Lionel Shriver and Lisa Scottoline work in very different genres, but both share one thing in common – a great sense of humour and a passion for their field.Clea, our Book Editor, caught up with both of them recently...
Quick Q&A with Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver is the author of the massively successful book We Need To Talk About Kevin. I got to chat to Lionel before her first visit to New Zealand, where she spoke about her new book The Post-Birthday World at the 2007 Auckland Writers & Readers Festival. When asked how friends would describe her, Shriver admitted the word “extreme” comes up quite often. She is a woman who will freely admit “nobody’s perfect” and that love is all about trade-offs. When asked to give a tip for budding writers, Lionel says “Never write anything that bores you…if it bores you, it will DEFINITELY bore others.” Her thoughtful responses to my questions reveal a woman of wit, poise and intelligence.
nzgirl: There are some pretty heavy emotions at stake in The Post-Birthday World. How did you feel about tackling love, sex and the 'trade-offs' within relationships from not one, but two perspectives? The structure of the novel was…the kernel of the whole idea. In one universe, with Lawrence, my heroine has to put up with sex that's a bit impersonal, and a daily life so ritualised that many women would find it killingly monotonous. But Lawrence is responsible…intellectually sharp, and supportive. In the other universe, with Ramsey, Irina enjoys great sex, a spontaneous, various, and undomesticated daily life, and high passions. But Ramsey is profligate, poorly educated and not as supportive. The stories side by side are far more interesting and entertaining, I think, than some women's-magazine article about "trade-offs". I illustrated those trade-offs as vividly as I could.
nzgirl: When writing such emotionally intense books, do you find yourself getting quite attached to the characters? Yes - I can get as defensive of my characters when they're attacked as I would’ve had someone attacked a friend of mine. That is not to say that my characters and I are synonymous. But I have a lot of affection for them, and I understand them. So when someone dismisses Irina…my hackles rise.
nzgirl: I find that reading your novels are like slipping into an intricately constructed world. Do you feel the need to get 'out of the zone' once you've finished writing? For relaxation, I strongly recommend a good bottle of red wine, the company of a handsome man, preferably one you're married to, and back-to-back reruns of Desperate Housewives.
Quick Q&A with Lisa Scottoline One day Lisa Scottoline realised that no women lawyers were writing legal thrillers, and decided to give it a shot. She wryly credits the start of her writing career mostly to “bad planning”. The birth of her daughter coincided with a divorce, and Lisa began writing so she could stay at home and still pay the mortgage. We got to chat to Lisa about her new book Daddy’s Girl, set within Lisa’s own place of work – the University of Philadelphia. Daddy’s Girl follows feisty law lecturer Natalie Greco as she tries to make sense of a prison murder. In the meantime her family is driving her nuts. Lisa admits she can somewhat identify with the Greco family, and admits she was a lot like Nat growing up.
nzgirl: What was it like setting Daddy’s Girl within your own place of work? It made for terrific research, and gave me an insider's perspective from which to write. However, all the characters and students in the book are completely fictional. I have always admired teachers, but I am now in complete awe. Standing in front of a lecture hall full of students and trying to keep them interested is hard work. Lucky for me, my students have an innate intellectual curiosity and can express their ideas in an articulate manner. Daddy's Girl was actually on the syllabus and it generated a great discussion.
nzgirl: I hear that you get quite involved with your Book Club on www.scottoline.com. What’s the best thing about interacting with your readers? The best part of my job is getting to meet and hug my readers. I love book clubs! What is better than a group of friends, drinking wine and discussing books? I truly appreciate when people read me, so I like to reward them by running a contest…and take the winning group out to a wonderful dinner in their hometown. I also host a book club party at my house… last year was the first annual party with over 150 book club attendees. This year there should be even more.
nzgirl: Do you have any tips for nzgirls who are interested in writing novels? Give yourself permission to write a really lousy first draft. Once you have the story (down on paper), then you can go back and rewrite it until you love it. I'm also a big believer in writing what you know. When you are not writing, you should be reading. There is a lot to learn from other writers, both good and bad. Most of all, have fun!
Lionel Shriver is the author of the massively successful book We Need To Talk About Kevin. I got to chat to Lionel before her first visit to New Zealand, where she spoke about her new book The Post-Birthday World at the 2007 Auckland Writers & Readers Festival. When asked how friends would describe her, Shriver admitted the word “extreme” comes up quite often. She is a woman who will freely admit “nobody’s perfect” and that love is all about trade-offs. When asked to give a tip for budding writers, Lionel says “Never write anything that bores you…if it bores you, it will DEFINITELY bore others.” Her thoughtful responses to my questions reveal a woman of wit, poise and intelligence. 
trade-offs as vividly as I could.
One day Lisa Scottoline realised that no women lawyers were writing legal thrillers, and decided to give it a shot. She wryly credits the start of her writing career mostly to “bad planning”. The birth of her daughter coincided with a divorce, and Lisa began writing so she could stay at home and still pay the mortgage. We got to chat to Lisa about her new book Daddy’s Girl, set within Lisa’s own place of work – the University of Philadelphia. Daddy’s Girl follows feisty law lecturer Natalie Greco as she tries to make sense of a prison murder. In the meantime her family is driving her nuts. Lisa admits she can somewhat identify with the Greco family, and admits she was a lot like Nat growing up.
nzgirl: I hear that you get quite involved with your Book Club on