Memorable Inspiration

What was your most memorable moment of inspiration?

I ask this question because I was listening to an Elton John song, "Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters," and I noticed that the end of the song was the beginning of the song.  This gave me the idea to end my novel in the place where it began.  It was perfect.  Although this was not my most memorable moment of inspiration (that came at the PMA before a Rodin sculpture), it was a big one.

Generations

.If you could pass your talent for writing on to your child, would you?

And with talent for writing, I mean the compulsion to write. 

First Book

What is the first book you bought, were bought, or would you buy for your child?

I guess this is kind of a memory thing.  I can most vividly remember having Madeline and Babar as a child.  My three daughters all had Madeline and Babar, and often when I buy books for friends having babies, they are included.  However, some new favorite, must-have children's books now include Dear Zoo and Chicka-Chicka-Boom Boom.  Both of my grandsons got those as first books, and became addicted to them, I'm proud to say. 

Up all night...

Have you ever had a book keep you up all night?

I recently had this experience with the novel Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon.  I did get about three hours sleep, but I couldn't decide if my insomnia caused me to read on, or if the book caused my insomnia.  In any case, it was a memorable experience and a memorable book.

Secret Stash

What is the subject of that one piece of writing that you will never show to the world?  And if you have such a piece of writing, are you amenable to having it published after your death?

Hey, just because I pose the questions doesn't mean that I have to answer them all as well.

Earliest Book Memory

What is your earliest book memory?

I remember two or three things-being read Madeline and Babar, (which is where I think I developed my fascination for French), and I also remember my mother joining a children's book club where, each month, we received a collection of stories in a sort-of Reader's Digest format.  I remember that the Georgie the Ghost stories were always my favorites.

The Moment of Gestation

For what literary work would you like to go back and experience the moment of gestation?

The first words of a great work set down?  I think I would have liked to be present at Oxford when Tolkien wrote these words: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."  I imagine it was a cold, rainy night, or a cold, grey dawn, and Tolkien was sitting at the solid hulking desk in his study surrounded by his books.  He looked out the leaded-pane glass windows, which were diamond-shaped.  A small fire burned in the fireplace, and he imagined the comfort of the hobbit hole.  That is how I imagine it happened, and so much of that picture enters into my consciousness as details of the writing life: dark, bookish, secure against the elements, contemplating the world outside, but mentally being elsewhere.  Something archaic about the scene, connecting the past to the present and future.  I could go on, but I have other things to write...