Questions for Author Interviews. What do you like?

[Skyler]

Wasn't sure where to put this, so thought I'd ask in here. I'm going to be doing a series of guest author interviews on my website, but I'd love to know what sort of questions you all wish people would ask the authors.

Put on your reader hat, not your writer hat, and think about the interviews you've read online. Are you bored of the same old style of questions? Or do you still find that interesting? Maybe there are things you'd like to know that are never asked.

Let me know your thoughts, so I can ask them the questions you all want to hear.

Thanks,
Skyler

[Terry]

When I do interviews for my National Crime Fiction and San Diego Fiction columns, I don't follow the usual format of Q&A. I much prefer to use a narrative style in which I blend the author's comments with my narrative. This makes for a lot more work for me, but it creates a much better result (IMO). I consistently get very positive responses from authors and readers about how much they like the interviews. Here's a recent example so you can see how this works. Mystery writer sees magic in Hawaii

[Dee]

I like to read interviews that show both the author and interviewer had a sense of humor! It's fun when both parties can lighten up! (FYI, when I was interviewed by Terry Ambrose for the National Crime Fiction and San Diego Fiction columns, Mystery writer sees magic in Hawaii, I thought he asked great questions, then went the extra mile by creating a conversational profile-slash-personality piece.)

Good luck, Skyler, with your guest interviews! (Maybe you could have a theme question thread or something--like what is their good luck charm, or do they have good luck writing pants/or what they wear to write in or something!) Take care! Dee

[Terry]

The question of writer rituals is actually a really good one and I may add it to my list of standard questions.

[Alex]

Skyler wrote: ....what sort of questions you all wish people w..."

As a reader, I like to know the touchstone or catalyst for the author's story idea. I'd also like to know if the author had more than one idea of how they wanted the book to end.

Best of luck on your interviews!

[Terry]

I like the theme question also. It tells you a lot about the writer as a person and their hot buttons.