Authors > Karen Pryor > Author Revealed

Karen Pryor
Photo Credit: Peter Urban

Karen Pryor

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Imua, which is Hawaiian for 'forward!'
Learn more about Karen Pryor
Karen Pryor Revealed
About Karen Pryor
  • What is your birthdate?:
    5/14
  • Previous occupations:
    dolphin trainer; theater critic; advertising copywriter; consultant; documentary film maker; pheasant farmer; founder and CEO of a publishing company; lecture touring;
  • Favorite job:
    CEO of my clicker training company KPCT/Waltham MA
  • High school and/or college:
    Miss Harris'es school, Miami, Florida; Cornell University; graduate work in zoology at University of Hawaii, New York University, and Rutgers Newark
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    Oh, tough one; Holst? Mozart? Faure? Bernstein?
  • Favorite movie:
    National Velvet
  • Favorite television show:
    n/a
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Very interesting so far.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Imua, which is Hawaiian for 'forward!'
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Not counting food, sex, and unexpected large checks, I suppose. Happiness is not quite the word, anyway, but peak experiences? Working in the open ocean with a trained dolphin is a major thrill. Sometimes I've had the same experience on stage--and sometimes in a theater audience, too: sort of wow, this is so great I wish it would never end. Is that perfect happiness?
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Losing my cellphone.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Manhattan.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Charles Darwin.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. President Obama, at this moment.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. What a question: I'm a writer! I'm taking the 5th on this one.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. I'll take the 5th on this one, too.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. Flying. No airplane, just flying.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Doh. The most recent book, of course. No, seriously: my kids.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. The worry habit.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Brains.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I'll stay with what I have, thank you.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. I have no idea.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Reading.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Symphony conductor.
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. Dick Francis. Donna Leon. Angela Thirkell. I like books I can read, forget, and read again, with wit, real people, and plot too. No slogging, please.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. One of my own...Lads Before the Wind...
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Write 500 to 1000 words a day, starting at age 12 or earlier, for your whole life.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. When's your next book coming out?
Q. How did you come to write Reaching the Animal Mind?
A. After several decades of teaching animals and people with positive reinforcement, and several books about that, I had hundreds of new stories going to waste, and dozens of new questions that needed answering. This book is a start.