I need interview questions for Audrey Niffenegger! Her new novel, Her Fearful Symmetry comes out in the end of September, and her bestselling debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife has recently been made into a movie.

She's apparently done many many interviews lately, and would appreciate some new, off-beat, unusual questions. Post your questions here, and I'll pick my favorites to pass along to Audrey.

Her interview will run in September's State of the Thing newsletter, so I need to gather all the questions by September 1st, 2009.

Not sure how "off beat " any of these questions are but please feel free to use them:

1) Hot dogs: mustard only or mustard & catsup?

2) Do you listen to music regularly? If so, what type?

3) If you could invite 3 famous people (living, dead, fictional) to a dinner party who would they be and why?

4) Would you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?

5) If you were going to be stuck on an island in the middle of the ocean and could only bring 3 books with you, which ones would they be? Why?

6) As a child, when coloring, did you color within the lines or outside the lines?

Thanks!

Baba (babasbookblog.blogspot.com)

Message edited by its author, Aug 21, 2009, 6:04pm.

What question do you wish interviewers would stop asking you?

If you had $100 to spend at Hollander's for one project, what would you buy and what would you make?

>4
Oh, now I'm salivating... I'm going to spend the weekend dreaming of paper.

>5.

Oh, I have seriously considered moving to Michigan, just to be near that store.

I would ask "Do you think of a story and then find the characters for it, or is it the other way around and the characters find you with their own story to tell?"

I recently saw the movie made of your book about time travel. Is it difficult to see your work in the hands of the film-makers? Were you allowed much control over what was the final product? Do you feel most proud of your novel or the movie that has been made of it? Do you feel that the movie portrayed what you intended for the book to portray?

Might have already been asked but here goes

How did the labelling of age difference relationships as cradle snatching and the greater social acceptance of older man/younger woman versus older woman/younger man within society influence you as you wrote the Time Travellers Wife?

Message edited by its author, Aug 22, 2009, 4:51pm.

If you could pick anyone to play Henry and Claire, who would you pick?

Message edited by its author, Aug 22, 2009, 4:56pm.

Usually I avoid movies made from my favorite books. The character son't look like they do in hy head, they leave out the small but interesting details, the scenery doesn't match the books location. I am afraid to see The Time Traveler's Wife (For a long time I didn't believe any book could have the power to make me break down in tears again, but that one sure did.) Is it O.K. to see it? Tears & all? I am curious about the library scenes, I worked in a libraries for years and years.

I am off to preorder the new book right now.
I can hardly wait to see the interview, as I loved Time Travelers Wife

Sorry, I can't think of any offbeat questions, but I ALWAYS want to know what three ( or more) books my favorite writers would recommend. Some have that on their websites and it never fails to give me good reading when I follow up.

I'd like Audrey to describe her desk or office/writing area. Also, does she write at a certain time of day?

That's a good one.

In addition to her work space, any rituals before writing?

WARNING: SPOILERS

(if anyone has advice on the LT-preferred way of warning for spoilers, please let me know and I'll edit my post; for the purposes of the newsletter, perhaps you could encrypt the question and answer in ROT13?)

I really love The Time Traveler's Wife, the writing is beautiful and the story is heartwrenching. I have always read the story and the ending particularly as a very painful reflection of women who are merely appendages to their male partners. I think this is reflected in the title, throughout the story and was brought home in the ending when Claire is left, still waiting for Henry, like always. I always hated that the ending didn't redeem her from this role, but I guess the world doesn't either. I am no literary critic, though. Is my reading off-base? Did you have any social commentary in mind when writing TTW?

Which library (or libraries) did you use growing up? Is there any one incident that you can point to that makes you so positive towards libraries and librarians in both your books?

Whose Night Bookmobile would you like to visit? What's the most surprising book in your personal Night Bookmobile?

> 16

I wouldn't even bother in this thread. Presumably, people who have questions for Ms. Niffenegger have read this book.

>16, 19

Probably, but better safe than sorry. I think what you've done, Kwill, serves the purpose. If I didn't want to know, that would be enough to make me skip the post. And I'd appreciate it.

The interview is up, here. And I used questions from messages 4, 7, 8, and 14. Check out Audrey's replies!

Hooray! She answered my question!

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2009, 7:49pm.

Yeah, you got her to say "bordello-ish"! :)

Thank you for including my question......I've always wondered about that. The whole interview was fascinating and I can't wait to read Her Fearful Symmetry.

What I love about the interviews is how they make the authors appear as the real people that they are. Gives me inspiration that I too, can accomplish what I set out to do.

She sounds wonderful!