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Author Revealed

Ann K. Finkbeiner
Mary C. Gardella.

Ann K. Finkbeiner

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Don't choose, have both. Courage! Onward! Duck!
Learn more about Ann K. Finkbeiner
Ann K. Finkbeiner Revealed
About Ann K. Finkbeiner
  • Previous occupations:
    teaching junior high school gifted students
  • Favorite job:
    writing
  • High school and/or college:
    Naperville, Illinois
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    Mozart
  • Favorite movie:
    Wise Blood, but I never want to see it again
  • Favorite television show:
    MASH
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Interesting, fattening, gratifying, tiring, sociable, worrisome, extremely pleasurable
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Don't choose, have both. Courage! Onward! Duck!
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Sunday afternoon in spring
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. death
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. right here; Northeast Harbor, ME; Florence, Italy
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. never thought about it, no idea
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. same as above
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. nice, lovely, looking forward to it
Q. What do you regret most?
A. my son's death
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. either singing or dancing
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. writing the second book
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. sluggishness
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. friendliness
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I'm fine with what I am
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. quietness
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. one of the kids in At Freddie's
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. can't think of one
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. Shakespeare and I'd ask how the hell he did it.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. listening to movie plots
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. reading
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. I'm doing it
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. courage, endurance, faith
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. pasta
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. Marilynne Robinson, Peter Carey, Peter Taylor, Tracy Kidder, Flannery O'Connor, Virginia Woolf, Penelope Fitzgerald
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. Robinson's Home, Robinson's Gilead, Kidder's Among Schoolchildren, Woolf's diary and letters, Fitzgerald's At Freddie's
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. Flannery O'Connor's letters
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Keep an eye out for stories; never give up; rewrite with humility and until you hit diminishing returns
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. That science stuff wasn't hard at all. It was kind of interesting.