How did you get the inspiration to write the White Oleander? I love the book.

Janet Fitch A book isn't from a single inspiration. It grows, like coral. This started as a short short story--two pages--a woman on a rooftop the wind and the full moon, Oleander time. No murder, no Astrid.

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what makes a great story/book? there r so many writers out there, but only a few get any acclaim and some of the best posthumously - is it a herd mentality that snowballs into popularity?

Vladimir asked Janet Fitch:

Dear Mrs. Fitch, I would not ask you about your internal connections to St. Peterburg arising from your study in this amazing city and from your visit in 2007: it is a needless question. I spent my student's years from 1964 till 1969 in Leningrad and could guess your positive answer. To be a little bit more specific: Have you found some shades and spirits of Dostoyevsky there?

Ying Feng asked Janet Fitch:

I can't be the only one who loves Ingrid and wants to study her. What would be her reading list except for the ones she had mentioned to Astrid in the book?

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How did you get the inspiration to write the White Oleander? I love the book.

More Answered Questions

what makes a great story/book? there r so many writers out there, but only a few get any acclaim and some of the best posthumously - is it a herd mentality that snowballs into popularity?

I can't be the only one who loves Ingrid and wants to study her. What would be her reading list except for the ones she had mentioned to Astrid in the book?

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