Q&A with Judy Colbert

Judy Colbert is an award-winning writer and photographer who has written about Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and Delaware for decades. Her latest book is “Peaceful Places Washington, D.C.: 114 Tranquil Sites in the Nation’s Capital and Beyond.” She has also written about Super Bowl trivia, temper tantrums, divorce, the hospitality industry, spas and cruising. Her articles have appeared in international, national, and regional publications and on numerous Internet sites. Her favorite reaction when someone reads something she’s written is, “I didn’t know that.” She hopes to spend a year or two cruising the Seven Seas.

What are the best books you’ve read recently?
Not necessarily recently, but one of the most intriguing is “The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century’s On-line Pioneers” by Tom Standage. He likens the changes in civilization—how wars were waged, stock market transactions relayed, romances evolved—and says the Victorians probably would be more impressed with a plane flying than with the Internet and the changes it’s brought to our society.

What was your favorite book as a child?
Has to be “The Secret Garden” that led me to think about all the wonderful secrets behind all the locked doors and walls.

Why do you enjoy attending book festivals, either as a presenter or audience member?
This is probably a standard response, but I learn more than I teach. I enjoy meeting people and hearing about their experiences.

Have you been to the D.C. area before? If so, what is your favorite thing about it?
I was born in Washington, D.C. and I continue to explore its hidden treasures. As the author of “Fun Places to Go With Children in Washington, D.C.,” I particularly enjoy looking at the city from a child’s point of view. I love taking the Orange Line Metro from New Carrollton and watching how children react when we go into the tunnel (or come out) at Stadium-Armory. Are they excited, indifferent, scared? On my first visit to Versailles, I saw a group of rugrats sitting on the floor of the Hall of Mirrors. A teacher was talking to them in French, of course. I was amazed! And, then I remembered my children going through the White House and other important buildings and being lectured to in English.

What is the most difficult, or challenging, aspect of being a writer?
My theory is if something interests me, then it should interest other people. It’s my job, at that point, to determine who else will be interested and what they will want to know. It’s not enough to tell people what I think they want to know. I have to take that next step in explaining and describing.