliness in the winter because it’s the only warm room in the house. And, yes, that’s a MacBook Air, which I raced out and purchased without an iota of guilt because I lug my laptop everywhere, and those back issues need all the help they can get.

So here’s a picture of my office complete with the dangerously alluring guest bed and kitten Millie on my lap. I work in many different places – God bless laptops, although I’ve been advised that an actual desk might help with the back issues. Is your writing space a place of loveliness? Describe where you work. Although the promise of book tours (two weeks alone in hotel rooms? No refereeing children? Bliss!) can get me out of bed when nothing else will. In terms of inspiration with a capital I. This got me in serious trouble in the past – as a kid I stuck my nose in everything – but wondering about things and people and how the world works certainly pays off in all sorts of ways. I’m increasingly of the opinion that curiosity is one of the most important traits a writer can have. I really do find all sorts of things inspirational, as in giving me ideas. What inspires you (situations / works of art / places / foods / people)?Įverything. On offer: a peek at her writing space (and her cat), the author she’s addicted to, and an actual snippet of her upcoming new title, Princess Ben. I’ve got the best interview with Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of Dairy Queen and The Off Season.

The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock