Q&A with Tara Conklin
Tara Conklin’s debut novel, “The House Girl,” is a New York Times bestseller and #1 IndieNext Pick. She is a writer and lawyer living with her family in Seattle, WA. Her short fiction has been published in the “Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology” and “Pangea: An Anthology of Stories from Around the Globe.” Tara holds a B.A. in history from Yale University, a J.D. from NYU School of Law and a Master of Law from the Fletcher School (Tufts).
What are the best books you’ve read recently?
Recently I’ve been reading a lot of short stories. I love Jess Walter’s new collection, “We Live in Water”; also George Saunders “Tenth of December,” which is a no-brainer, and a new one I picked up at the Virginia Festival of the Book, “We Are Taking Only What We Need” by Stephanie Powell Watts. She’s one to watch.
What was your favorite book as a child?
I had very wide-ranging taste as a child. I read HG Wells “War of the Worlds” about 50 times, and I am not exaggerating. I also loved “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (which made me cry), “Bridge to Terabithia” (which also made me cry) and books in series, like Black Beauty and Nancy Drew, mainly because I liked to count how many of each I had read. I was also a little precocious and often stole into the adult section. I remember loving John Updike, primarily for the salacious bits.
Why do you enjoy attending book festivals, either as a presenter or audience member?
As a debut novelist, I have not attended many book festivals so my answer is based on very limited experience (read: two festivals). My favorite part of book festivals (apart from the obvious fun of meeting like-minded folks) is the opportunity to hear other writers talk about their writing. I think that writing and talking about writing are two very different skills and I find it very educational to hear how others go about doing it.
Have you been to the D.C. area before? If so, what is your favorite thing about it?
My sister lived in DC for awhile and I’ve had many friends circle in and out of the DC area over the years. I like it because it’s hot, and I tend to live in places that are cold, and I also like its scope: the streets are so wide, the buildings so imposing, and you know that very important stuff is happening inside of them.
What is the most difficult, or challenging, aspect of being a writer?
I think the most challenging thing is taking this piece of yourself and throwing it out into the world. Of course, this is a pretty straightforward writing goal – having people read your work – but I have found it both bizarre and unsettling that, once it’s out there, it’s no longer yours. A piece of writing takes on its own life, like a kid you send off to college, and I’ve found that difficult.
