Brett Gerlt asked Maggie Shipstead:

Did you find it harder to complete your first or second novel?

Maggie Shipstead My first novel by far! Both Seating Arrangements and Astonish Me started as short stories that I couldn't quite get to work, so at least I had some idea of where I was going with the plot, but since Seating Arrangements was my first attempt at writing something long (I was 25 and had just finished my MFA), I had noooooooo idea how much stamina would be involved and how complicated it is to juggle all the pieces of a novel. Plus, that book had a "can I be a novelist?" sort of pressure attached to it. Astonish Me came about almost as an accident. I thought I was just revising the short story (this was in the charmed year-long period between when I finished final edits on Seating Arrangements and when it was published), but then it started to grow and grow. I didn't really think I was turning it into a novel until I had. I was writing for my own enjoyment, really. I'll probably never have a more pleasurable writing experience.

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