Stuff
Joy Fielding: A Self Portrait
Joy Fielding Revealed
About Joy Fielding
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. happy, fulfilling, interesting, hectic, loving, daughter-centric, amazing.
- Q. What is your motto or maxim?
- A. Be kind.
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. Perfect happiness is knowing that everyone I love is healthy, safe, and content.
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. Exactly where I am at the moment - Palm Beach, Florida. Although Paris is always a close second.
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. No one really. I've always been hopelessly stuck in the present.
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. My husband.
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. Give me a break. Assorted swear words.
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. That I didn't get more time with my mother, that I'm not always as kind or patient as I should be.
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. I'd love to be able to really sing. I'd also have loved to be a great ballet dancer.
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. My 35 year marriage, my two daughters, and my 21 books.
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. I have very limited patience and I'm very quick-tempered.
- Q. What’s your best quality?
- A. I'm very generous and loyal. And funny.
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. I'm very happy being me, although sometimes I'd love to be a bird so that I could fly.
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. I always say what's on my mind. No need to second guess with me..
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Nathan Zuckerman.
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. Golda Meir. I'd ask her if she could see any way out of the mess in the Mideast.
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. Bad weather.
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. Playing golf.
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. Golf pro, ballet dancer, singer.
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. Kindness, intelligence, sense of humor.
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. Birthday cake
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. "I would give thing I own; Yesterday, when I was Young; If you go away; Non, Je ne regret de rien; Little Girl Blue
On Books and Writing
- Q. Who are your favorite authors?
- A. Philip Roth Carl Hiaasen Joan Didion
- Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
- A. The Prince of Tides Play it as it Lays American Pastoral The Ghost Writer Patrimony
- Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
- A. I rarely reread books. There are too many new ones out there.
- Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
- A. Read, read, read.
- Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
- A. I couldn't put your book down.
- Q. How did you come to write Charley's Web?
- A. I got the idea for this really interesting character - Charley - and then the rest of her rather offbeat family began developing. Then I looked for an interesting situation to put them in. Since most of my books deal with women trying to find themselves, I thought it would be interesting to have Charley's path to self-discovery unfold while trying to understand the truth about someone else, in this case a deeply disturbed young woman who is, in many respects, her fun-house mirror opposite. I also wanted to deal with the theme of nature versus nurture.
