October, 2009

Ursula Hegi

Quick Start

SS: How would you describe your life in only 8 words?

UH: love write swim walk kayak read play teach

SS: What is your motto or maxim?

UH: passion and balance

What Readers want to know...

SS: What is your biggest pet peeve?

UH: entitlement/superiority

SS: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?

UH: teaching

SS: What’s your fantasy profession?

UH: i'm already doing it

SS: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?

UH: here. now. in my study.

SS: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?

UH: as a 5-year old, i wanted to be invisible, hear and see everything

SS: Who is your favorite fictional hero?

UH: i don't think of characters as heroes or villains. as a reader and writer i look for characters who are complex, in many subtle shades of gray.

SS: Who is your favorite fictional villain?

UH: see above

SS: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?

UH: tofu? chocolate?

SS: What are your 5 favorite songs?

UH: i like music by annie gallup, cheryl wheeler, miles davis, bobbie gentry// also 60s music

SS: What is your greatest achievement?

UH: becoming my characters/ writing from inside their skin

SS: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?

UH: myself

General Questions

SS: What is your birthdate?

UH: 5/23

SS: What were your previous occupations?

UH: mother, teacher [all along, i was writing]

SS: What was/is your favorite job?

UH: writing

SS: Where did you go to high school and/or college?

UH: until age 18, i went to school in germany. afterwards i studied at the university of nh, where i got my ba and ma

SS: Name of your favorite composer or music artist?

UH: mozart

SS: What is your favorite movie?

UH: the big chill

SS: What is your favorite television show?

UH: i try to stay away from tv

Questions About Books and Writing

SS: Is there a book you love to reread?

UH: the bluest eye by toni morrison

SS: Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?

UH: honor the commitment to your writing

SS: What comment do you hear most often from your readers?

UH: you write about things most of us don't dare think about

SS: Who are your favorite authors?

UH: toni morrison, thomas mann, isabel allende, janet frame, fyodor dostoyevsky,

SS: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?

UH: janet frame: an autobiography

one hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcia marquez

crime and punishment by fyodor dostoyevski

the bluest eye by toni morrision

eva luna by isabel allende

as i lay dying by william faulkner

Get more on Ursula Hegi at SimonandSchuster.com